Nipponica

Shun Nakaoka, a transgender lawyer, suffered repeated losses in her battle against Japan’s judicial system, but she refused to give up.

The fight reflected much of what she has gone through in her life.

A story of a great person that continuously fights for the rights of the marginalized. Japan has made some progress in LGBT and specifically trans rights, but there is so much more to go.

"How should we line up today?" "In order of beauty!" The "Grand Cheer Stars" team members and staff were joking around, and the atmosphere was bright. The participants, wearing blonde wigs and polka-dot outfits, are mainly in their 60s, and include those currently working as caregivers, hospitality workers, and child care workers. In dance, age or status don't matter, and the members call each other by self-chosen nicknames such as "Charlotte," "Heidi" and "Clara."

A light hearted story after a weekend of bleakness. Let's all be as active and carefree as these ladies when we reach their age, as long as the oceans can be held back (sorry, bleakness briefly returned).

As of Oct. 1, 2023, there were an estimated 5 million Nikkei around the world, according to the Foreign Ministry. About 3 million of that number lived in South America. By country, Brazil was home to the most, at about 2.7 million Nikkei, followed by 1.5 million in the United States, 200,000 in Peru, 120,000 in Canada and 100,000 in Australia. The Nikkei population in Paraguay, where Kishida visited in May, stood at about 10,000.

Needless to say, each Nikkei person has a personal history that can never be completely told and that has led them to where they are today. When we think about bilateral relations with foreign countries that have accepted immigrants from Japan, we should not forget the role Nikkei have played in fostering those relationships.

A short introduction to the Japanese communities of nikkei that exist around the world, including specifically Brazil and Paraguay in this article. They seem largely forgotten by the residents of their mother country but play an important part in fostering Japanese culture outside the Home Islands.

Like many people juggling long hours at work, Chiharu Shimoda sought companionship via a dating app. For two months, he exchanged messages with five or six potential partners, but it was not long before he was seeking out just one – a 24-year-old named Miku. Three months later, they got married. The catch: Miku is an AI bot. And Shimoda knew that from day one.

The 52-year-old factory worker is one of more than 5,000 users of Loverse, a year-old app that allows interaction only with generative artificial intelligence. Shimoda is also among a much bigger cohort of people in Japan who have either given up or are wary about the messiness and uncertainty that come with real romance.

I'm a bit torn on this. I am happy that people who would otherwise be lonely have a technology-based solution to make them feel better. But, in an already fractured society (not just in Japan, but worldwide) this is only going to keep people apart even more. Seems like we are solving for the wrong variables in this blatant capitalist push to get people hooked on a product that is designed to exploit emotion.

The annex, once busy as a public bathhouse, was closed in 1973 due to ageing and a decline in visitors caused by the closure of the Kishima Coal Mine and the spread of home baths. It was restored to its original state in 2003, housing bathrooms with colorful decorative majolica tiles and a bath said to have been built for Emperor Taisho (1879-1926).

Some beautiful architecture at this onsen in Saga.

The vice governor of the western Japan prefecture of Hyogo said Friday that he will resign over the death of a prefectural government official who created and distributed a document about alleged harassment and other problems with Governor Motohiko Saito.

Vice Governor Yasutaka Katayama submitted a letter of resignation on Friday and will leave office at the end of this month. Since assuming his current post in 2021, Katayama has been supporting the 46-year-old governor.

Following on from the initial story, the Vice Governor is taking the fall for the alleged harassment that led to the death of a prefectural employee. Governor Saito refused to resign.

A Japanese high court on Wednesday approved an official gender change for a transgender woman who has not undergone confirmation surgery as legally required, in a rare decision.

The clause requiring gender confirmation surgery is "suspected of being unconstitutional" as it forces an individual to choose between undergoing surgery or giving up on gender change, the Hiroshima High Court said.

One more step. Also major props to all these Japanese courts that have been delivering similar ruling and pressuring the central government to act and legalized LGBT rights nationwide.

Saito's refusal came after the prefectural employee union submitted a complaint to the prefectural government earlier on Wednesday effectively demanding his resignation over the death of the official.

The late official, a former head of a regional branch of the prefectural government, created a document claiming that gifts from Hyogo Prefecture companies are piled up at the governor's home and that his power harassment is exceeding what officials can handle.

Pretty damning accusations by the union and the official that passed away.

In an effort to support local and surrounding residents who wish to get married, this north Japan city has opened an online marriage support center. The service is like a local government-run "dating app," so to speak, and requires an interview and photo ID to join.

A city official in charge of the service said, "We hope that many men and women will use this service as it provides a safe and secure environment for their partner hunting activities." According to the Sapporo Municipal Government, this is the first such service among local governments in Hokkaido.

Insert Grindr joke here.

The local government in Japan’s Yamagata prefecture has just passed an ordinance calling on residents to laugh at least once every day to promote better physical and mental health, although the new law has gone down like a bad joke in some quarters.

Put forward by members of the normally strait-laced Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and passed on Friday, the ordinance encourages local residents to snigger, chortle or guffaw daily and asks business operators to “develop a workplace environment that is filled with laughter,” the Yomiuri newspaper reported.