Only Here In Japan: Repetitive Riots

After the era turned from Shouwa (1926-1989) to Heisei (1989-), there have not been any riots in Japan… except for the ones in Nishinari. The history of riots performed by day-layborers, called Nishinari-Boudou or Kamagasaki-Boudou, is quite a long. The first Nishinari riot happened in 1961. The most recent riot happened in 2008 and was the 24th to occur in Nishinari. It lasted for 6 days.

You may still think, “Having said that, it’s still Japan and it shouldn’t be that dangerous.” But a riot is still a riot and can be quite violent. For example, during the 22nd riot which lasted for 5 days in 1990, Minami-Kasumi-Chou station of Hankai Tramway was burnt down and over 100 policemen were moderately to severely injured.

Although the 1990’s riot was triggered by a police officer receiving a bribe from a Yakuza member (Japanese mafia), the catalyst of such an event need not be anything of great consequence. For example, an argument in a restaurant over a bill is what initiated three of the riots, including the most recent. The riot in 2008 was actually caused by the way policemen treated a day-laborer in the police station after a disagreement over a bill in a restaurant, but still, it seems a bit extreme, especially since it only initially involved one customer.

It goes to show how much unrest there is in this area when something little like this is enough to start a riot (on three separate occasions, no less). Another surprising trigger was when a fruit shop worker accidentally caused a drunken day-laborer to fall down. One result of this riot was the burning of the fruit shop. Furthermore, there is a famous covert leftist organization that tends to encourage rioting among the laborers. So, you never know when and how it will happen.

The 25th Riot Rumor

There is also a rumor that the 25th riot may happen soon because of Osaka’s outspoken and controversial mayor: Tooru Hashimoto. As a part of his “Osaka Metropolis Plan”, he has thrown around a few ideas to improve this area, such as the “Nishinari Special Ward Plan”, which would provide a tax break for newcomers. Not surprisingly, his idea really got on the nerves of the long time residents of Nishinari.

Mayor Hashimoto also tried to make an elite school in this area, but the idea was quickly declined due to many intractable issues such as the very frequent unlawful dumping of garbage and the rampancy of drugs. Furthermore, the mayor is thinking of amalgamating the Nishinari-ward with the Tennouji-ward, where wealthy people live. It’s expected to be quite problematic. So, the place is kind of a tinderbox at the moment and you probably wouldn’t want to find yourself there when even the tiniest of sparks form. Who knows, maybe your visit will cause the next riot?

The Highest Anonymity In Japan

In the last article, we talked about the super cheap Doya-inns. Unlike the other accommodations in Japan, you don’t need to show your ID to stay there. It may be a good thing, if you are the type of person who is quick to lose or forget things because you won’t need to worry about bringing your passport in. However, in other words, it also means that you don’t know who your neighbors are and the person staying next to you could be a criminal.

It may sound a little discriminative, but in fact Tatsuya Ichihashi, who was sentenced to life in jail for the rape and murder of a British ESL teacher, was living in Nishinari before his arrest. Although he stayed outdoors during his first visit and apparently never used a doya-inn, he was able to obtain a job three times through some day-laborer-recruiters without revealing who he was. If a reward of 10 million yen wasn’t offered for tips leading to his arrest, he may have continued on in that area.

In Japan, not every wanted person has a price on their head and Nishinari has long been a place where criminals can come if they want to stay under the radar while earning some cash. Due to the ease and frequency of this, police often make inquiries, but most people don’t want to be an informant without receiving a reward. Another big name, Fusako Shigenobu, founder of the now-disbanded Japanese Red Army was also hiding in Nishinari. So, you should be aware that you could easily run into a wanted criminal here.

Tuberculosis

As I mentioned in the first article, there are some homeless people who can’t even afford to stay in the super-cheap Doya-inns. There is a shelter for them near a public park, but they never stay there as long as they are healthy. In other words, only sick people use the shelter. It’s kind of an unwritten rule. Hence, going there is risky because one might catch an illness… such as tuberculosis.

According to Youmiuri newspaper on Feb 4 2012, Nishinari’s tuberculosis incidence rate is the highest in Japan, at about 13 times that of the national average (0.0233% in 2004). About 20% of the newly registered tuberculosis patients in Osaka are homeless and 24% of all tuberculosis patients in Osaka are people from the Nishinari-ward.

The rate of tuberculosis in the shelter is said to be dramatically higher than all other places in Nishinari-ward, but living and sleeping outside can be very difficult and nearly impossible during the winter. Most of them live with dogs and bring them under their blankets when they sleep as a source of heat. This helps but is obviously not enough. Over 200 people are found dead on the streets every year.

Many Strong Yakuza

In this small Kamagasaki area, there used to be around 70 Yakuza offices. There were so many Yakuza here that a common quote arose: “Even a dog, if it walks, will bump into a Yakuza”. There are not as many as there used to be, but over 20 Yakuza offices still exist. The biggest office is the head office of the Azuma-gumi at at 1-11-8 Sannou Nishinari-ward, Osaka.

