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Japan

A thorough breach of the norms

Karen J. Greenberg: Subtle Tools. The Dismantling of American Democracy from the War on Terror to Donald Trump

USA: Donald Trump broke down established norms and led democracy astray, but he would never have reached this far, if the groundwork had not been laid by others – this new tradition of imprecise wording, secrecy and dodgy methods.

Japanese women's views on life, gender roles and society

Anne-Stine Johnsbråten (photo): Good Wife, Wise Mother

PHOTO: Japanese women struggle between traditional gender roles, an expectation of work effort and reproduction while maintaining the role of "good wife, wise mother".

Daisaku Ikeda's Peace Proposal for 2019

PROHIBITION: The world's largest Buddhist peace movement supports the initiative to ban the development and use of autonomous weapons and proposes to establish a group of friends for the ban on nuclear weapons.

Cursed!

ENVIRONMENT: New Extinction Rebellion should be taken seriously.

The anatomy of the neo-nationalist women's hat

Miki Dezaki: Shusenjo: The Main Battleground of the Comfort Women Issue

: Why are some people in positions of power so preoccupied with silencing the women who demand justice for the sex work they were forced to perform during World War II?

A sense of living in a time when the world is dying

Sayaka Murata: Convenience Store Woman

: How can the story of the employee in a grocery store captivate so many readers worldwide?

Sharing the rhythm of each step

Kari Gjæver Pedersen and Christine Istad: How to get to Nirvana without dying first

: A different travelogue about two Norwegian women who embark on a monumental pilgrimage in Japan. On the way to 88 Shingon temples, they will release one mental block at a time – the goal is redemption.

Soreness among strangers

Koi Oda: Toward A Common Tenderness

: A suggestive tribute to the golden age of avant-garde film draws me straight in with its hypnotic soundscape – Japanese children's song, piano and a narrator's voice. But then!

Movies from the East

: Horror, anime, samurai film, experiment, costume drama, monster film and softcore porn – all Japanese films are in tension between East and West.