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November 24, 2024
 

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Alice Gordenker

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Alice Gordenker
Alice Gordenker writes the "So, What the Heck is That?" column, providing in-depth, carefully researched explanations of the things foreigners find so puzzling about Japan. Her work has been modified as a textbook for Japanese university students called "Surprising Japan" (Shohakusha, 2012).
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Jan 11, 2002
Getting into the rat race in middle school
My children are back in school after two weeks of winter vacation. We went skiing and took a few day trips around Tokyo, but the boys spent most of their vacation playing, reading and relaxing. Some of their school chums, however, had no break at all. They spent the entire "holiday" studying for middle-school...
LIFE / Language
Jan 6, 2002
Kids: They've got it figured out
The year's end is a natural time for reflection. Every December, I take a break from the hectic activity of the season and sit down for a quiet cup of tea. I look back at the year passed and reflect on the year to come.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Dec 28, 2001
Practice perfects New Year's calligraphy
Pencils and computers haven't replaced brushes at schools -- brush work is alive and well.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Dec 14, 2001
Every child gets to be a musician here
My 7-year-old is learning to play a uniquely Japanese instrument. The shamisen? No. The koto? No. Like virtually every other first-grader here, my son is learning to play the kenban hamonika (keyboard harmonica).
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Nov 30, 2001
Kids get down to classroom clean-ups
A few weeks before my son started first grade, I asked my friend Nagako to help me read the list of school supplies I needed to buy.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Nov 16, 2001
Sewing and cookery aren't just for the girls
On a recent observation day at the Japanese public elementary school that my children attend, I wandered into unfamiliar territory. I saw a mother entering a classroom I had never noticed. I followed her in and got quite a surprise.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Nov 2, 2001
No fundraisers or bake sales? Sign me up!
I agreed to serve on the PTA of the Japanese elementary school my children attend, but on one condition: that I didn't have to do any fundraising.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 28, 2001
Sesame Street for better English learning
The creators of "Sesame Street" are developing new content and materials to make the highly successful children's television program more useful for Japanese children learning English.
COMMUNITY / THE PARENT TRIP
Apr 27, 2001
Being completely fair
When I brought my children to Japan a year ago, I expected they'd pick up on certain things faster than me. I did not, however, anticipate that they'd so quickly succumb to the Japanese national obsession with janken.
U.S. aircraft carrier returns to Japan carrying navy’s ‘most capable fighter’
U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Fred Kacher speaks to reporters shortly after the arrival of aircraft carrier USS George Washington at Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Friday.
After Shohei Ohtani bump, Iwate ironware maker sees brighter future
Kaito Kikuchi's decision to send superstar Shohei Ohtani one of his company's traditional ironware tea kettles has paid off with a surge of interest from general consumers.
Japan approves ¥21.9 trillion stimulus plan
The policy chiefs of the Democratic Party for the People, Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito — Makoto Hamaguchi (left), Itsunori Onodera (center) and Mitsunari Okamoto — shake hands after reaching an agreement on an economic stimulus package on Wednesday.
Woman dies after train collides with car in Tochigi
A Moka Railway train car
Japan will spend ¥325 million in government funds on Princess Yuriko's funeral
Princess Yuriko waves during the New Year's public greeting at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in January 2019.
133-year-old Kyushu railway station remains to be partially preserved
The remains of the original Moji Station in Kitakyushu
After Shohei Ohtani bump, Iwate ironware maker sees brighter future
Kaito Kikuchi's decision to send superstar Shohei Ohtani one of his company's traditional ironware tea kettles has paid off with a surge of interest from general consumers.
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.

Podcast

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

mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world
mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

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