bidet converts say they’re never going back

 

An 'exvangelical' on loving, leaving and reporting on the culture of Christianity

 

Remembering Akira Toriyama

Remembering Akira Toriyama

Akira Toriyama, one of Japan’s leading comics authors, helped bring anime to the rest of the world. He died this month at 68.

Toriyama was most famous for “Dragon Ball,” a manga and anime franchise that earned global success. The series, known for its comedic characters and martial arts battles, follows a young boy named Son Goku, who embarks on a journey to collect seven magical orbs that summon a wish-granting dragon.

“Goku is Toriyama’s greatest creation,” our critic Maya Phillips writes in an appraisal of his work. “He’s timeless and he’s unbeatable.”

A “Dragon Ball Z” booth at New York Comic Con in October. Charles Sykes/Invision, via Associated Press

Japan Issues Tsunami Warnings After Powerful Earthquake

 

Yusuke Fukuhara/Yomiuri Shimbun, via, Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Japan Issues Tsunami Warnings After Powerful Earthquake

Officials ordered evacuations and said that some people were trapped under collapsed buildings after a quake struck western Japan.

Follow live updates

Sukeban, a new women’s wrestling league

Sukeban, a new women’s wrestling league featuring Japanese performers, is the first of its kind in the U.S. It was inspired by the female gangs of the 1960s and 1970s that helped to bring feminism to the fore in Japan. Fashion plays a key role in the league, and organizers hope the flashy costumes will help the sport to appeal to an audience unfamiliar with it.

A Sukeban performance in Miami earlier this month. Martina Tuaty for The New York Times

An aging population challenges Japan’s military

An aging population challenges Japan’s military

Facing security threats from China and North Korea, Japan has committed to raising military spending by about 60 percent over the next five years, which would give it the third-largest defense budget in the world. But its shrinking, aging population makes it hard to recruit soldiers.

The number of active personnel in the country’s armed forces is nearly 10 percent lower than it was in 1990. To expand the overall ranks, the chairman of Japan’s joint staff said the Self-Defense Forces should increase the proportion of women to 12 percent, from less than 8 percent, by 2030.

Continue reading the main story

Mooneyes Hot Rod Custom Show 2023

If you do enjoy a slight change of pace from the usual array of JDMs I present here on the channel, you'll love my yearly pilgrimage to Mooneyes' Hot Rod Custom Show. I've been covering the set up day of this event every year since 2009 for Speedhunters, a big favorite of mine as I get to see these rare customs and one off creations move around as they get positioned in their displays. Hearing them really adds a whole different vibe to the show and it's visually one of the coolest events in Japan. 

 

 

How to Hijack a Quarter of a Million Dollars in Rare Japanese Kit Kats

 

China Is Building A $5BN Railway Tunnel Across the Himalayas!

A ruling in Japan advances transgender rights

 

Japan’s Supreme Court hearing the gender change case in Tokyo last month.Jiji Press, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A ruling in Japan advances transgender rights

Japan’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously yesterday that requiring transgender people to undergo sterilization in order to legally change their gender identity was unconstitutional. Activists welcomed the ruling as a step forward for L.G.B.T.Q. rights in a nation that has been slow to recognize them.

Still, the court did not rule on a separate requirement that transgender people must undergo transition surgery in order to legally register as the gender with which they identify. In practice, that means many transgender people will still be unable to make the legal change. The top court said it would send the case back to the High Court for further discussion of the transition surgery clause.