Already a year has flown by since we decided to renew Click Nippon, and at last we have launched the Japanese and English sites. Apologies for the long wait!

As in the previous version of the site, our focus remains that of communicating the human dimension of the topics featured. We all have turning points and dramatic events in our lives, and we are moved by the drama in each other's lives. By conveying this human side of even one person, we can tell the world something about Japan and prompt people to think more deeply not only about Japan but also about their own and other cultures. We retain this underlying approach in the new Click Nippon site.

The young fashionista known as Tsuno-shi, featured in our My Way Your Way pages, says she has loved fantastical things ever since she was a little girl. Her art is truly a world of fantasy, as is apparent in her distinctive fashion sense. With her stark white makeup, at first glance Tsuno-shi might seem a little scary, but in fact she's a very courteous and kindhearted person. Among her comments is a deeply touching description of growing up in an environment of family and friends who always accepted her for what she was.

Four other young women featured in My Way Your Way also discuss fashion, each exploring its possibilities in her own way. When asked what fashion means to them, they all agree that how you are on the inside is just as important as how you look on the outside, and that your inner self shows through in your outward appearance.

In Japan, when we think of high school girls, usually the first thing that comes to mind is the school uniforms they wear. School uniforms used to be regarded as uncool and as an unwelcome burden inflicted upon students. But perceptions of school uniforms seem to be changing. No doubt this has a lot to do with the fact that the uniforms themselves have gotten more stylish. Even so, why would young women forgo their regular clothes and choose to wear nanchatte seifuku, stylized school uniforms worn not in keeping with school rules but rather as a kind of fashion? As Mr. Aiura Takayuki, one of the masterminds behind the nanchatte seifuku trend, explains, the school uniform has become part of young women's fashion arsenal, a way to use their "schoolgirl power" to maximum effect.

The history of school uniforms is also a history of evolving styles of learning. Indeed, the humble school uniform may well be a deeper, more intriguing topic than you think.

MC