Category Archives: Media

Media watch: Court lets government discriminate against sex workers because of feelings

Posted on June 28, 2025 by philipbrasor

On June 16 the first petty bench of the Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit brought by a business in the Kansai region against the government for denying it COVID-19 cash grants, which were distributed to companies during the pandemic so … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Koreans reconsider unwed parenthood

Posted on June 1, 2025 by philipbrasor

Last Friday, the Japanese Diet took up the issue of separate names for married couples for the first time in 28 years. Though the debate about bessei—allowing partners who wed to retain their individual birth surnames rather than forcing them … Continue reading →

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Media watch: The spouses’ tax and pension exemption faces its reckoning

Posted on May 10, 2025 by philipbrasor

Every five years the government reviews the national pension system, which, like national health insurance, is roughly divided into two plans: one for regular salaried employees and another for everybody else. However, the pension system for salaried employees, known as … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Inmate testimony describes execution day horror show

Posted on April 7, 2025 by philipbrasor

Given the air of secrecy that has always surrounded Japan’s system of capital punishment, it’s still likely that many Japanese people are not aware of the methodology used to carry out an execution, even though it’s been revealed time and … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Nobody takes the evacuation plans for Sakishima seriously

Posted on April 4, 2025 by philipbrasor

Last week, the government released a plan to evacuate the residents of the Sakishima archipelago, which comprises the outlying islands of Okinawa Prefecture, in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Since the U.S. has pledged to defend Taiwan … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Tokyo ward reminds citizens that they aren’t members of the royal family

Posted on March 30, 2025 by philipbrasor

One of the peculiarites of Japan’s family registration (koseki) system is that a citizen can designate any address in the country as their main domicile, or honseki, regardless of where they actually live. A person’s residential address must be registered … Continue reading →

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Media watch: The roots of Nihon Hidankyo are not just in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but in Tokyo too

Posted on March 16, 2025 by philipbrasor

When the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, better known as Nihon Hidankyo in Japan, won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, there were probably quite a few Japanese who were unfamiliar with the group, which represents survivors—hibakusha—of … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Does cancelled concert indicate Japan’s real intentions toward Kurdish refugees?

Posted on March 10, 2025 by philipbrasor

On Feb. 24, the Japan Kurdish Cultural Association (JKCA) was scheduled to hold a concert with a Kurdish singer at the Saitama Kaikan in Saitama Prefecture, but it was cancelled the day before. According to the Saitama Shimbun, the reason … Continue reading →

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Media watch: All public toilets are not created equal

Posted on February 23, 2025 by philipbrasor

Inbound tourists invariably rave about Japan’s superior security and hospitality, and while you often hear them comment positively about smart toilets, it’s usually in the context of how surprisingly common they are. However, we’ve almost never heard anyone talk about … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Government refuses to remove names of Korean soldiers from war shrine because that’s just the way it is

Posted on February 5, 2025 by philipbrasor

In the middle of January, Japan’s Supreme Court decided against a lawsuit brought by a Korean family against the Japanese government for refusing to remove the name of their deceased relative, who died in the service of Japan’s emperor during … Continue reading →

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