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December 21, 2024
 

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Thomas Dillon
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Sep 29, 2007
The curse of the middle name
When I was new to this country, I had regular "episodes of misunderstanding" about Japanese life. Episodes that taught me that Western thinking and Japanese thinking did not, could not, would not match. Episodes that always left me muttering that I had been in Japan too long, even though I had just arrived....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Sep 15, 2007
The fading pitter-patter of little feet
The flip-side of Japan's ever-aging population is that there are increasingly fewer kids. Record-low statistics from 2005 put the birthrate at 1.26 children per woman, a count that somehow sounds painful — but the real hurt is the one being put on Japanese society.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Sep 1, 2007
The honorable language
Whenever the work and weariness of life fills my house with gloom, the one sure way to drive away the clouds and ring in the laughter is this:
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Aug 18, 2007
Some things never change
In the last edition of this column, I sewed together a few of the major changes I have seen in Japan since first arriving here close to 30 years ago.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Aug 4, 2007
The times, they've been a changin'
Thumbing through some faded photographs of my early days in Japan, I find a mustachioed face with shoulder-length hair and water-clear eyes, eyes perhaps indicative of a vast open space behind. My face.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jul 21, 2007
The all-in-one conspiracy theory
"Life in Japan is like tofu," announces a friend over drinks at a late night eatery. "It's much too bland. What this country needs is a good dose of . . . evil."
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jul 7, 2007
Jawing over Japanese jaws
"Let's talk," says my wife. Her euphemism for, "Shut up and listen."
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jun 23, 2007
A doughnut by any other name
Basically, I try to live my life according to that time-tested maxim from the Roman philosopher Seneca, who said wisdom is knowing the proper limit of things.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jun 9, 2007
The Grand Ole Opry it ain't
Topping the list of things that I came to love about Japan — but which I didn't care for at first — is not tofu, hot baths, nor even noodle sandwiches, all very soul-soothing at present. No, my No. 1 "I learned to love it" item is something much closer to home — country music.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
May 26, 2007
In the darkness of our times
One night after visiting friends, I hopped on the local bus for a ride home. At the very first stop, the other passengers — a cane-clutching obaasan and a mother with her pre-schooler — stepped off, leaving me all alone as the bus barreled through the dark.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
May 12, 2007
The freshman wears Prada
"Because I want to make a statement," says the girl. "And my statement is that I am unique, which my choice of fashion demonstrates."
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Apr 28, 2007
Eating more than your heart out
If the old saw is correct and, "You are what you eat," then Takeru Kobayashi is a hot dog. In more ways than one.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Mar 17, 2007
A pixel paints a thousand words
What I am thinking is this: "Looks can be deceiving."
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Mar 3, 2007
That's OK. I thought it was the horse
Here's a joke I once read in a worn volume of rib ticklers. A bit off color, but my ribs loved it.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Feb 17, 2007
My sense of meiwaku
It's the morning rush and the only train that can get you where you need to go on time will be hissing to the track in two minutes. Meanwhile you have to buy a ticket.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Feb 3, 2007
Love Stories: the five rules
All is fair in love and war, but still there are rules. At least -- according to a romance-reading colleague -- there are rules in love stories.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jan 20, 2007
The child in me, the child in you
Mirrors don't lie, but they can mislead. Mine, for example, will sometimes offer unkind reflections upon my age. Especially in the morning.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jan 6, 2007
Bear with me on this
Hiker beware. For the woods are full of bears. And they will get you if you don't watch out.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Dec 9, 2006
Painting the air baby blue
The world used to be more beautiful. The sky was bluer, the grass was greener, and good always triumphed over evil.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Nov 25, 2006
A land without similes
If I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times.
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
A year after going private, structural reforms bearing fruit for Toshiba
Toshiba's Corporate Senior Executive Vice President Koji Ikeya speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Monday.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.
With rare Asia carrier deployment, France seeks greater interoperability
The flight deck of the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier during a stop at Changi Naval Base in Singapore in May 2019

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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Longform

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