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Former Ghibli producer has (somewhat) harsh words about the Ghibli working environment

Mike
Aug 4, 2016
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Former Ghibli producer Hirokatsu Kihara gave an interview with Dazed magazine, and some of his insights paint the famous studio in a negative light.

Japan
(anime • controversy • Hayao Miyazaki • Studio Ghibli)

Korean voice actress loses job after tweeting picture of herself wearing feminist T-shirt

Scott Wilson
Jul 20, 2016

South Korea acting a little like its neighbor to the north.

Korea
(controversy • feminism • MMORPG • voice actors • voice actresses • women • women's rights)

Babymetal shows maturity as rude U.K. award presenter repeatedly interrupts speech 【Video】

Casey Baseel
Jun 13, 2016

When a teenage girl from a band with “baby” in its name does a better job of acting like an adult than you do, you might want to work on your manners.

Entertainment, Europe, Japan, Music
(Babymetal • controversy • J-Pop • music • video)

Ghibli producer provokes backlash for comment regarding abilities of women to direct anime

Casey Baseel
Jun 9, 2016

Producer of When Marnie Was There pontificates on psychological differences between men and women.

Anime & Manga, Entertainment, Japan
(anime • controversy • movies • Studio Ghibli • When Marnie Was There)

Japanese Netizens weigh in on Cincinnati Zoo’s killing of Harambe the gorilla

Mike
Jun 3, 2016

We comb Japanese comments and interview some native Japanese to see what The Incident That Exploded The Internet has people here saying.

Culture, USA
(Cincinnati • controversy • Harambe • zoos)

Americans show support to Okinawa after murder, locals ask “Why doesn’t Japanese news show this?”

Scott Wilson
May 31, 2016

Many Americans are showing up to support Okinawa, but Japan isn’t talking about them.

Japan
(controversy • crime • military • Okinawa • U.S. military base)

Pokémon politics: Proposed Pikachu name-change sparks protests in Hong Kong 【Video】

Casey Baseel
May 31, 2016

Pikachu and Nintendo find themselves in the middle of a cultural controversy in Hong Kong.

Anime & Manga, China, Games & Tech
(anime • controversy • linguistics • nintendo • Pikachu • Pokemon • protest • video)

Chinese ad for laundry detergent is remarkably racist

Master Blaster
May 27, 2016

Qiaobi detergent promises to fight stains and wash away any faith in humanity you might be feeling at the moment.

China, Italy
(advertisements • Coloreria • controversy • Qiaobi • racism • video)

Japanese travel provider under fire for guaranteeing flyers would sit next to a college girl

Casey Baseel
May 12, 2016

Backlash is swift for plan which offered in-flight companionship from one of five young, intelligent women.

Japan
(airplanes • beautiful women • controversy • Tokyo University • travel)

Blink and you’ll miss what riled racists in this Japanese McDonald’s ad 【Video】

Casey Baseel
Apr 8, 2016

Turns out the ethnically intolerant are also sometimes sticklers for proper manners.

Internet, Japan
(ad • bowing • controversy • McDonald's • video)

Busty Digimon anime figure not child-friendly enough for the West, now barred from sale overseas

Casey Baseel
Feb 26, 2016

Once again, boobs block the path between Japan and the West.

Canada, Europe, Japan, USA
(anime • controversy • Digimon • figures • toys • video games)

International students at Ohio university call cafeteria’s foreign fare culturally insensitive

Meg Murphy
Dec 25, 2015

Food fight! Are these foods cultural adaptations, or abominations? Students take up issue with their university’s menu.

USA
(controversy • culture • food • university)

Bumper crop of anime boobs toned down in rural community’s local tourism poster

Casey Baseel
Dec 8, 2015

Tourism association makes change in response to complaints that original poster was inappropriate.

Japan
(anime • controversy • Gifu • No-rin • stamp rally • tourism • travel)

Singapore retailer a contender for “Worst Ad Campaign Ever” title after Black Friday rape gaffe

KK Miller
Dec 3, 2015

A retailer in Singapore swung and completely missed with their advertisement that was trying to catch some of the Black Friday shopping buzz.

