Japanese culture

The “manga” legend has published one of his stories from World War II for the first time in English.

Roland Kelts, an expert in Japanese pop culture, takes Kurt to Akihabara, a retail paradise for otaku – obsessive fans of manga and other Japanese culture. But a recent tragedy casts a shadow over the fun and games.

The Japanese schoolgirl image was made famous by comic books and cartoons. But not everyone thinks they’re so kawaii (cute). What do Japanese women make of this archetype? Lisa Katayama met three young art stars whose work reclaims and re-invents female pop imagery, in some disturbing ways. But don’t call them feminists.

Decades of clearing forests, overusing water resources, and climate change have brought desert conditions to what was once Chinese farmland. The World’s Mary Kay Magistad reports from Ningxia, China.