Chinese netizens are apparently up in arms about Japan. Plus ça change. Only this time it’s not a territorial incursion or some ojisan politico putting his foot in it. No, the Chinese are angry about a woman. She’s not hot enough. Iira Hongo is Japan’s official entry in the Miss International 2014 competition, a beauty…

If you’re a fan of the zettai ryouiki, the tantalizing area of the upper thigh that is such a preoccupation of moe culture, then you might want to check out this new clothing that particularly highlights the flesh in the “absolute zone”. Developed by Kiyoyuki Amano of Kayac Inc, the “flashing skirt” takes a Hatsune…

This song became quite a talking point earlier in the year. A user called Toy Ron uploaded it to YouTube at the end of the year. If you didn’t see the title of the video you might be forgiven for thinking it is just an unusual drum and bass track. But this is a blog…

What really goes on inside those koban police boxes? Now we know. Four male and female police officers have been punished for sexually harassing a female officer, with the quartet resigning as of the end of the month. The goings-on took place in Adachi Ward in east Tokyo. A male police sergeant would take advantage…

… is the implication we can draw from data recently released by Hakuhodo as part of its Seikatsu Teiten project, an overview of survey data collected biennially on households on a range of questions. The results show some trends and changes in the national psyche, though interestingly this one, responding to the statement “I don’t…

They were clever and went to some sneaky ways to satisfy their fetish. But they were caught and now they have been punished. Four men, including Yuki Suzuki (41), have been arresting for illegally entering a warehouse in Koto ward in east Tokyo to photograph girls from behind while they peed. The woman who got…

Onna no ko Kurabu (Girls’ Club) is where the action’s at if you want an easy way to sample Japanese cross-dressing subculture. Man or woman, you can go to the club — currently one in Tokyo, with a new club in Osaka’s down-and-dirty Dotonbori district from December 1st — to try on girls’ clothing. The…

Our favorite fashion designer of the moment, Gomi Hayakawa (of feast, the lingerie for flat-chested girls, fame), has come up with a great combination of two great things: Tenga and coffee. She has come up with a “tumbler” in the Tenga onacup color — tongue in cheek, of course, and without official endorsement from either…

A man in his late thirties living in Tokyo earlier this year sued AKS, the company that manages AKB48, as well as King Records (AKB’s record label), and Google Japan for “nonfulfillment of financial obligations” after he had been denied the chance to shake hands with his favorite idol, Karen Iwata. The verdict on the…

We’re on a bit of a cross-dressing roll at the moment. After blogging about a major new josou club and bar in Osaka we now want to introduce a new photography exhibition at Ginza’s Vanilla Gallery. It features portraits Tachibana has made over six years of newhalf (shemales) and josou cross-dressers. The exhibition is called…