Society | Page 5

Japan's 'evaporated' people: Inside an industry that helps people disappear
South China Morning Post - Mar 19
In Japan, as some 80,000 people go missing every year, according to data from the National Police Agency. Some are later found, but others vanish completely, becoming what’s described as an "evaporated person" or johatsu-sha.

Doomsday prepping in Japan: Inside one woman’s living-room bunker
SBS - Mar 19
Tokyo residents are being told to prepare for X Day. That’s the day when a potential massive earthquake could strike the city.

Teenage girl arrested after saying she strangled man in central Japan
Kyodo - Mar 18
A teenage girl was arrested on Saturday for allegedly killing a man at a hotel in Toyama Prefecture in central Japan, police said.

How do so many endangered creatures end up in Japan’s animal cafes?
nytimes.com - Mar 18
Critically endangered species and ones banned from international trade are among the hundreds of types birds, reptiles and mammals that researchers identified at 142 animal cafes.

Japan prosecutors charge 3 ex-SDF officers with indecent assault
NHK - Mar 18
Japanese prosecutors have charged three former members of the Ground Self-Defense Force with indecent assault of a female colleague, reversing a previous decision not to indict them.

Court orders Japan govt. to recognize lesbian Uganda refugee fleeing persecution
NHK - Mar 16
A district court in Osaka, western Japan, has ordered the central government to grant refugee status to a Ugandan woman who says she fled to Japan as she was persecuted for being homosexual.

The Dark Secret Behind Japan's 0% Homelessness Rate
Explained with Dom - Mar 15
In the many ways that Japan stands out, there is one particular thing that makes it completely unique. Despite having a population of 125 million people, it is the only country in the world that has a homeless population rate of almost 0%, something that was previously considered impossible.

The Cult Behind Japan’s Deadliest Terrorist Attack
VICE - Mar 14
Aum Shinrikyo. A doomsday cult responsible for one of the deadliest attacks in Japanese history.

Japanese woman groped in viral Holi video breaks silence: ‘I love everything about India’
yahoo.com - Mar 14
A Japanese woman at the center of a disturbing video that shows her being nonconsensually groped by a group of males in New Delhi, India, has spoken out after the terrifying encounter.

Japan grants long-term visa to gay U.S. man wed to Japanese
Japan Today - Mar 14
Japan has granted a long-term visa to an American man who married his same-sex Japanese partner in the United States, in what his representative called on Monday a "breakthrough" move in a country that does not recognize same-sex marriage.

Tokyo court orders retrial of 1966 quadruple murder case
Kyodo - Mar 13
A Tokyo court ordered Monday that the case against a former professional boxer, who was sentenced to death over a 1966 quadruple murder case in Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan, be retried.

Kenzaburo Oe, Japanese Nobel literature laureate, dies at 88
Nikkei - Mar 13
Japanese novelist Kenzaburo Oe, winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Literature who was also known as a campaigner for the pacifist Constitution and against nuclear power, has died of old age, publisher Kodansha said Monday. He was 88.

Ex-head of inn with bacteria exceeding limit dies in apparent suicide
Kyodo - Mar 12
The former head of the operator of a southwestern Japan inn, who came under fire for only changing hot spring bathwater twice a year, allowing legionella bacteria to proliferate beyond the allowable limit, has died in a suspected suicide, police said Sunday.

Japan's great quake: 12 years later, 30,000 still unable to go home
Nikkei - Mar 11
More than 30,000 Japanese remain displaced after a major earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan 12 years ago on Saturday, even as some of the worst affected areas reopen to former residents.

60-year-old Japanese laundromat owner fights panty thief half his age, almost gets run over
soranews24.com - Mar 11
Thief tells owner what he’s doing in “none of your concern,” but brave senior disagrees.

Hot spring inn in western Japan searched over alleged poor sanitary practices
NHK - Mar 10
Police in Fukuoka Prefecture, western Japan, have searched a traditional Japanese inn over suspected poor sanitary practices for its hot spring bath.