Calendar sales of a certain foreign world leader are surpassing those of...
Perhaps even stranger still, this particular person has achieved an almost cult-like status among some Japanese women. No, the current leader in 2019 calendar sales at a popular chain store in Japan is...
View ArticleFilm about Japanese-Russian POW romance gets crowdfunding project for...
In an age fraught with international tensions, a new movie co-produced by Russia and Japan sends a powerful message that love transcends language and borders. A beautiful yet tragic love story has...
View ArticleIntroducing the Sailor Moon opening theme fan parody to conquer all...
French baguettes, garbage bags, and dozens of painted eggs are just some of the ingenious props used to get the job done in this golden anime spoof video. The opening notes of the Sailor Moon theme...
View ArticleBuy at least one of these Vladimir Putin calendars from Russia to start your...
Putin’s steely gaze will motivate you to work hard all year long! Happy New Year! Now that it’s January and we’ve left the romantic atmosphere of Christmas behind, it’s time for one thing and one thing...
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We buy Vladimir Putin chocolate from the Red Square Russian shop in Tokyo
President Putin chocolate is one of five recommended items you can buy at this specialty food store. It’s easy to come across “Western” or “ethnic” food stores in Japan, but what about those looking...
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Anime masterpiece Akira seemingly banned in Russia due to fears of mentally...
St. Petersburg doesn’t want people to watch Neo Tokyo EXPLODE. More than 30 years after its release, Akira is still widely considered a must-see both by serious anime enthusiasts and scholars of...
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Man claiming to be Russian who swam to Japan seeking asylum appears in...
What would drive someone to swim between countries? Shibetsu is a small fishing town on the east coast of Hokkaido with a population of only a few thousand people. It’s also one of the few corners of...
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Russian man who swam to Japan was reportedly kicked out of Japan in 2011 for...
The authorities probably know who he is, but now the question becomes what to do with him. About a week ago news broke about a mysterious man claiming to be a Russian who swam to the eastern Hokkaido...
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Russian defector claims to have swam for 23 hours to Japan because “sick of...
There’s “sick of” and then “swim for 23 hours in the ocean sick of.” On 22 August, a mysterious man appeared in the town of Shibetsu on the east coast of Hokkaido. He claimed to be a Russian national...
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Ukraine chapters from manga “If There Is Conflict, Call Hatta” released for...
The geopolitical series hopes to educate people on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 24 February, just as Russia was launched its invasion of Ukraine and people were trying to make sense of the...
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No, the Tokyo Skytree wasn’t lit in colors of Ukraine for solidarity…but...
Intentional or not, many still see color scheme as a sign of hope and encouragement. On Sunday night, the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo tweeted a photo of the Tokyo Skytree with the message “The Skytree...
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Rakuten CEO donates one billion yen to Ukrainian humanitarian relief
Says that “the trampling of a peaceful and democratic Ukraine by unjustified force is a challenge to democracy.” Hiroshi Mikitani is a man of many titles. He’s best known as the founder and CEO of...
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Studio Ghibli anime artist to sell artwork to support Ukraine
One of Japan’s leading art directors leads the way in raising funds for an issue that’s close to his heart. As the only country in the world to have experienced the devastation of a nuclear bomb —...
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Japan to accept Ukrainian refugees
Prime minister says he wants Japan to “respond as it should as quickly as possible.” Despite the geographic distance between Japan and Ukraine, the Russian invasion of the eastern European nation has...
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Russian Shop in Tokyo becomes target of vandalism after owner’s controversial...
Workers at the store send out a plea to the public. Russian shop “Aka no Hiroba” (“Red Square”) opened in Tokyo in February last year, and since then, they’ve been introducing locals to popular...
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Yokohama man arrested for stealing car navigation system, blames Vladimir Putin
Geopolitics is way more complex than I thought. At around noon on 30 March, someone in the Aoba Ward of Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, spotted a suspicious person rummaging through a parked...
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Japan Rail apologises for discrimination “misunderstanding” with Russian sign
Railway company’s dedication to customer service backfires, landing it in hot water instead. If there’s one thing Japan Rail prides itself on, it’s providing customers with excellent service. It’s...
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Japan’s prime minster should kill himself by seppuku, Russian politician says
”I can’t even comment on such delusion,” says security council deputy chairman, but still recommends ritual disembowelment. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with U.S. President Joe Biden at...
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We investigate a block of abandoned Russian territory in Nagasaki
And in Soviet Nagasaki, the block investigates us! Generally, when someone says “there’s a little slice of Russia” in their neighborhood, they’re talking about an authentic restaurant or marketplace....
View ArticleAnime at the World Cup — Fans bond after Japan-Senegal match by singing One...
”You wanna be my friend?” the songs asks, and the answer seems to be “Yes!” Along with exciting on-the-field action at the World Cup, including a historic win by the Japanese team, we’ve been seeing...
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