Upopoy National Ainu Museum and Park will be holding a five-day Silver Week special event, "Upopoy Fes 2026 - Now: Connecting Ainu, Okinawa, and Amami", from 19-23 September, aiming to bring the three cultures together through music, performing arts, crafts, and food. www.sankei.com/article/2026...

アイヌ・沖縄・奄美の文化が集結するウポポイ初の野外音楽フェス開催決定　元ちとせ、夏川りみら出演

アイヌ民族文化財団が運営するウポポイ（民族共生象徴空間／北海道・白老町）が、9月19日から23日までの5日間にわたり、シルバーウィーク特別イベント『ウポポイ …

sankei.com

On a thread about how the practice of "skirt-flipping" in Japan died out as an acceptable way for boys to "tease" girls, X user Shio says it's because parents fought back against the manga that popularized it: Harenchi Gakuen (ハレンチ学園, "Shameless School") by Go Nagai (1968-1972)

Okamoto Kōzō's death in Lebanon ends the 55-year tale of an infamous member of the Japanese Red Army. Just 2 years ago, the fate of another familiar face on a wanted poster was sealed: Kirishima, bomber for the East Asia Anti-Japan Front. He'd hid from police for half a century. youtu.be/TLwxf3hKMZY

Kirishima Satoshi: On the Lam for 50 Years (East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front)

YouTube video by Unseen Japan

youtu.be

Hey Tokyo Moon: a one-minute dubstep musical

You can learn the history of the Japanese Red Army in our five-part series - episode four focuses specifically on Okamoto, Shigenobu Fusako, and the Lod Airport Massacre. youtu.be/Aa5_9_jwmOw

Japanese Red Army: Homegrown Terror

YouTube video by Unseen Japan

youtu.be

Unseen Japan’s doc on this is fascinating. JRA remains poorly documented in English, but their impact should be noted by scholars and specialists

Unseen Japan@unseenjapan.com · 2w ago

Okamoto Kōzō, recognizable as a face on the ubiquitous Japanese Red Army wanted posters still seen throughout Japan, has died. One of three Japanese citizens who carried out the 1972 Lod Airport Massacre, in which 24 people (most of whom were Puerto Rican pilgrims) were killed, he was 78 years old.

This is big news. Okamoto spent the last 40 years in exile in Lebanon - the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine would occasionally throw events honoring him, posting pictures of him on Facebook. I wonder if we'll ever learn the fates of the other JRA members on the lam - Bando, Daidoji...

Unseen Japan@unseenjapan.com · 2w ago

Okamoto Kōzō, recognizable as a face on the ubiquitous Japanese Red Army wanted posters still seen throughout Japan, has died. One of three Japanese citizens who carried out the 1972 Lod Airport Massacre, in which 24 people (most of whom were Puerto Rican pilgrims) were killed, he was 78 years old.

The Odyssey doesn’t come to Japanese theaters until mid-September - but I just so happen to be in Peru, where I availed myself of the earlier release date. And yes, it was very worth it. The movie rocks.

Hola from Lima, Peru! My first time in South America. Here for a few days doing some research for an upcoming article/video - if anyone in la Comunidad peruano-japonesa would like to chat, send me a message!

In 2024, we reported on the passing of Masuyama Eiko, Nikaido's predecessor/successor in the role of Fujiko. (Masuyama played Fujiko in the 1969 Lupin pilot, and again from '77 to 2010.) We spoke of Nikaido as the last surviving link to the classic cast in our video tribute. youtu.be/OZFNNYVRLsQ

Farewell, Lupin the 3rd: The Passing of the Classic Voice Cast

YouTube video by Unseen Japan

youtu.be

And then there were none: the very last classic Lupin III main cast member has passed away. Nikaido Yukiko, the voice of femme fatal Fujiko in the original 1971 Lupin series, had spent the last 11 years in an elder care facility; her son has announced she passed on the 3rd of this month.

I'm happy to share my newest op-ed "Taiwan Believes Japan Will Help Defend Against China: Opinion polling shows that trust in Tokyo is surprisingly deep" with @poscwty1.bsky.social for @foreignpolicy.com! This is a gift link, so there is no paywall! 🧵 foreignpolicy.com/2026/07/07/c...

Taiwan Believes Japan Will Help Defend Against China

Opinion polling shows that trust in Tokyo is surprisingly deep.

foreignpolicy.com

The end of consensus reality, baby

Linda Holmes@lindaholmes.bsky.social · last mo.

Ha ha I hate it here

better a (paint)pig than a fascist

Very glad I’ve had a chance to visit Dug recently. Very few jazz kissa of its pedigree left, and tragic to hear that it’s closing not by the owner’s choice - but because its historic building is being demolished. Farewell to a Shinjuku icon.

See a side of Japan most tourists never discover. Unseen Japan Tours designs itineraries based on your interests and connects you with Japanese-fluent guides who can take you places non-Japanese speakers can't access. unseen-japan.com/unseen-japan...

