Tabloid Tokyo: 101 Tales of Sex, Crime and the Bizarre from Japan's Wild Weeklies

Each week, the authors of this book comb the varied weeklies that cascade from Japan's printing presses, pages brimming with blaring headlines and alluring stories. Their translations and interpretations of many of these tales--lurid, quirky and irreverent--have long been a staple on the pages of the country's English-language newspapers, and a big favorite of captivated readers. TABLOID TOKYO is a selection of their best columns over the past four years. Inside are stories about sex, criminal shenanigans and scandal. Families--dysfunctional and otherwise--and the economy. Pets, fashion, trends and much, much more. As a picture of contemporary Japanese society, readers will find this collection often informative, sometimes shocking...but always entertaining. Are the stories real? Well, Japanese readers believe so, in varying degrees. They turn to the weeklies to learn, not only the gossip and the frivolous, but also the items glossed over by the sober mainstream media. They look for kernels of truth in even the most outrageous sounding stories. They know that, after all, truth really is stranger than fiction--and often far more fun. MEET SOME FASCINATING JAPANESE PEOPLE YOU WON'T FIND IN THE LAST SAMURAI OR MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA: ◘ A "diplomat" who bared her breasts to the North Koreans ◘ Men who fall in love with their latex companions ◘ Sushi chefs who replace the real thing with dubious fish ◘ Children who feed off their parents--long into adulthood ◘ An investigative reporter who predicted his own death ◘ Men who dress in lingerie under their business suits ◘ Ninja-stealthy sex molesters who target female commuters ◘ Compulsive shoppers who cram their small homes with goods ◘ Parents who dress up their children--like pets or dolls ◘ A rapist who targeted the suicidal via the web