The Azuma-gumi continues sailing on their own, unlike most of the other Yakuza groups who have melded into the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan’s biggest Yakuza organization. After passing the Anti-Organized Crime Law in 1991, all Yakuza offices stopped displaying their “name” out front, including the powerful Yamaguchi-gumi. But, almost all of the name plates still exist in Nishinari. By this fact alone, you can imagine how strong the Yakuza are in this area.

Another factor that confirms their power is the number of drug dealing spots they have. Actually, all of their spots are well known by the locals. The most famous spot is the Sannou intersection where there are mass gatherings throughout the night. Moreover, the most notable drug dealing spot is right in front of the police station. How’s that for strength? Surprisingly, somebody even flagged the popular meth dealing spots on Google maps. Drug dealers get arrested from time to time, but it’s more like a performance by the police than anything else. More often than not, dealing is simply ignored.

Speaking of which, the Nishinari police station is different from other stations. It’s called “The Fort” because the building is surrounded by an iron fence. The front door, also made of iron, is guarded 24 hours a day.

What the Yakuza Do In Nishinari?

There are so many Yakuza jobs out there that we don’t even know about. So, I’ll introduce some of the main ones right now.

First of all, they work as day-laborer-recruiters, called 手配師 (Tehai-shi) – the same that Tatsuya Ichihashi used. They’re given a new job every day and take a very handsome percentage of the rate provided for for the laborers – all illegally, of course. Just for your information, the word for “to skim off too much commission” is ピンハネする (pinhane-suru). At some point in the process, most Yakuza jobs wind up pinhanesuru-ing someone’s money.

Normally, day-laborers go to The Nishinari Labor Center to get a job. In this center, the rule is “first come, first served”. The recession is hitting this slum as well, so getting a job is pretty competitive. It’s common to see people start lining up around 4 a.m.

If you are a registered resident who isn’t able to get a job, you could still get an allowance. However, if you aren’t registered, the only way to get a job is by talking to the recruiters in the station wagons waiting to deliver you directly to a job site.

There is another type of pinhane-job called 囲い屋 / kakoi-ya. In this job, the Yakuza gather homeless people and help them get welfare, then take a kickback from their allowance every month. Last year, one Yakuza member of the Yamaguchi-gumi was arrested for earning more than 200,000,000 yen (around $2 million).

Another Yakuza job is the operation of gambling circuits, which is also illegal in Japan. The most well known place of gaming is in Triangle park, which is located just 50 meters from the police station. This place primarily plays dice, but illegal poker and blackjack games are also easily found. They are held in secret doya or apartment rooms. You need an invitation or someone to take you to play there, though.

This area can be pretty nasty at night. There are around 60 groups of thieves called シノギ屋 / Shinogi-ya. They usually hit you from behind and steal all your belongings. If you were their target, you’d be extremely lucky to come out of it with only minor injuries. Sadly, many people are injured at the hands of these groups.

Slave Trading

In the above paragraph, I wrote “pretty nasty”, but that’s not nearly the extent of things. One of the traditional Yakuza jobs here is “slave trading”. It’s a very common tale to hear of Yakuza recruiters deceiving homeless people and selling them to isolated labor camps called タコ部屋/tako-beya to make them work as slave laborers. So the story about a day-laborer who gets into a station wagon, disappears, and is never heard of again, is very cliche.

It seems that some people like this were also taken to Fukushima to clean up the nuclear mess.

It sounds awful enough already, yet the economic depression is seemingly making Yakuza “slave trading” even more frequent and undiscriminating. According to Tokyo Breaking News, who succeeded in interviewing a Yakuza working in Nishinari, their “target” for slave trading is shifting from day-layborers to teenage girls. Their intent is to sell them as sex slaves. This interview was done in August 2013 and this Yakuza group started kidnapping girls in Spring of that year. Let me present some of the interview.

“I work with two other guys as a team and we have kidnapped over 20 girls at this point. We rent a station wagon for it. A member who has a driver’s license rents the car, then we throw on a fake license plate that we stole from a neighboring area such as Sakai city in Osaka. We target teenage girls solely because we can sell them for good money to Yakuza offices. The average is from 200,000 to 300,000 yen per girl. A good one could be up to 400,000 yen, so each of us can get over 100,000 yen, even after deducting expenses such as the cost of the rental car. Once we rent a car, we make our own quota. It’s much easier than you’d think because we choose girls. We don’t kidnap serious looking ones, but rather those that look like delinquents. For example, those who are looking for 援助交際 (compensated dating) on the application LINE or those sitting on the side of the road at midnight. Such girls are usually living a tough life already and things in their lives tend to be secretive, even if they plan on running away. Running away from a Yakuza office, on the other hand, is pretty difficult. They probably take photos and videos and threaten the girls in many ways in order to keep their income flowing in. However, there is a rumor that Osaka Prefectural Police have started investigating these cases. I’ve earned quite a lot money from this job already, so I’m thinking it soon might be time to quit.”

