Japan is renowned for many cultural exports, but few have captured global imagination quite like its animation. At the heart of this legacy lies Studio Ghibli—an iconic name familiar to fans worldwide. With masterpieces like the Oscar-winning Spirited Away , the studio has redefined animated storytelling, proving that animation has the power not only to delight people but also to inspire and move them. Among those masterpieces is My Neighbor Totoro , a film from 1988. Set in 1950s Japan, it...

Growing up in a small town in Indonesia, famously known for its diversity of dialects—over 700, at least—being immersed in a multilingual...

When I moved to Japan about 8 years ago to start graduate school in Tokyo, I was acutely aware of the general attitude towards tattoos in...