“I love to watch Korean drama series and comedy shows on Internet at night without being bothered by anybody...”

Michael Jackson aka The King of Pop leaves behind arguably the most extensive and lucrative pop music catalog in the world. Even though Jackson passed away, his brand will leave an imprint in pop culture for decades...

A year ago this week, the Supreme Court of Japan issued a judgment that struck down a clause in the Nationality Act as being a violation of the Constitution. There are good reasons for everyone in Japan to celebrate that decision. While little noted outside of specialized legal journals at the time, the decision may have been the beginning of a more robust judicial protection of the right to equality in Japan.

So here we are in Japan. A relatively few miles across the ocean we have Mad Uncle Ernie (aka Kim Jong-Il) who sits out on the porch with a half-empty whiskey bottle beside him and his loaded shotgun across his knees. Occasionally he swigs from the bottle and raises the shotgun to his shoulder, pointing it meaningfully at anyone whom he thinks might refill the bottle. The other day he fired it in a pretty random direction.

It used to be that the 2D QR barcodes developed by Denso were everywhere on Japanese posters, magazine advertisements – in fact, anywhere where the advertiser wanted the reader to follow through with a visit to a Web site to learn more about the product or service. The idea was that customers would use their mobile phones’ cameras to take a pictures, and follow the Web site through to a long complex URL.

An excursion to Kyoto would not be complete without the usual rounds: Kinkakuji, Kiyomizu, Heian Jingu. But if you’ve had your share of temple incense, try this one-day excursion around the ancient capital and experience the city through your stomach.

Roy Yamaguchi needs no introduction to the vast majority of American gourmands. The 52-year-old Tokyo native is celebrated for melding the flavors of Hawaii—his ancestral home—with ingredients and cooking techniques from around the world.