Free Republic

A phenomenon has emerged in Japan which involves males labelled as “tight men” who wear silicone bodysuits and lifelike masks to look like women in public spaces. The trend has sparked concerns about the safety of real women. Online sources suggest that their outfits are likely inspired by Animegao Kigurumi, a masked cosplay style rooted in Japanese anime culture. Animegao Kigurumi enthusiasts typically wear bodysuits and anthropomorphic masks to more accurately portray their favourite anime characters. In February, a video went viral on X showing a person dressed in a silicone bodysuit with a female-look mask, sitting on the subway....

A new species of amphipod with a unique panda pattern was found in the intertidal zone of the Japanese coast. Credit: Ko Tomikawa/Hiroshima University ========================================================================================= The Melita panda, a newly classified amphipod species found in Japan, illustrates the critical role of taxonomy in biodiversity conservation. Identified by unique panda-like coloring and confirmed through molecular and morphological analyses, this species contributes to our understanding of coastal biodiversity. A crustacean species with distinctive black-and-white markings, reminiscent of a panda, has been confirmed as new to science decades after its initial discovery in Japan. Known as Melitid amphipods, these shrimp-like crustaceans are found...

"It’s a forward operating base for long-range bombers, and a port for ships, so that navy ships can sally forth from there," said Peter Layton, a defense and aviation expert at the Griffith Asia Institute in Australia. "Certainly places in Japan and the Philippines are a lot closer (to China)... but a lot more exposed."

A Japanese village struggling with a low population created life-sized dolls to mimic the feeling of a bustling society. The hamlet of Ichinono, which has less than 60 residents and only one child, is trying to fill the void with stuffed mannequins, which they dress up and place around the community — and even pose on swings and bicycles. “We’re probably outnumbered by puppets,” 88-year-old resident Hisayo Yamazak ... The hamlet of Ichinono, which has less than 60 residents and only one child, is trying to fill the void with stuffed mannequins, which they dress up and place around the...

If we are to take back the culture, it is our job to define aesthetics and what is beautiful.

A pro-Trump choir from Japan performs “God Bless America” in MAGA caps and carrying American, Japanese, and Trump flags in Pennsylvania at the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival on Sunday. “ILLEGAL US PRESIDENT, ABSOLUTELY NO THANKS!” and “FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT” were written on banners. “We love Trump! We love Trump!” chanted the delegation from Japan as they waved a cardboard cutout of the former president. “We need Trump!”

North Korea announcing discovery of the remains of a South Korean drone in its capital city... As Elon Musk makes campaign appearances and spends money to support Donald Trump...Biden-Harris Administration targeting Musk's Tesla... In Berlin today a meeting of Joe Biden with the leaders of France Germany and the United Kingdom timed to occur within days of the US election... In Japan on Saturday morning a man arrested after suspected gasoline bombs were thrown at the headquarters of the ruling... Fire officials in Oakland, California say they have stopped forward progress of a wildfire... US politics and the pre-election release...

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Since 2022, global demand in the arms market has expanded rapidly as many countries rush to restock on systems and munitions as well as adopt new technologies that were increasingly proving their worth in Ukraine. In that environment, the Republic of Korea has become an increasingly prolific arms exporter, with the Korean defence industry working to sustain not just the ROK Armed Forces, but also inking major contracts with buyers from the Asia Pacific to Europe. So following an invitation from the organisers of Korea's largest Defence Exhibition, the Korea Army International Defence Industry Exhibition (KADEX), I thought it was...

The Stewart started the war as a U.S. destroyer designated DD-224 and was ordered to Borneo in November 1941, shortly before the U.S. entered World War II. It served as an escort vessel with other American warships in the first months of the Pacific War, but it was badly damaged by gunfire from Japanese warships near Bali in February 1942, during the Battle of Badung Strait.The Stewart managed to return to Surabaya on the island of Java. But the port came under Japanese attack, so the vessel was scuttled — deliberately sunk — by its own crew, who set off...

Four newly translated Japanese texts describe how ritual samurai beheadings were supposed to take place during the Edo period and later.When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. This 1860 photo shows a samurai with a raised sword. Four newly translated texts shed light on how samurai carried out the death ritual of Seppuku. (Image credit: Heritage Images / Contributor via Getty Images) Four texts that discuss how the samurai carried out Seppuku, a ritual death in which a fellow samurai would usually behead another, have been translated into English...

