I had this piece on Richard Lloyd-Parry’s book about the murder of Lucie Blackman published at Matador recently. I was a little concerned about the editing, in which my introduction was just lopped off leaving the reader with a book review that doesn’t introduce the topic of the book. Readers familiar with Lucie’s name will … Continue reading »
I wrote the following article in mid-2008 and it was published in the dearly departed $pread Magazine the following summer. As such it is quite dated, and somewhat inelegant (OK, horribly written). I was reminded of the piece by the recent publication of this book: Illicit Flirtations: Labor, Migration and Sex Trafficking in Tokyo by … Continue reading »
The idea of a host or hostess club may sound strange to Westerners, yet Japan counts hundreds of such clubs as part of its broad mizu-shobai (nightlife) industry. The role of a host or hostess in a Japanese club is to provide a relaxing space for their customers who have likely just finished work. The … Continue reading »
