Japan
A Terrorist Attack Led Japan to Remove All Its Trash Cans. Now They're Making a Comeback.
Public waste bins were largely removed from Japanese cities following the 1995 sarin gas attacks, leading residents to adapt to some particularly stringent waste disposal practices.
Why Are American Elections so Long?
Long campaigns cause candidates to prioritize fundraising, but shorter ones favor party-line voting.
High-Speed Rail Helped Keep Housing Affordable in Japan. Could It Do the Same for California?
A new study looks at how Japan's investment in rail has affected the country's real estate prices, and what that might—or might not—mean for Californians.
Could the Reintroduction of Wolves Help Save Japan's Forests?
A large chunk of the country's forests were harmed in 2015 by wildlife—77 percent due to deer. Bringing back an apex predator could help staunch the bleeding.
Viewfinder: Fishing for Ayu in Japan
Cormorant fishermen use sea cormorants to catch sweetfish on October 9th, 2018, in Gifu, Japan.
PS Picks: Echoes of History in 'Heart Mountain'
PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.
Viewfinder: A Makeshift Shelter During Severe Floods in Okayama
People affected by the recent flooding rest at a makeshift shelter in Mabi, Okayama prefecture, Japan, on July 11th, 2018.
How to Prepare a Society for Natural Disaster
A conversation with Garrett Bradley about her new documentary, and what America can learn from Japan.
Dispatches: Obama's Science Adviser on the Fukushima Nuclear Accident
News and notes from Pacific Standard staff and contributors.
Viewfinder: Okinawa Residents Protest Against U.S. Military Presence
A protester is removed by police officers during a sit-in to block construction vehicles working on the expansion of Camp Schwab, a United States military base, on May 31st, 2018, in Nago, Okinawa prefecture, Japan.
Letter From Shibuya, Tokyo: When Home Is an Internet Cafe
A 2007 government survey offers a glimpse into the lives of Internet cafe refugees: In Tokyo, 58 percent of them are short-term day laborers, and most of them get just enough part-time work to earn a living.
Viewfinder: Swimming With Santa—and Penguins
A keeper clad in a Santa Claus costume feeds Magellanic penguins in a water tank as part of Christmas events at Hakkeijima Sea Paradise amusement park.
The Week in Photos: Christmas Celebrations in Japan and Brexit Protests in London
A round-up of images from Viewfinder, Pacific Standard's daily photo feature.
Viewfinder: Christmas Celebrations in Tokyo
Bystanders admire a Christmas display along the Meguro River in Tokyo, Japan, on December 17th, 2017.
Beef, Climate Change, and the Future of International Trade Agreements
Across the globe, beef consumption is seeing rapid growth, fed by cheap imports and served by an industrialized agricultural global trade model that's been linked to a host of environmental impacts, climate change chief among them.
Viewfinder: A General Election in Japan
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's newly elected lower house parliament member Takeaki Matsumoto celebrates his victory with supporters on October 22nd, 2017, in Himeji, Japan.
Ivory Is Big Business for One of Japan's Largest Online Markets, but Is It Regulated?
In just four weeks in May and June of 2017 nearly 10,000 ivory items were sold on Yahoo Auction, one of Japan's largest e-commerce platforms.
In the Picture: Ankle Deep in Okinawa, Japan
In every print issue, we fix our gaze on an everyday photograph and chase down facts about details in the frame.
Since We Last Spoke: In the Name of Research?
Updates to past Pacific Standard stories.
The Trucking Subculture of Dekotora
As with many cultural artifacts, the Japanese have taken the truck and expressed it, enlarged it, raised it to what we might consider an architectural form.
'The Forest' Plays Suicide for Cheap Scares
The latest horror film "based on a true story" is a case study in culturally insensitive Hollywood marketing.
Japan Is Killing Whales in the Name of 'Science'
Japanese officials claim hunting a select number of whales each year provides valuable insight into the animal's health and migration. Conservationists, however, criticize the whaling program as a front to evade commercial whaling bans.
For Some, Fukushima Evacuations Were Worse Than Radiation
A study of nursing homes near the nuclear site suggest the physical and mental stress of evacuation took more years off people's lives than radiation will.
Economic Growth in an Era of Demographic Decline
A shrinking population isn't the end of economic expansion.