01
Start with the strongest available source
Government data, official guidance and primary documents come first. Reporting, surveys and public online discussion add context only when their limits are clear.
About / Editorial standards
Context beforeconfidence.
Neon Footnotes is an English-language guide to the parts of Japan that are easy to sensationalize and hard to explain: dating, nightlife, women’s culture, language and everyday etiquette.
02
Keep the denominator attached
A poll of app users is not the voice of a country. We identify who was studied, when the evidence was collected and what the source cannot establish.
03
Separate fact, interpretation and advice
Articles distinguish documented claims from cultural interpretation and practical visitor guidance. Individual people never become stand-ins for “all Japanese women” or “all foreigners.”
04
Label editorial imagery
AI-generated editorial images are identified in their captions. They illustrate a topic; they are not presented as documentary evidence or photographs of a reported event.
The practical rule