PhD. Lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies. Japanese Politics/International Relations Views my own. RT/Likes ≠ endorsements. Not a journalist.

Tokyo/Chiba, Japan
Joined August 2008
I wrote an article for the Number 1 Shimbun about Colonel Otaku Gatekeeper, a British man who pretends to be a Japanese nationalist online. @Arin_Yumi spoke to me about exposing the Colonel's false claim about living in Yokohama. fccj.or.jp/index.php/number-…
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Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 retweeted
The Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLTP 日本語能力試験) is not a good test to measure language proficiency. This cannot be emphasized often enough, so thank you to @MidoriInagaki for this article in today's Japan Times. japantimes.co.jp/commentary/…
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Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 retweeted
A masked professional wrestler won an election in Japan: Billyken Kid won Sunday's city council election in Kawanishi, Hyōgo Prefecture, with 4,040 votes- the highest total among all 37 candidates. He wants more support for childcare and healthcare.
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Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 retweeted
Here is a Japanese-subtitled video of Steam creator Gabe Newell explaining how providing an easy-to-buy and timely Russian localizations of games cut down on piracy. It is representative of a common non-Japanese view on the problem of piracy.
A new fan-made PC port of Tekken 6 has sparked a debate on Twitter: •Japanese critics: It's unauthorized and violates copyright - follow the law. •Western defenders: It's game preservation, requires players to supply game files, & fills a gap Bandai Namco refused to address.
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Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 retweeted
The French man who went viral for defending his game store has given an interview in which he said he understands why the youth are protesting & thinks they should have a right to have demonstrations. He does not support rioters who take advantage of the protests.
Lors de la journée de mobilisation nationale du 17 octobre, Pierre Collin, gérant du Micromania de Nice a été agressé alors qu'il tentait de protéger sa boutique. La séquence est devenue virale. Nous l'avons rencontré à la sortie du commissariat de Nice où il a porté plainte.
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An amazing computer animation from Japan's ANN for a news report about a driver who crashed into another car, drank a can of alcohol in front of police who responded, and poured some of the alcohol on a cop. Empty cans were found in his car.
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Japan's JR West rail company is introducing two new robots that will be used to reduce the manpower required for railway maintenance work. They will be used to for tasks such as replacing electrical equipment and cutting down trees.
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•Israel criticized left-wing demonstrators in Japan who were "desecrating Japan's national flag" & waving Palestinian flags. •Palestine said they don't endorse flag desecration. •Israel responded by complaining about the use of the word "genocide."
Sakurai Makoto's anti-Korean hate rallies in the 2010s damaged Japan's international reputation by drawing global attention to racism in Japan. A foreigner who joined Japanese protesters opposing Sakurai is now being attacked online for "hating Japan."
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JR is using two goats to naturally clear overgrown plants in central Tokyo. Nagi and Pokke can be seen near Yotsuya station and are expected to be on duty until around December. They've put up a "don't feed the goats" sign - they've got enough food.
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My memory is rusty, so I apologise if I'm wrong about this because it's going back about 20 years, but if this is part of the permanent exhibition, it's likely that I translated this panel, and many of the other explanatory material in the early days of the museum...
Kyoto International Manga Museum has this to say about the subject.
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Hunter Biden is in Tokyo and shared a photo of himself in front of an anti-Trump protest sign in Shinjuku.
Tokyo is really cool.
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Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae recently appointed a new Farm Minister after the last one resigned due to scandals. It's being reported that new Farm Minister Takebe Arata held a 2,000 yen all-you-can drink beer party for supporters, with a prize drawing. Could it be illegal? Japanese politicians aren't supposed to give "gifts" to voters, as it might be considered illegal vote buying. Daily Shincho reports calls Takebe's parties "suspicious" and says they have been "brushed away with the excuse" that such parties were also held by his father, from whom he inherited his Diet seat.
【速報】 「武部新」農水相にも公選法違反疑惑 簗和生氏の辞任早々…抽選で「家電」「野菜」当たるパーティー開催 dailyshincho.jp/article/2026… 週刊新潮が報じた地元自治体への“恫喝発言”に端を発する一連の騒動で辞任した簗和生氏に代わり、新たに農水大臣に就任したのは、武部新氏だった。シャトルバスによる送迎をめぐる公選法違反疑惑も指摘されている簗氏につづき、武部氏にもまた、地元での「ビールパーティー」にまつわる疑惑が――。 #デイリー新潮
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Mobicom, a company mostly owned by Japan's KDDI, caused a massive wildfire in Mongolia earlier this month when its executives drove through dry grassland. Korean netizens are claiming their country works to protect Mongolian nature, while Japan does not.