This has been going on for quite a while. In fact, some people in Osaka have also been arrested for violating the Child Welfare Act. For example, in 2002, a 44-year-old guy and a 17-year-old guy were arrested for holding a 17-year-old runaway girl in confinement. They knew of her through a website, and forced her to work as a hooker for 8 months. Her quota was 6 people a day and her salary was 500 yen/day. One of her clients was an officer of the Osaka Prefectural Police. In another recent example, Shouhei Yoshizaki (22-year-old) and Kazuki Shimohama (21-year-old) were arrested in September 2013 for managing a prostitution agency that delivered 15-17-year-old teenage girls to hotels. In each case, the set price was 15,000yen. This type of business is called デリバリー・ヘルス / Delivery-Health or デリヘル / deriheru.

Japan’s Largest Prostitution District

Speaking of which, Japan’s largest prostitution ring, called Tobita-shinchi (a.k.a Tobita-yuukaku), is on the East side of the main Kamagasaki area. Although prostitution is officially prohibited in Japan, this outfit remains untouched by police because they are afraid serious security problems may arise if they shut this area down.

If you watched the youtube videos about this area, you might feel a bit strange as you see the seemingly endless stream of little rooms. What you don’t see in the video is that the there are rooms on the other side of the street, as well. Inside each room is woman on display, often dressed in cheerleader or anime costumes, sitting and smiling beneath bright lights and an elderly woman called やり手ばばあ / Yarite-babaa (a.k.a. 曳っ子 / Hikikko) sits in each doorway and acts as the negotiator.

Just as a heads-up, if you were a woman interested in visiting this area, those Yarite-babaas are often very harsh towards women because men tend to avoid going into these rooms if women are around. When my boyfriend and I went to spa world, I took him here to show him a different side of Japan. Sure enough, with a chain of harsh name calling, threats and hand gestures, I was told that this is not a place for one such as me and that I should quickly remove myself.

There are still over 150 such places remaining. Since it is officially illegal, they are all registered as a 料亭 (ryoutei), a traditional Japanese style restaurant, and all of girls are listed as “waitresses” on the legal documents. Their official excuse is “something may happen between a waitress and a customer at their own will while the waitress is serving, but it’s none of our business”. To follow this excuse up, a little snack and a drink are provided. The average price is about 15,000 yen for 20 – 30 minutes depending on the woman. With “restaurants” literally taking up entire city blocks, this area is so singularly devoted to this type of business that even the street names are extensions of it – 青春 (Seishun) Street, literary meaning The-Spring-Time-of-Life Street and 妖怪(Youkai) street, literary meaning Monster Street.

There is, in fact, one actual restaurant in this area called 鯛よし百番 (Taiyoshi-hyakuban). Long ago, when whore houses were given license, this place was legally providing what its neighbors are now illegally selling. When laws changed, so did its type of service and it is now registered as a cultural property. It’s a very popular restaurant, however, so getting a reservation is not so easily done.

So, that just about does it for basic information about this Japanese slum area. There are probably more things going on that we don’t know about than things that we do. I was interested in this area when I was younger and my university was only a few stations away, so I once asked one of my male friends who looked really strong to go there with me and have a walk around. While walking, I felt as though everyone was staring at me. Maybe it was just because seeing a woman in the Kamagasaki area is pretty rare. (You can find a lot of videos of this area, but people in the videos are almost all male.) I was quite scared because I believed they thought I was just someone trying to peak in on their way of life, as though it were some sort of exhibition. Nobody likes being treated like that, of course. I didn’t want to upset anyone, so walked around quietly and quickly and, luckily, nothing happened.

As I introduced in these two articles, there are plenty of pros and cons about Nishinari, so I hope I didn’t sound overly critical. I thought it was important for you to at least learn of what can and does transpire in this area before choosing it for its cheap accommodations. If you read this and you’re completely fine with staying in the area, that’s great because you can save a lot of money. If you are scared of this area, that’s totally understandable, too. In either case, I wish you a safe and wonderful time in Japan.

Bonus Wallpapers!

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Although the locals tend to avoid this area, it has surprisingly become a sort of mecca for foreign backpackers due to the cheap accomodations. The reason why they don’t mind staying in such a place is because it is statistically way safer than their own home countries. Apparently, there are even a few guide books that say this outright: “Nishinari-ku: the most dangerous area in Japan, but not as bad as your own country.”

But, can you really be confident that this place is not as dangerous as your own country? It’s possible that you may feel quite comfortable in those areas at home, but, many things are done differently country to country. So, how cheap are things in Nishinari-ku? Is it really worth visiting or staying here? Let’s find out in this two part article.

Nishinari Ward

There are 24 wards in Osaka City, and one of them is Nishinari, which takes up a whole 2.8 square miles. If you type “Nishinari” in Google Maps, it will show you where the Nishinari Ward is. Perhaps you’ll even recognize some of the more popular landmarks nearby.