Internet, SE Asia
(advertising • Black Friday • controversy • shopping • SuperGurl)

Japanese idol unit plans concert for men only, draws complaints from women’s organization

Casey Baseel
Oct 14, 2015

The city of Dazaifu, located in Fukuoka Prefecture, has a couple of nice cultural sites, such as the Tenmangu Shinto shrine and Komyozenji Buddhist temple. It’s pretty short on modern, youth-oriented attractions, though, so many of the city’s younger residents were probably thrilled when they heard that Momoiro Clover Z, one of Japan’s most popular idol units, would be holding a concert in their relatively sleepy town.

Many of them were less thrilled, though, when it was announced that the concert would be held only for male fans, a decision that’s drawn complaints from a local women’s group.

Japan
(concert • controversy • Idols • J-Pop • Momoiro Clover Z • music)

How do people in Japan feel about eating whale? We asked five people for their opinions

Casey Baseel
Oct 6, 2015

If you hail from one of the many developed nations that comprehensively frowns on the practice of whaling, you may have the image that an appalling number of people in Japan eat whale meat. And while that may be true in relative terms compared to extremely low number of people who regularly eat whale meat in several parts of North America and Europe, whaling can be a divisive topic even within Japan. Some Japanese have no problem with dining on whale from time to time, treating it like just a meatier, gamier fish. Others think eating whale is a custom that’s long past its time and needs to be rethought.

To get a preliminary understanding of some of the many different opinions on the issue that exist in the country, we interviewed a number of Japanese people and asked them whether they were in favor of or opposed to whaling and eating whale meat.

Japan
(controversy • culture • food • interview • whales • whaling)

Erotic manga reimagining Doraemon as robot shaped like underage girl comes to premature end

Casey Baseel
Aug 12, 2015

Remember that manga we talked about a while back which was a thinly veiled erotic retelling of beloved children’s story Doraemon? Or, perhaps more specifically, have you been unable to completely repress the memory and knowledge that it exists?

Nozoemon, which prominently featured an android of the same name that looked like an elementary school girl and whose moniker and design were clearly inspired by robot cat, was sure to be a decisive work. But while controversy can help generate attention and sales, it’s generally a good idea to keep the publisher on your side. Nozoemon, though, wasn’t able to do that, and it looks like the “Slightly Fakkin’” (the manga’s words, not ours) tale has come to an abrupt end.

Japan
(anime • controversy • Doraemon • manga • parodies • weird)

Could the 2020 Tokyo Olympics logo possibly be plagiarized?

Jamie Koide
Jul 30, 2015

Last Friday the logo was revealed for Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It was received with mixed reviews, with many of the opinion that the aesthetic thought that went into the logo wasn’t quite as deep as the message behind it.

As if there wasn’t already enough debate about the execution of the logo design itself, now there are rumors that the design could possibly be a plagiarization of the work of French designer Oliver Debie.

Japan
(2020 Olympics • controversy • design • logos • Tokyo Olympics)

Monkey princess? Debate erupts over Japanese zoo naming baby macaque after new British princess

Casey Baseel
May 7, 2015

Japan’s always had a soft spot for the dashing, regal couple of the U.K.’s Prince William and wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. The warmhearted admiration got kicked up a notch when the prince (who’s also a duke, just for good measure) made his first trip to Japan this spring, and the infatuation went into overdrive this week with the news of the birth of the couple’s second child.

That exuberance has manifested itself in many ways, including visitors to an animal park in Oita Prefecture deciding that the facility’s newborn baby should share the infant princess’ name, Charlotte.

Not everyone agrees that’s such an honor, though.

Europe, Japan
(animals • British Royal Family • controversy • monkeys • Princess Charlotte • zoos)

Japanese conservatives call for ban on Angelina Jolie’s WWII movie

Cara Clegg
Dec 15, 2014

Angelina Jolie’s latest war movie, Unbroken, has been facing criticism recently from Japanese conservatives for its portrayals of brutality in World War II prisoner of war camps. While the film hasn’t even been released yet, there are some people who want to make sure it never sees the light of day in Japan.