Internet sites for Japan and Japanese studies

Many Japanese resources are freely available on the Web and some selected sites are listed below.

1. General resources on Japan and Japanese studies
2. Politics and social issues
3. Media
4. Japanese language
5. Religion
6. Travel and tourism
7. Libraries
8. Search engines

NB. In order to view many of these sites properly you will need to be able to view Japanese characters through your Web browser.

1. General resources on Japan and Japanese studies

Asian Studies WWW Virtual Library is a "global collaborative project which provides access in bibliographic and in hypertext terms to networked scholarly documents, resources and information systems concerned with or relevant to Asian Studies". You can search the database by keyword or browse through subject categories.
Bridge to Japan is a web site maintained in the UK by the Japan Library Group, with the aim of facilitating access to Web-based sources of information about Japan.
BUBL is a web-based national information service for the UK higher education community. It has an online catalogue of over 12,000 selected Internet resources, including links for Japan .
CIA World Factbook : key statistics on Japanese geography, people, government, economy, transport, communication and defence.
The Coombsweb, based at the Australian National University in Canberra, is the world's oldest Asian Studies online research facility.
The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation supports links between the UK and Japan. The organisation's web site contains links to many useful resources
Japan: a country study produced by the US Library of Congress, focuses on the history, economics, politics and national security apparatus of Japan.
Japan Echo is an online journal which includes scholarly essays, interviews and discussions in translation, covering topics related to Japan.
The Japan Society web site for this society which is the longest established organisation concerned with Anglo-Japanese relations in Britain.
Japan Zone provides English-language information on Japanese culture and travel. The Japan Omnibus section includes information on geography, history, politics and religion and the Modern Japan section is particularly useful for up-to-date news on cinema, anime, manga and other areas of popular culture.
Key aspects of Japan is a website based on the 1993 book 'Traditional Japanese Culture and Modern Japan' by Yoichi Sugiura and John K Gillespie. The online version provides updated data, and is available in parallel English and Japanese versions. This is a useful source of basic information on a large range of aspects of Japanese culture. Topics include: clothes; food; religion; festivals; sports; art; entertainment; toys; language; education; leisure activities; symbols; animals; plants; and geography.
Stanford University's JGuide: guide to Japan information resources. A large collection of links to online resources arranged by subject.
Web Japan , part of the Japan Information Network, is a gateway for Japanese information. The site has links to various sources of information including statistics, business and culture as well as guides to the various regions and cities of Japan.

2. Politics and social issues

Japanese Political Resources on the Net
Japanese language version of the web site for Prime Minister of Japan and his Cabinet. An English language version is also available. The site includes news updates, information about the Japanese government and links to governmental and news resources such as the Ministry of Finance , the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

3. Media

Web sites for newspapers and current affairs magazines may offer current news, but older articles are often only available to subscribers. Don't forget that Brookes staff and students also have access to Japanese sources such as The Daily Yomiuri, The Japan Times, Kabushiki Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun, The Nikkei Weekly, Sankei Shimbun and more via the Factiva database. Connect to this via Databases for Japanese Studies.

Jiji Tsushin Jiji Press is an independent Japanese news wire whose aim is "Bringing World News to Japan and News about Japan to the World".
Kyodo Tsushin Kyodo News is a nonprofit cooperative organization whose mission is "to supply timely and accurate political, economic, business, city and cultural news, mainly of Asia and the Pacific Rim, to non-Japanese media". KNI now provides major newspapers, TV broadcasters, financial services, online databases and government agencies with more than 200 news reports daily. Its services includes a huge internet-based online photo database.
Japan Times is the official web site for this Japanese newspaper.
Nikkei net Interactive includes up-to-date news plus articles from The Nihon Keizai Shimbun, The Nikkei Industrial Daily and The Nikkei Financial Daily.
The Japan Foundation Newsletter This organisation aims to promote "mutual understanding and friendship on the international scene." The web site includes many useful links.
Kidon media-link provides links for newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and news agencies around the world.

4. Japanese language

For links to general language-related sites see the Library guide Language studies and linguistics on the internet

5. Religion

Japanese Journal of Religious Studies is an academic journal devoted to the study of Japanese religions which is published by the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture. The journal's website offers open access to the essays and books reviews published in it since1974.

Jinja Honchō is the Association of Shinto Shrines. Their web site presents a wealth of information about Shinto beliefs, rituals and traditions. English and Japanese versions are available.

New religions is a full-text web version of a book originally published in 1991 by the Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics of Kokugakuin University. This is the second volume in the series Contemporary Papers on Japanese Religion designed to introduce recent studies on Japanese religion to the international English-speaking audience. The six chapters include a review of Recent Trends in the Study of Japanese New Religions by the editor, historical studies of the Meiji, Taisho and early Showa eras and contemporary studies such as Healing in the New Religions. A print version of the book is available in Headington Library at 299.56/NEW

6. Travel and tourism

World Travel Guide: Japan
Japan National Tourist Organisation
Lonely Planet web site includes lots of useful information for travellers.

7. Libraries

LIBDEX: the library index provides links to Library catalogues in countries throughout the world including Japan.
The Japan Library Group Web site hosts the UK Union Catalogue of Japanese Books which covers the Japanese collections of SOAS, the British Library, Oxford, Cambridge and other institutions. NB. Your computer must be equipped with software which allows you to read Japanese text.

8.Search engines

Yahoo! Japan NB You need to be able to view Japanese characters through your Web browser in order to properly view Yahoo! Japan. For more information see Yahoo's online guide