This area is famous for the Tennouji Park, Tennouji Zoo, the Tsutenkaku Tower, deep fried kebab-style restaurants, and “Spa World,” which has many different kinds of onsen from around the world as well as scary water slides. One slide is called “The Death Loop,” if that helps to paint a picture.

After reading the above paragraph you may be wondering something like, “Mami, you said the locals tend to avoid that area, didn’t you?” Well, the park and zoo are in Tennouji-ward and the other sight-seeing spots called Shinsekai (literally meaning “new world”) are all located in Naniwa-ward. Only Midousuji Boulevard separates Naniwa from Nishinari, but the difference is still quickly noticeable. So, if you are a little worried about going to Nishinari, make sure not to cross the road to the “other side” of Japan.

Furthermore, the slum area doesn’t cover the whole of the Nishinari-Ward either. The undesireable areas of Nishinari are found around Haginochaya, Taishi, and Sannou. In May 1966, Airin-chiku became the area’s offical name, but most of the locals continue to call this area “Kamagasaki” or “Nishinari”.

Although not found in the above mentioned areas, Japan’s largest red-light-district, Tobita-shinchi (a.k.a Tobita-Yuukaku) also makes its home in Nishinari-ward. Though it’s advisable to avoid this area in real life, especially if you’re a woman, when writing an article about Nishinari it’s nearly impossible to bypass.

Kamagasaki: Nishinari in Nishinari-ward

Until the mid Meiji-era (1868-1912 AD), Osaka’s slum area was located in Nagamachi, which is now Block 1-3 Nipponbashi in Chuuou-ward, and the Kamagasaki area was just a small fishing village with a graveyard and an accompanying execution grounds, a vestige of the Edo (1603-1867) Shogunate.

The Nagamachi area had many extremely cheap inns for day laborers (called Kichin-ya), but for the purpose of making more available accommodations for the fifth National Industrial Exhibition being held in 1903, a law was passed forcing all inns in the Nagamachi area to move to the Kamagasaki area in 1898. In turn this forced the day laborers to follow, and so began the Kamagasaki slum.

Just as a note, some people mistake Kamagasaki (or Nagamachi) area to be the distinctive village of Burakumin, but they are different. The Nagamachi and Kamagasaki slums were naturally formed by homeless people and wanderers, whereas the Buraku hamlets were officially formed as outcaste communities in the Japanese feudal era.

The Kamagasaki area is only ~500-800 square meters but the population is said to be around 20,000 to 30,000. The actual number is unknown because many of the people there are homeless and aren’t even on the residential registration. Since there are so many Doya-inns (previously known as Kichinya-inns) in such a small area, its population density is said to be 3 or 4 times that of Tokyo’s 23 wards.

Sakaisuji Street divides the area into West and East and each side has different characteristics. On the East side, there are many wooden rental houses and also a shopping arcade called “Tobita-hon-doori” (a.k.a Doubutsuen-mae-ichiban-gai). Thus, it still exhibits a similar resemblance to, and a taste of the ambiance of old Osaka. On the West side, there are many multistoried Doya-inns as well as restaurants and launderettes for laborers. Regional improvement facilities are also increasing in number.

Super Cheap Doya-Inns

In the 90’s there were around 200 Doya-inns. Now it’s nearly half of that due to the aging of the laborers. Some Doya-inns changed into public welfare housing where residents pay rent with public assistance. Although those public housing complexes are no longer available, other Doya-inns are open for not only day-layborers but anyone else who needs a bed. In fact, Doya-inns first started to be used by foreigners in 2002, when the FIFA World Cup was held in Japan and Korea.

News of the cheap accommodations and convenience traveled quickly among world travelers and now it’s becoming a backpackers’ paradise. I even came across a person who tweeted that he wants to make homeless and foreign friends at the same time, so he is thinking of staying over night in a doya.

The cost of Doya-Inns start at 400 yen/night (~$4). However, the cheapest places (400-1000yen/night) are very competitive and are usually already occupied by fixed residents. But, don’t worry. There are still plenty of other cheap places starting from 1000-2500 (~$10-$25) yen/night. Furthermore, if you were rich enough to pay over 2500 yen/night, you could stay at a nice “hotel” in and around this area, as well.

According to Hotel Price Index, the average hotel price in Japan is around $150/night, so now you have a better idea as to how cheap these Kamagasaki “hotels” really are.

In terms of what you’re getting, the average Doya-inn is around 54 square feet (3 tatami mats). The bathroom and toilet are shared, or you may have to go to another inn or hotel to take a shower. Some rooms are becoming non-smoking for backpackers, but you can still smell the stale cigarette smoke that will be stuck there for years to come.

What Else Is Cheap?

As many of you have probably already guessed by now, the accommodations are not the only thing that is inexpensive. Let’s have a look around to find out what else can be done on the cheap.