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Here is a Japanese-subtitled video of Steam creator Gabe Newell explaining how providing an easy-to-buy and timely Russian localizations of games cut down on piracy. It is representative of a common non-Japanese view on the problem of piracy.
A new fan-made PC port of Tekken 6 has sparked a debate on Twitter: •Japanese critics: It's unauthorized and violates copyright - follow the law. •Western defenders: It's game preservation, requires players to supply game files, & fills a gap Bandai Namco refused to address.
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フランスのデモで『ONE PIECE』の麦わらの一味の海賊旗が振られていることについて、日本では否定的な反応もあるようだ。 しかし、そもそも海外では日本のオタク文化がカウンターカルチャーとして受容されてきた歴史がある。それを理解しないまま批判するのは、日本の文化輸出がどのように成立してきたのかを知らないということではないか。 海外のアニメ・マンガファンにとって、日本の作品は単なる娯楽商品ではない。既成の価値観や権威への反抗を表現する文化でもある。だから政治的な抗議運動にも持ち出す。今回の海賊旗も、その延長線上にある。 ここで思い出すのが…… 2008年、共産党系のかもがわ出版から刊行されていた『超左翼マガジン ロスジェネ』という、すぐに潰れた雑誌。 その第2号に今は、リヨン第3大学の日本研究学科長になったジュリアン・ブヴァールが「フランスにおける日本のオタク文化の反抗性」という文章を寄稿している。 この文章で彼は、海賊版を通じて日本のマンガ・アニメに親しんできたことを堂々と語り、当時もそうした流通を利用していると書いていた。 さすがに会った時に「あれは、どうなの?」と聞いたら 「なにが悪いの?」と日本語で逆質問された。今はどうか知らんが、当時彼は日本マンガ学会の会員だったのだが。 実際、海外のオタク文化の成立には海賊版やファンによる非公式の流通が大きく関わっている。 正規の海外配信が一般化する以前、海外に知人のいる日本のアニメ・マンガファンの間では、テレビ録画をアップロードしたり、マンガ雑誌をスキャンしてメールで送ったりすることも珍しくなかった。 あの頃を知る人間なら、そういう光景を覚えているはずだ。もっとも、今となってはみんななかったことにしているようだが。 もちろん海賊版の是非と、文化がどのように広がったかは別の問題である。 重要なのは、日本のマンガ・アニメは、出版社やテレビ局が正規の商品として海外へ輸出する経路だけで普及したのではないという事実だ。 そして海外のファンは、日本の作品をただ消費するだけではなく、自分たちの文化として受け入れ、政治的な意味まで与えてきた。 だから『ONE PIECE』の海賊旗が抗議運動で掲げられることは、別に不思議でも何でもない。 日本の文化輸出を誇るのは結構だ。しかし、輸出した文化がいつまでも日本人の思い通りに消費されると考えるなら、それこそ文化というものを理解していない。
I love how the onepiece Straw Hat Jolly Roger has become a symbol of freedom around the world and now it’s being used by the people of France
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The French man who went viral for defending his game store has given an interview in which he said he understands why the youth are protesting & thinks they should have a right to have demonstrations. He does not support rioters who take advantage of the protests.
Lors de la journée de mobilisation nationale du 17 octobre, Pierre Collin, gérant du Micromania de Nice a été agressé alors qu'il tentait de protéger sa boutique. La séquence est devenue virale. Nous l'avons rencontré à la sortie du commissariat de Nice où il a porté plainte.
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Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 retweeted
Replying to @mrjeffu
The debate is spreading to other areas also @GaijinBaseball is talking about how this type of approach also hurts NPB popularity overseas
The difference is, that American media is available for consumption in Japan. You can watch MLB on TV in Japan, but you can't watch half of NPB outside of Japan Piracy, at it's root, is a service issue. Thankfully watching the Japan Series outside of Japan only requires a VPN
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A masked professional wrestler won an election in Japan: Billyken Kid won Sunday's city council election in Kawanishi, Hyōgo Prefecture, with 4,040 votes- the highest total among all 37 candidates. He wants more support for childcare and healthcare.
