Lifestyle May 3, 2014

Japan inked: Should the country reclaim its tattoo culture?

Tattooing is the most misunderstood form of art in contemporary Japan.

Lifestyle May 3, 2014

Japan's solitary ode to ink

Exhibits on display at the Yokohama Tattoo Museum suggest the goverment's view of body ink is out of touch with reality

Lifestyle Apr 19, 2014

Cannabis: the fabric of Japan

As counterculture groups around the world celebrate annual April 20 marijuana festivals, we examine the country's historical and cultural links to the much-maligned weed.

Lifestyle Apr 19, 2014

Cannabis: the healing of the nation

Every summer in Hokkaido and northern Honshu, platoons of police and public servants scour the countryside for cannabis. For a nation well-known for its strict drug laws, the plants are remarkably easy to find. In an average year, patrols discover between 1 million and 2 ...

Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Mar 17, 2014

U.S. military report suggests cover-up over toxic pollution in Okinawa

Perhaps the most serious concern raised in the internal U.S. military report is the fear that PCB contamination at Kadena — if made public — would prompt demands for widespread tests on other U.S. bases.

Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Mar 17, 2014

Ailing U.S. veteran wins payout over Agent Orange exposure in Okinawa

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has granted compensation to another former service member for exposure to Agent Orange while stationed in Okinawa during the Vietnam War era, despite U.S. denials that the defoliant was ever present there.

Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Mar 3, 2014

Loved abroad, hated at home: The art of Japanese tattooing

The perception gap between international views of irezumi and those of Japanese people dates back more than 150 years, to when foreigners first laid eyes on Japanese tattoos. Since that time, however, Japanese tattooists have influenced their foreign counterparts in remarkable ways — and ...

Voices | VIEWS FROM THE STREET Mar 3, 2014

Tokyo: What's the story behind your tattoo?

Some foreign residents spill the stories behind their ink.

National Feb 1, 2014

Fears widen over Kadena toxins

Just days after the commander of U.S. Kadena Air Base, near the city of Okinawa, promised parents their children's schools were safe from dioxin contamination, a further 50 chemical barrels have been unearthed from adjacent land and a retired U.S. Air Force major has ...