Super Tamade

First, in Kamagasaki area, there are 5 super cheap grocery stores called “Super Tamade.” Super Tamade was founded in 1992, coinciding with the final decline of the Yakuza in Tamade of the Nishinari-ward. There is a well-known rumor that this discount grocery store chain is run by the Yakuza, but I will leave that up to your imagination.

This discount grocery chain goes to extreme lenghts to stand out in comparison to others, not only for their brightly decorated appearance but also their unbelievably cheap prices.

(A flyer of Super Tamade)

For example, they have a unique 1 yen (~1 penny) sale system. If you spend 1,000 yen or more, you can buy one of their special items at 1 yen. Several items are selected everyday and they are usually canned food, drinks, vegetables, meats, eggs, etc… The amount you can purchase at 1 yen is restricted, but it’s still a nice surprise, isn’t it? They are so friendly to day laborers that they also offer a variety of bento boxes starting at 200 yen.

Himawari

There is also a 24/7 cafe restaurant called “Himawari” (meaning sunflower) managed by Super Tamade in the Nishinari-ward. They offer breakfast for about 300 yen and lunch sets for about 500yen.

Cheap Foods Other Than Tamade

There are many cheap teishoku (set menu) restaurants. For example, manpuku-shokudou provide “home-made” set meals for 400 to 500yen that will fill a traveller’s stomach.

Most of the restaurants in Kamagasaki also have a tachinomi (standing bar) because it’s more economical for both restaurant owners and laborers.

Tachinomis offer quick and simple meals, as well. For example, one place sells “cooked instant ramen” for 200yen and another sells “homemade curry rice” for 300yen.

Free meals are sometimes distributed in a public park, but you need to bring a container and wait in a super long line.

Cheap Vending Machines

Although Japan’s cheapest beverage vending machine (10yen) is in the Fukushima-ward of Osaka, they have their own cheap cans too. All of the cheap beverages are made by Sangaria, a local company in Osaka. The average price of Kamagasaki’s vending machines ranges from 50 to 70 yen/can, whereas the average Japan-wide price is 120 yen. Unlike the cheapest vending machine in the Fukushima-ward, at least here you actually get to choose what comes out of the machine.

Interestingly, Sangaria gets its name from a famous Chinese poem called “Spring View” by Toho, “国破れて山河在り” or “國破山河在 (guó pò shān hé zài)” in Chinese, which means; “The country is destroyed; yet mountains and rivers remain.” So, I feel like the company is saying, “Even though Japan was bankrupt, Sangaria’s cheap beverage will remain.” Please don’t say that I’m the only one that thinks that because they made a song for a commercial that went;

いち にい サンガリア
1 2 3(san)-garia

にい にい サンガリア
2 2 3(san)-garia

サンガリア サンガリア
Sangaria Sangaria

国破れて サンガリア
The country is destroyed: yet Sangaria remains.

敵も味方も ヨンダリア
You should invite both friends and foes. (Yondaria sounds like “youndariya” in Kansai-ben, which means “you should invite”)

みーんなで仲良く 飲んだりア サンガリアコーヒー
You should all drink Sangaria coffee together as friends. (Nakayoku-nondaria sounds like “nakayoku-nondariya” in Kansai-ben, which means “you should drink as friends”.)

Needless to say, there are many alcohol vending machines, as well.

Seemingly Cheap Shops

There are also several shops displaying unique signboards. For instance, the board of a clothing store called Yasuda-ya says “まだ高いですか!!”, which means “Is it still expensive?”. There is an Izakaya restaurant in the arcade that goes by the name “甘すぎてすいません”, which means “Sorry for spoiling you”. Speaking of “sorry,” sorry, but I’m not sure if these places are actually cheap or not, but it’s a fairly safe bet given their signs and where they are located.

Cheap Movies

There is a small movie theatre called Tobita-Cinema where you can see 3 movies for 800 yen. If it is Tuesday, it’s 500 yen.

Cheap Or Even Free Haircut

The average price of a haircut is around 800 yen in this area. If you were really broke, sometimes volunteers will offer you a free haircut. There’s usually a notification posted somewhere beforehand. In order to get a free haircut, you have to get a numbered ticket in the morning in the public park because they usually have a maximum limit.

Granted, if you’re reading this you’re not likely to be homeless, but don’t be taken aback that I’ve told you where to get a free haircut. Believe it or not, when I took my boyfriend to Spa world, we came across a caucasian man sleeping on flattened out cardboard boxes.

At first we weren’t able to see him because of the blanket he’d fashioned out of cardboard to get away from the drizzle that night. Yes, he wasn’t even able to stay in a Doya-inn and had to do Aokan (sleeping outside). We had some leftover nan bread from the curry restaurant we’d just come from, so my boyfriend offered it to the man.

As he rustled to grab the bread we realized that he was not Japanese when his response – “Ah, cheers man. Thanks” – was unmistakably that of a native English speaker. We never asked him anything about how he came there, but like I said at the beginning of the article, you never know what will happen there.

