How to deal with depopulation in rural areas? This question has been haunting Japanese regional governments for decades now. Above all, not only do they need to encourage the people who move away to major urban centers for work to return, they really need to target younger people with families. Because above all, these areas…

Say the word “feminist” to a young Japanese guy and you may be surprised by the negative reaction you get. This is partly because the word in Japanese has a stronger connotation, implying what we might call a radical feminist in English. Nonetheless, anti-feminist attitudes can be surprisingly ingrained. And while we might ascribe this…

A survey has found that the number of high school students who have never kissed someone had increased. The numbers of high schoolers with experience of kissing or sex is now around half of what it was in the early 2000s. The Japanese Association for Sex Education’s survey, which it carries out diligently every six…

A 31-year-old Pakistani man has been arrested for sexual assault on a female high school student on a train near Takao, West Tokyo. Muhammad Afzal is accused of sexually assaulting a schoolgirl as the second grader slept on a train on the JR Chuo Line in August, and then of taking her to a nearby…

When we look back to those first generations of AKB48 in the late 2000s, it almost seems like carefree halcyon days when the nastiness of Japan’s idol industry — which we all knew was there — was not the dominant talking point in the discourse, and everywhere we went we saw ads featuring the young…

Top model and actress Haruka Ayase is reportedly dating a much younger male singer and actor. According to tabloid reports, Ayase (39) is in a relationship with Jesse Lewis (28), who, despite the name, is a Japanese singer with the group SixTones. The pair reportedly visited Las Vegas together this month. Lewis’s father is from…

Back in May, we reported on the shocking arrest of the incredibly popular Japanese OnlyFans adult creator Naomiii. The performer was likely a victim of her own success, which got her noticed by authorities and who found a way to nab her on obscenity charges. The 32-year-old adored by millions for her sensually curvy body…

Once again, Tokyo Kinky’s team was sadly prevented from attending in person due to unavoidable schedule clashes, but the 26th edition of Japan’s largest fetish event, FetiFes, took place on September 15. The biannual event features vendors, talks, and performances by various kinds of idols and fetish artists, from newbies to industry veterans. It’s a…

With all the negative news about hosts right now (especially related to the way that the clubs leave clients in debt and some even force vulnerable women into prostitution), the industry needs some good news. But this might still be bad news for the flamboyant guys. How come? Because it seems that some of the…

A love hotel in Ikebukuro has partnered with a Chinese restaurant, with the result that the ground floor has an eatery and then accommodation for couples on the floors above. The novel combo has attracted attention from netizens, both Japanese and foreign. It makes sense, in some ways, since Ikebukuro is known for its population…