Custom Japan Tours & Private Guides - Unseen Japan Tours

Custom Japan itineraries and expert private guides. Skip the crowds and see the authentic Japan most tourists miss.

unseen-japan.com

Mama" and "papa" are such ubiquitous parental terms in Japan that it's easy to forget they're foreign words - words the Japanese government once tried to ban. Learn how loan words came to dominate okaasan and otousan in our video on linguistic change and local backlash! youtu.be/T8ECZ-3HezY

How the Japanese Words for Parents Lost Out to English

YouTube video by Unseen Japan

youtu.be

Toho says it has no plans to actively introduce AI at this time. “Introducing AI will certainly lead to greater operational efficiency ... However, how to use it in the creative realm is a very troubling and difficult issue.” (via Nikkei Magazine) #Toho #Godzilla

People across the Kanto region were just startled awake by the screech of their phone earthquake warnings; a Shindo 6- earthquake had hit the Fuji Five Lakes region. Every time an earthquake hits that area, discussion starts anew about the threat of a Fuji eruption. youtu.be/ALsNI9HaL5g

The Last Time Mount Fuji Erupted - And What Might Happen Next

YouTube video by Unseen Japan

youtu.be

In 1853, Commodore Matthew C. Perry sailed into Japan on President Fillmore's orders to force the isolated nation to trade. For 14 years, it was the Shogun's samurai who dealt with the Americans, watching as the United States tore itself apart in civil war from 1861 to 1865.

How the Samurai Saw the U.S. Civil War - Unseen Japan

When the U.S. Civil War broke out in 1861, samurai still ruled Japan. How did the samurai - on the cusp of their own war - react?

unseen-japan.com

There was little alcohol in Postwar Tokyo, so black market hawkers sold bakudan, bootleg fuel cut with methanol that left drinkers blind or dead. Once literary hangout Bar Lupin scrounged up enough legitimate booze, it advertised with a pointed slogan: "At Lupin, you're safe."

Bar Lupin: Drink Where Japan's Modern Literary Masters Hung Out

In a Ginza basement, the bar Lupin has poured drinks since 1928 for Dazai, Ango, and Japan's literary greats. A visit to the watering hole where modern Japanese letters got delightfully drunk.

unseen-japan.com

Pretty big quake centering in Saitama. Nice big jolt here in central Tokyo.

Join us LIVE this morning as I talk with Jay Allen of @unseenjapan.com this morning at 9am on the Seek-Sustainable-Japan talkshow youtube.com/live/-V-FDiP...

150 years ago, Shinjuku - perhaps Tokyo's core - was a collection of fields around a samurai post town. Its claim to fame: the city dwellers its "rice serving women" attracted to its licentious inns. In some ways, little has changed. Learn more in vid on the history of Shinjuku! youtu.be/P5rIAFl1R_Y

How Tokyo's Shinjuku Became the World's Biggest Nightlife District

YouTube video by Unseen Japan

youtu.be

Kimono rental shops in Japan are drawing in foreign tourists. But are they legit? One of UJ's tour guides, herself a professional kimono stylist, explains the different kimono styles - and how to distinguish the authentic stores from the gaudy fast-fashion disasters.

Kimono Rental Shops in Japan: What's Real, What's Fake, & How Not to Get Swindled

Learn about the different types of kimono styles and how to tell serious, traditional shops apart from the TikTok trends.

unseen-japan.com

In English, words are rarely deleted from dictionaries. So why in 2021 did a Japanese dictionary publisher give 1,100 words the boot? How a tweet by a voice actress from Haruhi Suzumiya had our author digging into which Japanese words live and which ones die.

The "Dead" Slang Words a Japanese Dictionary Officially Killed

In English, words are rarely deleted from dictionaries. So why in 2021 did a Japanese dictionary publisher give 1,100 words the boot?

unseen-japan.com

Motivational Miyazaki #pixelart #art #animation #ghibli

Nuikatsu, the practice of photographing yourself with plush toys, is booming in Japan - and some restaurants don't like it. A pair of viral incidents online highlight the tensions involved when customers bring their favorite stuffed animals out to eat with them.

When Plushies Take a Seat: Japan's “Nuikatsu” Boom Collides With Restaurant Manners

A couple of viral incidents online highlight how some restaurants are struggling to handle customers bringing their stuffed +1s.

unseen-japan.com

Interesting seeing this book from 2011 on Japanese architecture describe the Mori tower megaprojects as akin to Trump Towers. They have some similarities - conspicuous internationalist structures that feel apart from their surrounding built environment. At least the Mori towers are less gaudy?

In 1990, Akiyama Toyohiro became the first Japanese astronaut and journalist in space. His first words on return? "I need a smoke so bad." Learn of a seminal moment in Japanese astronautics, and an unlikely astronaut who didn't exactly love the experience, in our video! youtu.be/s3lTfIyh_Es

The Japanese Astronaut Who Hated Space: Akiyama Toyohiro

YouTube video by Unseen Japan

youtu.be