It’s been obvious for years that China has a Potemkin economy, kept alive by slave labor, market bubbles, and government underwriting. it can’t last forever. The latest grim forecast about the economy comes from Peter St Onge, an economist with a much deeper fund of knowledge about and understanding of the Chinese economy than I could have in a thousand lifetimes.The biggest hint that the Chinese economy was in trouble was the demise of Evergrande, a massive property developer in China. The bankruptcy was huge, with the company’s assets valued at a probably inflated $245 billion and debts of $300...

Straightforward 13 minutes of asking Japanese Christians why they became Christians. It’s fascinating to hear. Japan has a very low percentage of Christians. Their answers are simple and direct. No embellishment or sensationalism yet reflect the working of The Holy Spirit. Worth watching..

Nissan’s sales are plunging in critical markets, putting their profit forecasts in jeopardy. Can the struggling automaker find a way back to profitability? Nissan is facing one of its toughest financial challenges in recent history. Late last week, the Japanese automaker reported dismal global sales figures, raising concerns that it may fall short of its fiscal year profit forecast, which the company already lowered back in July due to poor sales. Operating profit plunged by 99% last quarter, and sales dropped 5.5% in August, marking the company’s fifth consecutive month of decline... The picture became even more grim on Tuesday...

TOKYO -- An unexploded U.S. bomb from World War II that had been buried at a Japanese airport exploded Wednesday, causing a large crater in a taxiway and the cancellation of more than 80 flights but no injuries, Japanese officials said. Land and Transport Ministry officials said there were no aircraft nearby when the bomb exploded at Miyazaki Airport in southwestern Japan.

Tonight, Israel's credit rating downgraded two notches... Three US warships off Yemen fought off a complex missile and drone attack... Israeli air attacks on Beirut late tonight... Iran's Supreme Leader convening an emergency meeting... "I'm on record saying we need different leadership in Israel"...Hillary Clinton... Sean "Diddy" Combs has been accused in a civil suit of drugging and sexually assaulting... After his meeting with Ukraine's President Donald Trump...indicating he would negotiate a 'good deal'... Election concerns in the nation of Georgia.... There are deaths, injuries and damage after Hurricane Helene came ashore... New York Mayor Eric Adams entering not guilty...

The White House frustrated over what is being called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's backdown... What does 'reform' at the UN Security Council mean?... Israeli air defenses intercepting a medium range missile fired from Yemen... Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meeting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump... British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also meeting... Donald Trump... The US Army met its recruiting goal for the 2024 fiscal year... The Russian military in Syria announcing eight strikes against hideouts of jihadist... Intense Hurricane Helen approaching the northeast Gulf coast... Early today the White House announcing eight billion dollars more in military aid...

Kamala Harris was greeted on the tarmac outside Pittsburgh Wednesday not by executives of U.S. Steel but by union leaders. "It’s most important that we maintain America’s ability to have American manufacturing of steel by American workers,” she told MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle. Ms. Ruhle had compared U.S. Steel leaving Pittsburgh to Philadelphia losing the Liberty Bell to Newark. The iconic Pittsburgh steelmaker has been trying to finalize a sale to Japan’s Nippon Steel for nearly a year, including a robust public relations campaign to convince politicians and workers that the $14.9 billion transaction is the best path forward. Vice...

Discussing the overnight resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, CNN's David Gregory managed this morning to work in a broad swipe at the president. Gregory claimed that "the fledgling foreign policy in the Trump administration [has] been a disaster." Really? Gregory ignored: the widely-praised, weekend-long meetings that Trump just concluded with Japanese PM Abe; Trump's positive conversation with Chinese Premier Xi and the confirmation of the One China policy; the re-establishment of the special relationship with the UK and its PM May, and of course the healing of ties with Israel after years of Obama animosity culminating in his...

In Bolivia former Leftist President Evo Morales demanding... In Israel early Tuesday rocket fire from Lebanon rockets landing... Telegram CEO Pavel Durov saying the social media app will share phone numbers and IP addresses with authorities when presented with a valid legal request. Durov currently under the pressure... A police internal investigation order in Israel that's after confrontation between religious Jews (Haredi) and police... The US moving additional troops to the Middle East... The US sanctioning Chinese technology for cars as well as car technology from Russia... At least 30 bodies have been discovered on a boat drifting off the...