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A girl stands near Shibuya Station in Tokyo. Photo: Ramiro Vargas / chilanga.com Some deaths are loud, others disappear behind institutional walls. In 2021, Sri Lankan detainee Wishma Sandamali died while in the custody of Japan’s immigration system, a place meant for administrative control, not medical neglect. Years later, the facts remain chilling. At a Nagoya District Court hearing, Dr. Masamune Shimo testified that Wishma’s life could have been saved at three critical ju

It challenges readers to consider how governance behaves under urgency and scrutiny. Photo: Ramiro Vargas / chilanga.com Power travels fast in Tokyo, but accountability must move faster. On January 22, 2026, a Cabinet Office vehicle tied to the Takaichi administration tore through a red light in Akasaka, ending a life and injuring eight others. Noboru Akashi, 32, a taxi passenger, died at a busy intersection framed by embassies and the Prime Minister’s Office—symbols of gover

(File photo) Tokyo, Japan. Akasaka Palace garden stands at the entrance, as a policeman walks nearby. The palace is located near where a man stabbed  a woman in the Akasaka district, where many bars and restaurants are located. Photo by: Ramiro Vargas / chilanga.com Tokyo once again finds itself wrestling with a crime that unsettles the delicate balance between public safety and institutional trust. A Ground Self-Defense Force member, 43-year-old Yoichiro Otsu, was arrested f