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In the shadows of Japan’s digital world, a disturbing criminal trend is quietly growing. Known by many as “Takuro crimes,” these operations reportedly recruit vulnerable young people online, pulling them into robbery schemes, scams, intimidation, and violent acts. Experts say social isolation, financial insecurity, social pressure, and the normalization of anonymous online communities may be fueling the phenomenon. Authorities and local residents alike are questioning how one

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

A group of rope climbers steadies themself against a Tokyo building near the Shibuya crossing. Photo: Ramiro Vargas / chilanga.com : Suspended between the sky and the city, Tokyo’s rope climbers live in a world that most people only look up to—literally. These unsung heroes, who hang from skyscrapers to install or maintain billboards, banners, and signage, risk their lives daily for the visuals that define the capital’s skyline. Rope climbing work in Tokyo isn’t glamorous, bu