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Should you drive through a red traffic light like this in Japan? Confusing road rule explained

If you’re driving in Japan, don’t be caught out by seeing red and green signals together. 

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Mask rules in Japan have changed…so are people still wearing them?

We find out if people in Tokyo are ripping off their masks and throwing them to the wind in light of the new changes.

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Amahiko Sato becomes first pro shogi player in history to lose game for not wearing face mask

Maybe this was his plan all along and he’s playing 3-D shogi.

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Japan considering relaxing guest number caps for large events, provided guests don’t shout

Government considering ending previous limitations on guests for large events like concerts.

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Only 30 percent of Japanese drivers stop for pedestrians at crosswalks, survey says

Although the results are an improvement on previous years, a worrying number of drivers aren’t stopping at pedestrian crossings.

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Petition to allow students to choose what they wear to school gathers almost 19,000 signatures

A coalition of students, teachers, and lawyers submitted the petition to the Japanese Ministry of Education on March 26.

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Japanese firefighters now allowed to enter convenience stores while wearing their uniforms

Easing of uniform rules is a welcome change for heroic rescuers who put their lives on the line.

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Think you’re a “super player”? Test your gaming habits against this Nintendo relic from the 80s

A rare legal video game document was unearthed recently by a Twitter user which outlines the eight laws that true “super players” must follow to be certified as such by the makers of the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2, still known to this day as one of the most difficult games ever made.

However, like many constitutions this was made during different times and might not apply too well to modern life or in this case modern gaming. Still, if you want to see if you’re a true old-school super player take a look at the eight articles you must adhere to.

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Tokyo trains to ease cellphone restrictions near priority seats — but not during rush hour

If you’ve been on the train in Japan, you’ve likely seen the stickers and signs plastered everywhere around the priority seats asking people to make room for those who need and to turn off cell phones. While you should definitely continue to give your seat to anyone who needs it, starting next month, you’ll no longer have to feel guilty about playing Angry Birds in the priority seating section—unless it’s rush hour.

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“No low angles!” and other Comiket cosplay photography rules

We had a great time at Comiket this weekend and saw enough to fill a few photo books! Of course, it’s impossible to talk about everything, but one of the more eye-catching things we noticed were the cosplay photography rules. There’s a good chance you remember this little tweet from this past summer, showing a cosplayer surrounded and photographed at low angles. And probably not for better lighting…

Well, it turns out, that kind of photography probably isn’t within Comiket rules!

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“No ball games” & “No practicing comedy routines”: City Parks in Japan let you do less and less

If you’re like me and enjoy riding a bike while smoking a cigar, kicking a soccer ball around, with a group of friends and your dog while also shooting off a bottle rocket or two when going to the park, you’ll be hard pressed to find one that will accept you.

But you don’t even have to be nearly as obnoxious as I am to be denied entry into some of the thousands of municipal parks across Japan. In recent years, the number of bans on a vast range of activities ordinarily done it parks from riding bikes to walking dogs have been getting banned at an alarming rate.

At least, they would be, but alarms are also probably banned in many parks.

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Ask someone to describe the Japanese people in ten words or fewer and more often than not ‘polite’ or ‘reserved’ will appear somewhere in the mix. Japan is known the world over as a safe, pleasant place to live where people are on the whole helpful and courteous; few people visit Japan and return home with tales of rude airport staff or inattentive waitresses.

When I first came to Japan, I had the pleasure of living for five years in a pretty little town in Fukushima Prefecture, surrounded by rice fields, rivers and some of the deepest greens I have ever seen. Of course, I experienced the warmth of locals’ hospitality and kindness first-hand, but it was only in when I moved south to Tokyo in 2011 that I came to understand the real meaning of the word manā (‘manner’), and began to appreciate how much more important it is in urban living.

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