A Small Love Story: The World of Mameban Shunga is a new exhibition of erotic prints in Tokyo.
It focuses on mameban (literally, "bean format") shunga, referring to palm-sized prints that were distributed privately in the form of pictorial calendars and given to people like greeting cards. It is the world's first such showcase of shunga in this format, and features around 300 examples.
"These palm-sized prints contain intimate, humorous, and tender love stories," the organizers say. "Though small in scale, they are rich in expression."
The exhibition runs, aptly, from Valentine's Day on ...
A college student. A pachinko parlor worker. A hostess. An influencer. What do all these young Japanese women have in common?
While not as famous (or perhaps infamous) as a place like South Korea, plastic surgery is not uncommon in Japan among models, idols, and porn stars, and also sex workers and social media influencers.
Some female celebrities spend millions of yen on multiple surgeries, though few admit it.
Which is why it tends to make the news when someone does break the taboo and talk about this industry secret.
On a recent edition of the Abema TV show Hyena of Love Season 5, ...
Who watches the watchers?
While the regular cop in his koban substation on your local street corner seems like a friendly and useful member of the community (and for the most part, is), police officers are human beings, and so subject to temptation like the rest of us.
According to a report in the Yomiuri Shimbun, the National Police Agency announced on February 5 that the number of police officers and staff members nationwide who received disciplinary action last year rose to 337, an increase of 98 from the previous year, and the highest number in the past 10 years.
Of the 337 officers, ...
The morning-after pill is finally available in Japan after years of campaigning and a trial roll-out in 2023.
The pill (NorLevo, made by ASKA Pharmaceuticals) is available to purchase over the counter since February 2 at pharmacies in Japan, priced ¥7,480 per pill. A prescription is not required but you must buy the emergency contraceptive pill in person (no online sales allowed).
It's needed in a country where unprotected sex is arguably the norm (as the number of shotgun marriages attests, as does the recent prevalence of syphilis), much to the chagrin of Japan's superb condom ...
The model Nana Suzuki has made a big confession to the whole nation: she hasn't had sex since her divorce four years ago.
In fact, since couples are generally not intimate with each other in the period leading up to a breakup, perhaps especially a divorce, she's probably been celibate for even longer.
She made the confession on a TV show, My Love Hell, on January 29 in which she chatted with former porn star Mihiro and model (and close friend) Tsubasa Masuwaka -- all divorcees.
When Mihiro said she had had only one romance since her divorce seven years ago, Suzuki suddenly went further. ...
It was a rather sad and pitiful end for such a large enterprise. The Marin chain of soaplands came to end on January 30, announced by just a single message on the app LINE.
The chain of around 30 soaplands was run by Morishita Group, a giant in the nightlight and adult services sector in Japan with huge interests in Kabukicho, Shinjuku. This included soaplands in Ikebukuro and Kabukicho, such as the foreigner-friendly soapland Barubola. The Marin Palace (also known as Marin Blue or Marin Mito) was probably the best-known location, renowned for its luxurious-looking and kitsch facilities. It ...
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has called a snap election for February and Japan's crowded political landscape is scrambling to catch up. As always, we can expect some wacky candidates from the fringe parties and some crazy attention-seeking stunts.
There are always a few celebrities who throw their proverbial hats into the rings too.
While she's not a celebrity, music idol Nana Matsuura quit her group, dela, and agency last week to contest a seat in the election.
Matsuura is running as a candidate for the Japan Innovation Party (Ishin), which is a conservative party with a very strong ...
Marriage counseling company Presia found that 70% of married Japanese women regret marrying their husbands, according to results in a survey report announced on January 7.
And the reason they regret their marriages? It's not what you might immediately think: appearance and fashion actually came in as the top results when polled on things they were willing to compromise on when selecting their partner. So if they didn't really mind too much what hubby looks like, why do they now regret marrying him?
Low income. This ranked by far the highest among the results when women were asked what they ...
A major part of the appeal of events like the Tokyo Game Show and various car events is getting to see the slinkily dressed booth babes, known collectively as "companions" in Japanese. They stand at the promotional area, handing out flyers or otherwise attracting attention to the display with their bodies.
Sure, it's a deeply dated and sexist marketing technique, but it works, and the booth babes have developed their own fandom, with many attendees coming just for them. A small minority of companions even manage to move into gravure modeling, like Kanami Takasaki.
But like with cosplayers ...
And she's back. Just weeks after she was forced to resign over a sex scandal, Akira Ogawa has won re-election as mayor of Maebashi in Gunma.
Ogawa resigned in late November after a series of love hotel trysts with an older, married city worker were exposed by a tabloid scoop.
The 42-year-old Ogawa tried to claim the hotel meetings with the 54-year-old subordinate were just that, meetings related to work, but the public was unconvinced, and both she and the unnamed senior male civil servant resigned their positions. We speculated at the time that her career was then over, but she clearly had ...
