The Cool Japan Fund, a nine-year-old effort by the Japanese government to promote Japanese coolness around the world has failed miserably, racking up a deficit of 30.9 billion yen. The question now is where to go from here. www.japundit.org

Seen recently at a local festival in Tokyo — One of the joys of living in Japan is coming across Dragon Dancers and other amazing things at local festivals. See more content like this at my blog: japundit.org.

New contest is aimed at increasing alcohol consumption — Recently in Japan, societal changes, a shrinking population, and the lingering pandemic have combined to accelerate a drop in the percentage of young people who choose not to drink. Overall, alcohol consumption in Japan has plunged from 100 liters per person annually in 1995 to 75 liters in 2020. Beer…

As a Medium Writer, I may be doomed — I am not a young, comely female. I am not a member of any racial, ethnic, or other distressed, suppressed, depressed, or aggressed minority. I am not an alcoholic. Save for a little weed way back when, I have never taken any drug. I am not morbidly obese. During 12 years of Catholic education, I have never been propositioned, attacked, or abused by a priest or anyone else.

Someone is listening and responding — In case anyone missed it, Breana Jones, a member of the product team at Medium, recently posted an article about a list of features and functions that have been added, restored, and improved in response to Medium member requests. Custom Domains, Mobile Editor, and a True Following Feed Working towards an innovative product you can rely onblog.medium.com Custom domains (back for good)

It’s a question that comes to mind every time a read a Steven King novel. — The first Steven King story I came across was through the movie “The Dead Zone,” a 1983 thriller about Johnny Smith, a teacher with psychic powers. Whenever Johnny comes into physical contact with someone, Johnny sees a flash of that person’s entire future. One day, he shakes hands with a…

Back in late May, I conducted a small, very unscientific experiment to determine which format is more popular: the article or the listicle. To Listicle Or Not Listicle — That Is The Question A listicle experimentedward-thomas.medium.com I wrote two versions of the same content to see which one does better. 5 Reasons Why Japanese Food May Not Be As Healthy As You Think Carbs, salt, preservatives, chemicals, and moremedium.com

One tiny step into the 21st century? — The Tokyo metropolitan government recently announced that non-Japanese will be allowed to work at beauty salons in Tokyo starting from October 2022. This marks the first time ever that foreigners will be allowed to work in the beauty industry in Japan. It’s hard to know whether one should feel thrilled…