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August 15, 2024
 

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Mami Maruko
Staff writer Mami Maruko writes stories about the international community in Japan, including profiles of Tokyo-based ambassadors and international marriages. She received education in Japan, England and the U.S. She graduated from Goldsmiths College, University of London, with a masters degree in Theater Arts.
COMMUNITY
Apr 2, 2011
Students whip up multilingual site with disaster information
On the day after the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, a group of students from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies gathered a group of volunteers to set up a multilingual website for foreign residents seeking information about the disaster.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Mar 15, 2011
Juggler of two professions in Japan
"My No. 1 hobby even now is still 'learning,' " says Peter Frankl, 58, who has been juggling two professions for over 30 years. Speaking with his eyes lit up like a little boy, the mathematician and street juggler says that through learning, he feels his world is expanding.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / MIXED MATCHES
Mar 8, 2011
From love of anime to love of a man
When Mel Ushikubo, 35, saw the name of her future husband, Kohei, on the Internet, she immediately wanted to see him in person, as that was the name of a character in one of her favorite anime.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 22, 2011
Latvian diplomat runs for closer ties
Latvian Ambassador Peteris Vaivars, 48, has been an avid marathon runner since he was posted to Japan five years ago. He has participated in the Tokyo Marathon for four consecutive years since the inaugural event in 2007 and is preparing for the fifth marathon to be held Sunday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / MIXED MATCHES
Feb 15, 2011
Canadian's health issue unites couple
On their first date, Eiko Tiernan was told by her future husband, Laurier, that he has Marfan syndrome, a congenital hereditary disease that affects about 1 in 5,000 people. At first, she did not know how to react, as she knew nothing about the disease.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Feb 8, 2011
Indian works to serve expat enclave
Once you get out of Nishi-Kasai Station on the Tozai subway line, it's likely that you will bump into at least half a dozen Indians in the first five minutes on the street.
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Feb 1, 2011
Diplomats relate cultures in Japanese
"Goseicho arigato gozaimashita" (thank you for listening), a regular way of ending a speech, echoed in the meeting room after each foreign speaker gave their presentations and received a big round of applause from the audience.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 18, 2011
U.S. NPO seeks 'social entrepreneurs'
A U.S.-based nonprofit organization that has helped "social entrepreneurs" around the world opened a Japanese office this month, its first branch in East Asia, with the goal of creating a similar community in a country where the concept itself is little understood.
COMMUNITY
Dec 28, 2010
Teens give boost to volunteerism
American School in Japan alumnus Jonathan Higa and student Alex Heideman are setting an example for others interested in volunteerism by boosting the youth activities of Hands On Tokyo, a nonprofit organization offering community services.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / MIXED MATCHES
Dec 21, 2010
Javan culture brings couple together
Sumiyanto, 31, born and raised in the Klaten regency of central Java, and Ayako Nezu, 39, from Kawasaki, met in 2002 in the central part of the Indonesian island while they were studying at a national traditional arts college in Solo.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Dec 14, 2010
For writer, languages are his 'darling'
Writer Tony Laszlo, 50, has a strong passion for languages. He speaks 10, including English, Japanese, Chinese, Greek, Turkish and French. As a writer, he uses both English, his mother tongue, and Japanese.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Dec 7, 2010
Italian baker gives new life to old Tochigi warehouse
Paolo Aggio, 48, born and raised in Venice, Italy, bakes traditional Italian country-style bread in a stone warehouse in the middle of the serene and quiet town of Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture, a town famous for its pottery.
COMMUNITY / MIXED MATCHES
Nov 23, 2010
For couple, home is where the heart is
Andrew Pickard, 42, from Leeds in northern England, and Kayoko Hirayama, 35, of Tokyo, met seven years ago at an aikido dojo in Tokyo.
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Nov 16, 2010
Minato foreigners' language needs met
Minato International Association, which arranges activities and programs mainly for foreign residents in Minato Ward, Tokyo, offers a unique program in which Japanese volunteers give foreigners individual Japanese conversation lessons.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Nov 2, 2010
Recipe found for cross-cultural love
Cristiano Pozzi, 37, born and raised in the Lake Como area in northern Italy, and Akiko Kobayashi, 36, from Tokyo, first met in 2003. Cristiano, a chef at an Italian restaurant, and Akiko, owner of a nail salon in Akasaka, were introduced to each other in Tokyo by a mutual Italian friend.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 30, 2010
Lifeline to hold charity auction
Tokyo English Life Line, a nonprofit organization that offers multilingual counseling, will hold a charity auction Nov. 5 to raise funds for its activities.
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Oct 19, 2010
Exchange gives students insights into other cultures
A total of 35 junior high school students from nine countries, including India, Malaysia and Hungary visited schools in Kanagawa and Niigata prefectures last month as part of an exchange program to promote cultural understanding.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Sep 21, 2010
Long-distance relationship comes all the way to Tokyo
Natsuko Shibata, a Tokyo native, and Piyasena Perera, a Sri Lankan-American born in Los Angeles, met two decades ago in New York when they were both studying at Columbia University.
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Aug 31, 2010
NPO's tours give foreigners a taste of community life
Forty people from 19 countries have been taking part in tours, which included home-stays and exchanges, since June to experience community life in various parts of Japan with local residents.
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Aug 17, 2010
Himalayan love story peaks in Chiba
"People say it's like a love story in a Bollywood movie," says Paul Rajesh, 34, who was born in Manali, a town in northern India's Himachal Pradesh state.
Japan to revise consumption tax exemption for overseas tourists
Tourists walk through Nakamise shopping street near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo in April
Japan's tourism industry hit by cancellations after megaquake alert
A beach closed due to a megaquake alert in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Friday to Thursday.
Focus shifts to incoming typhoon as Tropical Storm Maria dissipates
Newly formed Tropical Storm Ampil, which is forecast to approach eastern Japan this weekend, is seen on the left side of this satellite image.
Kishida to step down in September in bid to show ‘LDP has changed’
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Publisher finds surprise audience after translating history textbooks
Yamakawa Shuppansha president Takeshi Nozawa holds the publisher's textbook on Japanese history — used in high schools across Japan — alongside the new English version in Tokyo on May 23.
Economic security is about strengthening and sustaining growth, former minister says
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi says changes in the international balance of power, along with deepening economic interdependence, have led some countries to attempt to use their economic power to impose their will on others.
Ice bandanas, convenience store breaks: Running under Japan’s summer sun
Blistering heat is becoming a fixture of summer in Japan, but a few tweaks to your routine can make your outdoor runs bearable — if not enjoyable — until cooler temperatures return.
Japan issued its first-ever megaquake alert. What does that mean?
Naoshi Hirata (center), chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
France brings down the curtain on its Olympic party with Tom Cruise and Leon Marchand
Fireworks are set off during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday.
Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’
By Thu-Huong Ha

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