HISTORY
Hanafuda: How a Banned Card Game Defined the Pre-Pokémon Era
Before Mario, Nintendo sold hanafuda cards to the yakuza. Read the 400-year forbidden history of the flower cards that tricked the Shogun.
gambling
HISTORY
SOCIETY
Online Gambling Addiction in Japan Grows, Turning Some to Crime
Online gambling is illegal in Japan. That hasn't stopped people from getting hooked on it - and some are turning to crime…
LAW & CRIME
The Town of Abu vs. The Gambler
A small town accidentally gave a man a small fortune. What the man did next has made national headlines in Japan.
HISTORY
Banei Racing: Hokkaido’s Stubborn Settler Sport of Strength and Spirit
Hokkaido's fascinating Banei Racing, where massive draft horses pull weighted sleighs up slopes, is an intriguing remnant of a colonial history.