Ikebukuro is one of the most bustling neighborhoods in Tokyo. The area’s popularity is attributed to the importance of Ikebukuro Station, one of the busiest stations in Japan and in the world. Ikebukuro Station serves as an important connecting point for millions of people, particularly those who live in Saitama and have to commute to…

As many as over a million young people in Japan are thought to remain holed up in their homes, sometimes for decades at a time, a phenomena known as ‘hikikomori’. Why is that? In Japan, hikikomori, a term that’s also used to describe the young people who withdraw, is a word that everyone knows. The…

According to the Ministry of Defense, Filipinos are the 4th largest foreign population living in Japan, being recently surpassed by Vietnamese residents, and they have had a long and strong presence in the country. The number of Filipinos living in Japan had increased in the late 90s to the numbers seeing today. However, many of…

Will Japan Be the Second Country in Asia to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage? That is the question members of the LGBTQ+ community have been asking themselves since a groundbreaking in Sapporo deemed that the government was violating Article 14 of the Constitution. The Sapporo District Court reached this decision despite Article 24 stating that “Marriage shall…

On November 5, Sega Sammy announced that it would sell all of its arcades. Sega Sammy, the partner company of Sega Entertainment, said it would sell 85.1% of its shares in Sega Entertainment to Genda Inc, an amusement machine company. The move comes months after Sega closed its iconic Akihabara arcade in August due to…

A young man looks at his mother. The frail, old woman can no longer walk long distances and usually spends her days inside the house with the family. Her hair has turned white, and the foggy mist in her eyes indicates that she is losing her vision. Her son really loves her, but does not…

Japanese giant UNIQLO has found itself in some controversy due to its Musée du Louvre collection. The collection features some of the most famous artworks displayed at the Louvre. The collection is quite simple, and something that art aficionados could easily enjoy. The collection as such is fine and seemingly harmless, but UNIQLO ended up…

The National Center Test for University Admissions declared that they had invalidated a student’s score since he had ignored the supervisor’s advice and had worn his mask without covering his nose. View this post on Instagram A post shared by 青山学院大学 / Aoyama Gakuin U. (@aoyamagakuinuniversity) According to the center, the student was given six…

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare disclosed that the number of domestic suicides in 2020 had reached 20,919, an increase of over 750 compared to last year. The number of deaths had been decreasing since 2010 though, 2020 representing the first increase in 11 years. It seems that the economic impacts caused by COVID-19…

When a positive pregnancy test, you might feel both happiness and some anxiety. Being a mother is a really big event in someone’s life and the first experience comes with anxiety of course. Not to mention giving birth in another country can add an extra layer of anxiety. Here in Japan, there are some unique…