JONAR COWAN WRITES — In Japan, with the pandemic at hand, many businesses are slowing down and closing down. And as more family-owned businesses and restaurants are closing down, one form of entertainment is doubly impacted: Arcade centers like Sega, which has to sell around 85 percent of their arcade business…
Asia Media International podcast on Chinese Feminism Podcast Transcript: Cristina Pedler: Hello, and welcome to Asia Media International podcast. I’m your host, Cristina Pedler. Thank you for joining us. In today’s episode, we are going to dive into the world of #MeToo in China. I’ll discuss how internet censorship hasn’t…
JAMES HANSON WRITES — How important is your surname to you? Mari Inoue and Kotaro Usui, a Tokyo couple, were denied a marriage certificate during the pandemic because Mari Inoue wanted to keep her legal surname. Article 750 of Japan’s Civil Code requires that married couples adopt the same surname. In…
ALEX DASHWOOD WRITES — Students from China who have received degrees in higher education overseas—a phenomenon that was promoted as being a leg-up in the job market in China—are currently facing employment struggles in their home country. These graduates are known as “sea turtles,” and are “Chinese people who have…
YOLANDA NOSAKHARE WRITES — Imagine your favorite “Star Wars” film mating with the “Wizard of Oz” in the year 2092- quite an interesting concept, right? Director Jo Sung-Hee seamlessly accomplishes this with his new sci-fi-thriller “Space Sweepers.” While the Korean film came out February 5th of this year, it is…
AUDIE LAYARDA WRITES — In December 2020, word of forced labor, among other atrocities, in Xinjiang, China, surfaced. While forced labor in China isn’t new, the fact that the Xinjiang region supplies 20% of the world’s cotton pressured powerful figures to make statements. Amid allegations of torture and rape, the…
SHAE KUROKAWA WRITES — The Tokyo Summer Olympics is quickly approaching, with less than 100 days before its expected commencement on July 23. But the world is starting to question whether the long-anticipated games will be able to proceed on schedule as COVID-19 cases are on the rise. Talk of…
MANAGING EDITOR ZHI JIAO DANIELLE GOH WRITES — Dumping radioactive water into the ocean. Is this the making of a sequel to “Godzilla vs. Kong,” the surprise success film of the pandemic era? No. To everyone’s disappointment, this plot will be executed in reality. After 10 years of the Fukushima…
RYAN FRAZEE WRITES — Tik Tok is democratizing Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) at a rapid rate. The hashtag #traditionalchinesemedicine has over 19 million views. If you look it up, you will find accessible home remedies like gua sha, moxibustion, and acupressure for a wide array of physical and mental health…
CLAIRE GUTE WRITES — The highly anticipated 2020 Summer Olympics will be held in Tokyo, Japan, following the postponement last year due to Covid-19. The games are set to occur between July 23 to August 8, with the first ever surfing competition at Tsurigasaki Beach in Ichinomiya, just 62 miles…
NICOLAS PAPA WRITES — The launch of Japanese tech giant Sony’s newest video game system, the Playstation 5, in November of last year was quite possibly the most eagerly anticipated console launch in video game history. Sony’s Playstation console series dominates the video game market, with its previous four iterations…
CADY ABE WRITES- On Sunday, March 28th, MAPPA animation studio released the last episode of the first half of Attack on Titan’s fourth and final season. Attack on Titan, a manga (comic book) turned anime that first aired in 2013, is currently the best-known anime in Japan. In addition, it…
VALERIA GURROLA WRITES — Jang Yeong-jin has found love as a gay man nearly twenty-five years after his escape from North Korea. He first made international headlines in 2015 with A Mark of Red Honor’s release, his memoir about living as an openly gay defector in South Korea. In the…
TOKYO (excerpted from Nikkei Asia) — Nomura Holdings on Monday warned of a potentially hefty loss at one of its U.S. subsidiaries after the Japanese financial services company and global peers were caught up in a share selloff on Friday involving an American investment firm. Nomura’s shares closed down 16.33%…
JAMES HANSON WRITES — Despite being an important industrial nation and beacon of democracy in Asia, Japan still does not recognize same-sex unions. Since 2019, 13 same-sex couples have filed ongoing lawsuits against Japanese city governments, including Tokyo, Sapporo and Osaka. These cases triggered a wave of same-sex couples in…
DANIEL SEUNG TAK OH WRITES – The Dalai Lama is often seen as the face of peace, love, and compassion in the West. To the Tibetan people, he is the vanguard of their national identity and a living buddha. However, to the Chinese he is a dangerous demon, or as…
