181: A problematic otaku dictionary and the Japanese approach to sitting

An “Otaku Dictionary” has Japan’s subcultures upset at an attempt to define them. Thu-Huong Ha and Yukana Inoue join us to explain the linguistic scandal before discussing whether or not Japan has mastered “sitting.” 

On this episode:
Shaun McKenna: Articles | X 
Thu-Huong Ha: Articles | X 
Yukana Inoue: Articles

Read more: 

• How a dictionary came to spark outrage among the web’s otaku (Thu-Huong Ha and Yukana Inoue, The Japan Times)
• Test your otaku vocabulary, from 'oshi' to bacon lettuce’ (Thu-Huong Ha and Yukana Inoue, The Japan Times)
• Let the gaming begin: A guide to Tokyo’s video game landmarks (W. Tanner Kirk, The Japan Times)
• Has Japan mastered sitting? (Thu-Huong Ha, The Japan Times)
• Bedbugs are spreading in South Korea and China. Is Japan next? (Karin Kaneko, The Japan Times)
• Japan to start trial of over-the-counter sales of morning after pill (Kathleen Benoza, The Japan Times)

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Photo: Pages from a new Otaku Dictionary catalog the lexicons of Japan’s various subcultures. | TAIDGH BARRON