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August 11, 2026
 

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OTAKU

Hitomi is seen working at the At-Home Cafe in the Akihabara district of Tokyo.
LIFE / Travel
May 28, 2026
¡®Geek¡¯ hangout to tourist draw: Â鶹´«Ã½ maid cafes
Once niche ¡°otaku¡± spaces, Â鶹´«Ã½ maid cafes now attract tourists, couples and families seeking playful escapist entertainment.
Pages from a new Otaku Dictionary catalog the lexicons of Â鶹´«Ã½ various subcultures.
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 30, 2023
A problematic otaku dictionary and the Japanese approach to sitting
An ¡°Otaku Dictionary¡± has Â鶹´«Ã½ subcultures upset at an attempt to define them.
Yoshiko Koide sits in a classroom at Nagoya College where she teaches a Japanese-language observation seminar.
LIFE / Language / Longform
Nov 27, 2023
How a dictionary came to spark outrage among the web¡¯s otaku
A project to create a reference book categorizing subcultures didn¡¯t seem to cause offense until it was packaged and sold as a dictionary.
Yoshiko Koide, a professor at Nagoya College, and 12 female students delved deep into otaku culture to create ¡°Otaku Dictionary Daigenkai,¡± a dictionary of terms from all walks of fandom.
LIFE / Language
Nov 20, 2023
Test your otaku vocabulary, from ¡®oshi¡¯ to ¡®bacon lettuce¡¯
¡°Otaku Dictionary Daigenkai¡± has gathered the language of fandom, from idols to games and anime.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 11, 2022
¡®The Fish Tale¡¯: Non exudes natural charm as an oddball fish devotee
Non brings a bubbly energy and rock-solid commitment to Shuichi Okita¡¯s film based on the autobiography of TV personality Sakana-kun.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Aug 21, 2022
The ¡®mother¡¯ of the modern otaku charted her own bug-obsessed path
One of Â鶹´«Ã½ original eccentrics, the ¡®lady who loved insects¡¯ ignored the trends of her day and was content to be herself ¡ª a valuable lesson to the generations that followed.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 6, 2021
¡®Fanatic¡¯ documentary deals with what happens when your favorite K-pop star breaks bad
A new documentary film titled ¡°Fanatic¡± explores the world of K-pop fandom. Can it also teach us something about the fans of J-pop stars?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 6, 2020
¡®Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku¡¯: A musical take on an otaku romance
This film adaptation of a web comic by single-named artist Fujita has the central couple dancing and singing their way to love.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jul 26, 2019
The happiness of the otaku: Daydreaming to well-being
Using the imagination to daydream may be more useful than we thought. But who would have guessed that a key to unlocking its benefits would be pursuing manga, anime and games — otherwise known as ¡®otaku¡¯ culture.
JAPAN / History / Defining the Heisei Era
Nov 24, 2018
Defining the Heisei Era: Examining the rise of otaku culture
With the number of children shrinking, popular entertainment naturally began targeting the otaku population that didn¡¯t hesitate to open their wallets for material many considered juvenile.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 25, 2018
Bitcoin for otaku: Tokyo startup to launch cryptocurrency to serve communities
Cryptocurrencies may be making worldwide headlines as high volatility assets that have seen dazzling stretches of growth and stunning falls, but the CEO of Tokyo Otaku Mode Inc. believes they have a different kind of potential.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Oct 22, 2017
Anime tourism invites overseas fans to join festivities
Yuwaku Onsen is a 1,300-year-old hot-springs resort tucked between mountains along the Asano River south of Kanazawa. Ten mid-size traditional inns line its slim main street, leading to a small hillside shrine and a man-made pond.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 13, 2017
Dempagumi.inc¡¯s Risa Aizawa on the true power of fashion
Fashion designers can be stiff creatures, especially when it comes to divulging their history or feelings in an interview. However, Risa Aizawa is not your run-of-the-mill fashion designer. She is a member of the five-person Akihabara-born idol group Dempagumi.inc, known more for it¡¯s hard-core dedication...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Feb 8, 2017
¡®Otaku¡¯ gather to celebrate the obsessive at Nerd Nite Tokyo
At Nerd Nite Tokyo, self-confessed nerds from all walks of life gather once a month to loosen their anoraks, sup a beverage or two and feed on the niche knowledge of three quietly obsessive speakers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2016
Despite challenges, young Cubans being drawn into world of anime, manga
Cuba may be one of the world¡¯s least connected countries but that is not stopping the Japanese subculture of animated movies, manga comics and video games from spreading feverishly among its youth.
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
Aug 29, 2015
Expert opinion
Why did you come to Japan?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 13, 2014
A world of fear for Â鶹´«Ã½ shut-ins
Several years ago, a vogue of interest in shut-ins, or hikikomori, saw researchers from France touring Japan and meeting reclusive youths. Such was the prevalence of the disorder, said psychologist Nicolas Tajan, that ¡°if you ask people in Japan about hikikomori, almost everyone will say, ¡®I know somebody...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 22, 2014
Comiket grows stronger each year
Held twice a year and famous among otaku (fanboys and fangirls) the world over, Comiket, short for Comic Market, held its 86th event Aug. 15-17 at Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba. With more than 550,000 people reportedly attending the event over the three days, Comiket has grown significantly since its early...
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2014
Manga shop threatens to post face of alleged shoplifter on Internet
A well-known ¡°otaku¡± shop in Tokyo is threatening to post an alleged shoplifter¡¯s face online if he doesn¡¯t return what he stole.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 26, 2014
Â鶹´«Ã½ ¡®Moe¡¯ obsession: the purest form of love, or creepy fetishization of young girls?
Anyone who has visited Tokyo¡¯s Akihabara district in the past decade will have run into countless images of cartoonish girls: in posters, in figurines and in the form of real women dressed up as French maids.
America¡¯s cyberforces grapple with cluster of deaths by suicide
The U.S. Cyber Command building (center) stands on the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital's largest summer o-Bon festivals.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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