Cristian Martini Grimaldi

Cultures collide at Tokyo Olympics

Athletes, support staff from Asian and Western countries respond differently to Covid rules at the Olympic village

Land of the Rising Sun faces solar energy woes

A recent survey found that 80 percent of Japan's 47 prefectures have problems with solar energy

Japan's campaign to help exploited foreigners backfires

An illustration intended to raise awareness of a pressing social issue is withdrawn after complaints

Japanese reject the Olympics and inoculation

The majority want the Games called off and are skeptical about foreign vaccines

Innocence lost: Japan's lax attitude to pedophilia

A tasteless joke by a lawmaker regarding the age of consent highlights the country's sexualization of children

Olympic flame withers as state bungling breaks Japanese spirit

Japanese public oppose holding the Tokyo Games as the country's Covid vaccination drive barely gets off the ground

Media silent over Japan's culture of sexual exploitation

Scandalous behavior that would make front-page news elsewhere is routinely ignored in Japan

The dark side of Japan's sacred island

Yakushima is famed for its natural beauty but is tainted by a local culture that turns a blind eye to sex crimes

The island where the West met Japan

The encounter between Japanese and Westerners at Tanegashima would soon lead to a popular Christian rebellion

Sumo as a religious rite in Japan

The country's national sport was originally conceived as a ritual to entertain the gods of Shintoism

Japanese push back against Confucian tradition of uniformity

Critical voices have emerged in support of less austere rules, possibly oriented toward respecting everyone's personality

Japan still wounded 10 years after the tsunami

The northeast region still bears the scars of the earthquake and tsunami that claimed 19,000 lives in one day

As Mass numbers grow, US parishes weigh benefits of continuing livestream

Biblical scholar and world's oldest cardinal dies at 98

Proof of Covid vaccination not needed for Masses in Italy

Manila dioceses back on lockdown after Covid scare

Flash floods kill 88 in Pakistan

Fifth bishop consecrated under Sino-Vatican deal