What’s Coming Up Next

Now that you know what’s here (and how cheap it is), please come back tomorrow to learn more about the “dodgy” side of Nishinari. It will tell you what makes this place somewhat dangerous (though maybe not as dangerous as you might expect). Go ahead and rent out a night in a Doya-Inn and we’ll see you in the morning!

Bonus Wallpapers!

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And map!

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90,000 commuters affected as WWII shell disposed of in Tokyo

An unexploded bomb from WWII being discovered in one of the biggest cities in the world might seem unusual, but at this point in history it’s almost a routine; so routine, in fact, that the Japanese Self-Defense Force disposed of the device in three hours flat. I can’t think of anything more badass than getting rid of a bomb in as much time as it takes to watch The Fellowship of the Ring. [via Reddit]

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Gangsters busted for extorting deaf Tokyo man with sign language : On some level, I guess it’s good that the yakuza don’t discriminate; they extort everybody even disabled people. But this story of two deaf yakuza henchmen extorting a 75-year-old deaf man is tragically comic and downright despicable.

Yen Strengthens Again, in Challenge for Abe: It seems as if the yen giveth, and the yen taketh away. After months of phenomenal market performances and a cheaper yen, it seems as if the economy is bouncing back from the early, incredible effects of Abenomics. You mean to tell me that the economy is complex, unpredictable entity? I’m shocked, shocked I say!

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Japan tests 310mph bullet train : As I plod along on my commuter train into Tofugu World Headquarters every day, I wonder what it would be like to have the kind of train technology they have in Japan. By 2027, Japan will see the deployment of high-speed maglev trains that are capable of speeds of up to 300 mph (about 500 kph). [via Reddit]

TV icon Hard Gay thrusts into the world of professional modeling: Everybody knows about Hard Gay, Japan’s leather-clad, air-humping former pro-wrestler and TV talent; but for better or worse, Hard Gay’s alter ego Masaki Sumitani is looking to shed that image. Instead, Sumitani is trying to break into the modeling world, showing off his, some would say, hard physique. フォ〜！

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English Teacher Shows Porn DVD To Students By Accident

Being a teacher must be hard enough worrying about things like lesson plans and schedules and all of the mundane parts of getting kids to sit still and learn every day. So I’m a little sympathetic that one English teacher in Japan mixed up a DVD of The Sound of Music that he wanted to show his class with a more adult film. At the very least, I’m sure that the kids learned something that day.

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Wallpapers and GIFs!

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I figure that I’ll answer this question once and for all; or at least until people forget that I wrote this post and start asking me again.

While I skim a lot of the sites loaded up into my RSS reader, there are a select few that I really enjoy reading, teach me a lot, and keep me coming back for more.

I should clarify that this list contains blogs about Japan written in English with a Western audience in mind. If you want to find blogs written in Japanese, that’s another post for another time.

Here are some of my favorite Japan blogs, in no particular order:

Gakuranman

Long time Tofugu collaborator Gakuranman is more than just a manly, manly rayon body pillow; he’s also an avid haikyo (abandoned building) explorer.

He visited Japan’s forbidden island, Gunkanjima, long before James Bond was taken there in Skyfall; and while the internet was marvelling at the Japanese “anti-zombie fortress” from afar, Gakuranman was able to actually visit the Shime coal mine and tell us a little bit about its history.

While I was lucky enough to explore an old amusement park and the long-abandoned school on Cat Island with Gakuranman, I’m not sure that the haikyo lifestyle is for me; but I’m glad that I can visit see these beautiful, abandoned places in Japan without ever leaving my apartment because of him.

This Japanese Life

This Japanese Life isn’t produced by WBEZ Chicago and has no relation to the popular radio show, but the way that author Eryk tells stories would make Ira Glass proud.

The best posts on This Japanese Life are first-person narratives of Eryk’s life as an English teacher in Japan. The slice-of-life qualities of these posts cut through the popular misconceptions of Weird Japan and reveal the really strange parts of Japanese culture (see the post on kindness and obligation).

I also just really enjoy the writing on This Japanese Life, which is peppered with unique phrases like “Willy Wonka-san” and “kabuki juggalo.” This kind of writing might not be the kind of thing you’d hear in act one of our program, but it’s been more than enough to keep me reading.

Shisaku

Japanese politics can be a mystery. Not only does the Japanese political system function completely differently than the political system of my home country, the United States, but most of the news that us Westerners get about Japanese politics focuses on a few, paltry subjects. Unless a Japanese politician reaches the level of prime minister or says something incredibly stupid about Japan’s military past, then chances are the AP, Reuters, and other big news organizations won’t care at all.

Fortunately, Shisaku is there to pick up the slack. Run by Tokyo-based Michael Cucek, Shisaku is full of independent analysis about Japanese politics. So if I open up the New York Times and find an article about a high-level Japanese diplomat traveling to North Korea, I can count on Shisaku to give me some in-depth context and analysis of the event.

