About gyaku

(ぎゃく): reverse, contrary, counter, converse, opposite

gyaku is a non-profit media project composed of a small number of people with the common desire to present alternative perspectives on Japan and on the world. The project emerged as a means of responding to the irrelevance of the mainstream media to our everyday lives. While we hesitate to define the boundaries of this project in exclusive terms, common themes thus far explored prioritize the personal experience, personal observations and personal perspectives.

In a general sense, as its name implies, gyaku emphasizes the "other" sides: the hidden, the invisible, the disconnected, the unexpected. Its goal is to provide a space for exploring the collective experience, one that is ongoing and constantly evolving.

In a more practical sense, one of the objectives of gyaku is to broadcast perspectives, events, and news stories that are not given attention by popular media outlets. To this end, the site strives to be Japanese/English bilingual, offering, where possible, summaries or full translations of content. Additionally, the site is designed wiith bilingualism in mind: two distinct portals (English and Japanese) access the same set of data, while menu items, links, and formatted content appear uniformly in the preferred language of the user.

If you are interested in getting involved in gyaku or submitting content, contact us through the Contact or Submissions sections.