About
Context matters.
Behind Japan explains the parts of Japanese society that are often reduced to spectacle, stereotype, or a single headline.
Editorially independent and free from corporate, political, or institutional influence.
Reporting grounded in primary sources readers can inspect.
Explanation and context over quick takes and easy narratives.
Five principles govern every article on this site.
We start from the record as it exists in Japan: statute texts, government reports, court rulings as reported by Japanese newspapers, and the published statements of the organizations themselves. We do not build articles from English-language summaries of Japanese events.
Each article ends with its full research record. Every entry shows who published it, what kind of document it is (statute, government record, news reporting, organizational statement, or scholarship), and whether it is in Japanese or English.
Japanese titles appear in English translation first, with the original Japanese kept alongside them, so a reader can find the document themselves.
Where the public record runs out, the article says so. We do not close a gap with a plausible inference and present it as fact.
When a substantive error is corrected, a dated correction note remains in the article. We do not silently revise.
We publish English-language explanatory journalism about cults and new religions, the underworld, major criminal cases, social pressures, and the justice system. Our aim is not to make dark subjects more dramatic. It is to make them more understandable.
We gather material published in Japanese: reporting, books, court documents, government records, and official statistics.
We check authorship, date, and authenticity, and compare accounts across sources to establish what is documented.
We translate the passages that matter and explain the context, terms, and structures behind them.
We link every source and record what kind of document it is, so readers can review the evidence themselves.
About the editor
Editor, Behind Japan
Rei Amano is the pen name of a researcher based in Japan. Rei reads Japanese-language primary and authoritative sources and writes for readers who want to understand the less visible structures of Japanese society.
Personal identity, affiliation, and contact details are kept private.
Editorial responsibility is carried by the published record instead: sourcing, corrections, and disclosure.
Rei Amano