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Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 retweeted
Hello Japanese Twitter. I want to explain why Western consumers are often willing to push the boundaries of copyright, even when it's controversial: Historically, in the West, challenging copyright restrictions has SOMETIMES led to better outcomes for everyone, including the copyright holders themselves. Take "fair use". In the US, copyright law allows people to use pieces of copyrighted material for criticism, reviews, education, research, and parody, depending on the circumstances. It's why anyone can make YouTube essays using gameplay footage, review movies using clips, parody existing works, or study copyrighted material. These freedoms developed over decades of folks challenging copyright restrictions in court. People pushed boundaries, courts established new rules, and consumers benefited. Hooray! Something similar happened with the "right-to-repair" movement. Manufacturers have used copyright restrictions, software locks, and other barriers to stop people from repairing products they own. Consumers challenged those restrictions, by repairing them anyway, then being sent to court, which helped bring about laws that expanded our repair rights. Basically we said: "This law sucks. If I buy this shit, I should have basic rights over how I use and repair it." Now consider Piracy. I don't condone piracy, but I recognise that it has sometimes exposed problems with how entertainment is sold. Music piracy EXPLODED when people wanted digital music. Then iTunes was created in response, and helped prove that millions of those same pirates were happy to pay for a convenient, affordable service that didn't exist. Movies and TV experienced similar problems, so streaming services were made which helped massively reduce Piracy. PC gaming saw something similar with Steam. But my favourite example is Crunchyroll! Crunchyroll started as a website hosting Pirate anime. Western audiences wanted to watch Japanese shows that often weren't legally available in their countries. Eventually, it becamse so big Japan made a deal with Crunchyroll to become a legitimate streaming business. The site now licenses anime directly from Japanese companies. Today, it has millions of paying subscribers and generates MASSIVE revenue for the Japanese anime industry. An audience that once watched anime without permission became a massive international customer base willing to pay Japanese companies. Imagine if that demand had simply been dismissed as criminal behaviour, without anyone recognising the business opportunity?? This is the pattern I'm trying to explain. We see that when consumers push against restrictions, they sometimes expose problems with the existing business model. Companies respond with better services, laws change, and both consumers and creators can benefit. None of this means piracy is justified or that creators shouldn't be paid. Only that challenging a restriction can SOMETIMES reveal that the damn restriction itself is preventing a better solution, and pressing on that restriction can create to fix. I think this helps explain a cultural difference between some Western and Japanese attitudes towards copyright. Western consumers often see copyright disputes as ordinary folks fighting against wealthy corporations controlling access to entertainment. Japanese audiences seem to place greater emphasis on respecting the people and companies who created that entertainment. Of course, neither perspective represents everyone. And I respect both views. But where one person sees disrespect towards an artist's work, another sees consumers challenging a corporation's control over something they love. And because Western history contains examples of those challenges producing positive results, some Western consumers are more comfortable pushing those boundaries. (Hope you can see how these points are relevant to old videogames like Tekken 6 that have no modern re-release/re-print) ALSO I accept that sometimes piracy means consumers don't want to pay. They are just thieves. But other times, it means consumers were never given the opportunity to pay, and the solution will arise from pushing boundaries. Please understand I'm not defending piracy. Just explaining why some Western consumers are willing to challenge copyright restrictions and not hate it so much. We see things differently because history has shown us that sometimes, when people push back, everyone can end up way way way better off. Sorry this was so long.
知ってるか? SteamでNARUTOのゲームは日本では買えないんだ Steamで手に入らないからって日本人は割ったりしない、諦めるんだそれが道徳だからだ それでバンダイナムコを非難したりもしない、それが道徳だからだ お前らは欲しい物は盗んででも手に入れろって教えられてんのか?
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A "shocking" viral video in Japan: A woman wearing a red skirt walked in front of Princess Kako, niece of the Emperor. Security cops didn't stop the woman. Did the person walking by even realize it was Princess Kako?
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The Japanese tweet calling the incident "shocking" has over 6 million views, with replies arguing about whether security guards should have stopped people from getting close to the princess.
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