Reading Shiasku is almost enough to make me feel like an expert in Japanese politics. Almost.

Surviving in Japan

While I enjoy blogs that talk very broadly about large, cultural issues in Japan, I’ve been a huge fan of Surviving in Japan for years because it offers a lot of very practical, down-to-earth advice about living day-to-day life in Japan. After all, once you get past the bigger cultural differences, you still have to do all of those mundane, everyday things that you take for granted.

You’d be hard-pressed to find another site that offers as many guides and how-tos on topics like banking, finding personal care products, and how to deal with the different seasons in Japan.

Even though the updates on the site have slowed a bit since its creator has moved out of Japan, Surviving in Japan still gets the occasional new post and has a wealth of information in the archives.

Japan Subculture Research Center

Author and journalist Jake Adelstein has been having a pretty good year so far. His book, Tokyo Vice, is being turned into a movie with Harry Potter alumnus Daniel Radcliffe starring.

But aside from his recent Hollywood success, Adelstein is a seasoned Japanese reporter who broke many barriers for foreign reporters in Japan; he was the first foreign staff reporter for the Yomiuri Shinbun and first to be included in the Tokyo Metropolitan Press Club.

Japan Subculture Research Center is Adelstein’s web presence and, together with a few other writers, does a great job covering Japan’s seedy underbelly. You’ll not only find a wealth of information about the yakuza (Adelstein’s area of expertise), but also information about the myriad not-so-legal activities that are usually hidden from public view.

If you want to know about all of Japan and not just the shiny image that’s usually presented to the West, Japan Subculture Research Center is a great place to start.

Spoon & Tamago

Japan has long had a worldwide reputation as a design powerhouse, but it’s sometimes difficult to find concrete examples of that. Fortunately, Spoon & Tamago manages to do a good job at exposing me to Japanese art and design and making me feel at least somewhat educated in the process.

The team of writers at Spoon & Tamago cover all aspects of Japanese art and design, from architecture to photography, to the design of small, everyday things. The best part: it’s all very accessible to those who have absolutely not background in art of design.

Japanese Rule of 7

Every once in a while, I’ll read something that just completely hooks me. For Japanese Rule of 7, the blog by Ken Seeroi, it was comparing knowing Japanese to being like David Blaine doing magic tricks at a party:

Your magic trick is that you can speak English. That’s what everyone wants you to do. And every time you do it, and tell them about how big the cheeseburgers are back home and how people wear shoes inside the house, their eyes will light up and they’ll be like, Wow, amazing!

Seeroi’s sometimes cynical writing, paired with his great stories of Japan, paints an entertaining picture of everyday life in Japan for an expat.

Honorable Mentions

There are a few authors and blogs that I enjoy a lot but, for whatever reason, didn’t quite make the cut. Here they are:

Hikosaemon

While Hikosaemon’s actual blog is infrequently updated, his presence on the rest of the internet more than makes up for it. This Kiwi is a social media God, posting so many insightful links and updates via his Twitter and Google+, it’s scary.

That’s not even to mention his YouTube channel. Between his solo videos and his weekly YouTube show with Gimmeaflakeman (and the occasional appearance by Milkjamjuice) Two and a Half Oyajis, there are probably days’ worth of amazing discussion on Japan on Hikosaemon’s channel.

And when Hiko does decide to sit down and crank out a long-form blog entry, he does an amazing job condensing his experiences living and working for over a decade in Japan. His guest post for us here at Tofugu from a few years back is based on a level of life experience that’s impossible to fake.

Culture Japan

I hesitate to include Culture Japan because I don’t watch anime, read manga, or do any of the things that fall under the umbrella of otaku culture. Given that, it’s sometimes hard for me to understand the allure of Culture Japan, the Dollfie-loving, body pillow-filled otaku haven run by internet superstar Danny Choo.

Even if I don’t always understand the appeal of Culture Japan, it undeniable that Danny Choo is a massive figure online. His blog post “How Discovering Japan Changed My Life” is incredibly popular among Japanophiles, and you’ve probably seen him dressed up as a Star Wars storm trooper, dancing on the streets of Tokyo to Earth, Wind, and Fire.

But beyond his internet fame, Danny Choo does a lot of hard work promoting Japan and Japanese culture. He works for the Japanese government under the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, and produces and directs a TV show about Japan also called Culture Japan. So while I might be turned off by figurines and wall scrolls, there’s a lot to be said about Danny Choo and Culture Japan’s contributions.

These are just my personal picks—your mileage with these sites may vary; and I’m sure that I’m missing some amazing sites and writers, so share your favorites in the comments.

Bonus Wallpapers and GIFs!

