On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, journalist Justic McCurry talks about his new book The War on Wheels: Inside the Keirin and Japan’s Cycling Subculture. About Justin McCurry Justin McCurry is the Japan anc Korea correspondent for The Guardian. He is also the author of the new book The War on Wheels: Inside the Keirin and Japan’s Cycling Subculture (Pegasus …

Whoops… Normally, a member of the yakuza losing a finger is not particularly noteworthy. After all, cutting off one’s finer to make amends for an action that has brought shame to one’s group is perhaps one of the most well know yakuza customs around. However, an 80-year-old man claiming to be a member of a Japanese organized crime group has …

There’s nothing like watching a guy without a pinky make cotton candy for you. Up until relatively recently Halloween wasn’t all that big a deal in Japan. However, over the course of the past decade or so this seems to have dramatically changed. And perhaps there is no better evidence of this than a Halloween-themed event held this week by …