Our talented illustrator Aya has whipped up some desktop backgrounds and animated GIFs for your enjoyment:

Wallpaper (1280×800)
Wallpaper (2560×1440)

GIF (700×438)
GIF (1280×800)

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NHK on changing the Japanese constitution: Last week, I mentioned that the Japanese prime minister and the political party in power in Japan have thought about amending the constitution. This week, What Japan Thinks rounded up public opinion on amending the constitution and the sentiment of the people is a resounding “meh.” Opinion is split more or less evenly three ways on changing the document, which probably means that nothing’s likely to get done and people won’t care about it, anyway. Win-win!

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Daniel Radcliffe To Star In Crime Saga ‘Tokyo Vice’: Jake Adelstein’s yakuza memoir Tokyo Vice is being adapted movie, which is pretty exciting on its own, but the big names being attached to the project is pretty astounding. Big-time music video director Anthony Mandler is set to direct, and Harry Potter wonderboy Daniel Radcliffe is tagged to star in the movie. Yer a yakuza, ‘arry!

Cool Biz season kicks off across Japan: Summer’s right around the corner in Japan, which means it’s time for “Cool Biz,” the Japanese program to get working people to dress more casually to cut down on the energy used to power air conditioners. Unfortunately, Cool Biz is kicking off during an unseasonably cool time in Japan, with temperatures hovering around 60 °F. Guess we can’t bust out the Hawaiian shirts quite yet! [via News On Japan]

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Weaker Yen Ups Cost of Life’s Simple Pleasures: We’ve talked a bit about what it means that Japan’s currency, the yen, is getting weaker and weaker, but there are consequences to the weak yen that are more terrible than anybody could have possibly imagined. A 10%-15% price increase on toilet paper? The horror . . . the horror.

LDP plans expansion of JET program:Exciting news for people who want to work in Japan! Japan’s JET program, which hires foreigners to teach English in Japan, is planned to double in size in the next couple of years, bringing a JET language assistant to every single elementary, middle, and high school in the entire country. The bad news? Incidents of kancho per capita are expected to skyrocket.

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Putin mentions even split of disputed territory in talks with Abe: source: For the first time in nearly a decade, the heads of state of Japan and Russia met this week to discuss the biggest issues affecting the two countries; among them, coming up with a peace agreement to end WWII (seriously), and divvying up some of the islands that the two countries have been fighting over for over 100 years. Exciting times! [via News On Japan]

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But more importantly, the Yamaguchi family has basically had a yakuza monopoly for the last few decades, gobbling up more territory and profits than any other yakuza family in Japan.

In one interview with online magazine The Rumpus, yakuza expert Jake Adelstein compares the Yamaguchi to the house that Walton built:

Adelstein: They basically have a monopoly. You can’t have a price war with Walmart.

Rumpus: The Yamaguchi-gumi is the Walmart of the yakuza.

Adelstein: It is. It occupies so much turf now.

How did the Yamaguchi get to be the Walmart of the yakuza, driving out all of the small, mom-and-pop yakuza families? Low, rollback prices? Big box stores? Elderly greeters at the front of every yakuza business?

It’s easy to imagine that the Yamaguchi became a monopoly through some dramatic chain of events that culminated in a massive shootout, but the Yamaguchi’s rise to power was a lot less cinematic.

A lot of it comes down to adaptation.

Going Underground

For a lot of Japanese history, the yakuza were more or less openly tolerated. A lot of what the yakuza did was obviously illegal, but the groups themselves weren’t necessarily outlawed.

Yakuza groups were sort of seen as just another part of society. Members used to carry their very own yakuza business cards and be friendly with police.

But in the last couple of decades, the Japanese have passed more and more laws that make it harder for yakuza families to operate the way they used to. Nowadays, yakuza bosses bear some legal responsibility for the crimes of their underlings, and restaurants like Pizza Hut even refuse yakuza service.

So the Yamaguchi family, under the leadership of Yoshinori “Mr. Gorilla” Watanabe, adapted to these laws and toned down the stereotypical yakuza image.

You won’t see a lot of the ornate, full-body tattoos that the yakuza are known for, and not many underlings are slicing their pinkies off, either.

And for a group of mobsters, the yakuza barely use guns. Because of Japan’s strict gun laws, firing a gun at somebody violates so many laws that it’s better to just forget about the whole thing.

The Yamaguchi and really, the yakuza as a whole, became more subdued and focused less on the tradition and pageantry that made them stand out, and more on the things that made them so incredibly rich and powerful.

The Future of the Yakuza

Even though the Yamaguchi has made it to the top of the yakuza ladder, it doesn’t mean that they have it easy. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

The Japanese government and foreign countries have continued to tighten the vice on the Yamaguchi and other yakuza groups. The #2 boss in the Yamaguchi was recently sentenced to six years in jail for extortion, and last year the US government froze all of the Yamaguchi’s American assets.

But despite all of the hardships, there’s no doubt that the Yamaguchi, and all yakuza groups in Japan, will continue to blackmail, extort, traffic, and generally terrorize Japan. It’s hard to keep a good gangster down.

Read More: Jake Adelstein’s Japan Subculture Research Center