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December 04, 2024
 

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Kaori Shoji
Kaori Shoji writes about movies and movie-makers for the Film Page, plus takes a turn at the Bilingual Column. Biggest mistake of her career: taking the very dignified Nagisa Oshima to McDonald's for an iced coffee.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 18, 2019
Scoring a try against gender barriers
In the late 1980s, a group of Japanese women came together to form the country's first female rugby club, efforts that have been immortalized in a short film by Mackenzie Sheppard
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 18, 2019
'Liberty Fields': Short on duration but lacking nothing in emotion
Mackenzie Sheppard's short take on the birth of women's rugby in Japan is a lesson in inspiration, emotion and breaking down barriers
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 16, 2019
Listening for the subtle sounds of autumn
Everyone's talking about the weather. While it's great to know the vocabulary needed to express seasons and temperature, there are also a few adverbs that will come in handy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Sep 9, 2019
Let's discuss summer homework
With summer homework a staple for many Japanese children, are youngsters suffering from exhaustion and do their parents support the allocation of studies during vacation?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Sep 7, 2019
YouTuber Koichi Kuwabara offers free hugs in a bid to bridge divide between Asian neighbors
Thirty-five-year-old Koichi Kuwabara has been offering free hugs in cities around the world since 2011. His efforts certainly haven’t gone unnoticed on social media, with the first video he uploaded on YouTube since attracting more than 1 million views.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Aug 31, 2019
Nicole Bargwanna: A different style of living
Founder of Tokyo-based fashion PR company explains how she could move from the bustling metropolis to the U.K. countryside without compromising business.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 24, 2019
'Perfume: In Search of Your Signature Scent': Up the distinguished nose of an olfactory detective
Neil Chapman's passion for scents has taken him all over the world and incited him to write 'Perfume,' a 'scent atlas' that takes the form of a gorgeous 288-page guidebook.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 19, 2019
Schedule some time to learn the uses of 'yotei'
The word 'yotei' can translate as 'schedule' in English, but it also means 'plans.' That makes it very useful in and out of the office.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Aug 17, 2019
Excessive homework may be exhausting students in Japan during their summer vacation
The school summer holidays are now in full swing but an increasing number of parents and their children are spending the break hunched over a desk with a stack of workbooks instead of enjoying ice cream in the park. 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 31, 2019
'Into the Spider-Verse' director Peter Ramsey extols the virtues of a good bit of animation
Earlier this year, filmmaker Peter Ramsey's name flashed into the collective consciousness when "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" won the Academy Award for best animated feature, elbowing the Japan-made nominee, "Mirai," to the side. As co-director of a three-man directorial team, Ramsey also became...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Jul 27, 2019
Yumi Nagashima: Keeping the funny side up
Vancouver comedian subverts the demure Japanese woman stereotype.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 22, 2019
Japanese features a lot of ways to complain about the heat in summer
As we make the shift from u6885u96e8 (tsuyu, rainy season) to u590fu672cu756a (natsu honban, summertime in earnest), you'll find that the weather will take center stage in many Japanese conversations.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Jul 13, 2019
Aika Miyake: Film editor makes the cut in both Japan and U.S
There aren't many female filmmakers in Japan, making even fewer female film editors. Aika Miyake is an exception.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 17, 2019
In praise of the perfect Japanese compliment
The Japanese haven't traditionally complimented one another in the workplace, but a book on the power of positive reinforcement has garnered a following.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 12, 2019
Dai Watanabe: Forging his own path, away from the familiar
Though he rarely acknowledges the fact in public, Dai Watanabe is the son of Ken Watanabe: arguably Japan's most internationally known actor since Toshiro Mifune. Among Japanese media, the fact is common knowledge, though in interviews with Watanabe junior, the subject is often off-limits.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jun 7, 2019
Chemical firm hit for punishing worker who took paternity leave with transfer halfway across Japan
Chemical producer Kaneka Corp. faces allegations of harassment after an employee returned from paternity leave to find that he — and, one presumes, his family — was being transferred to a different branch in another part of the country.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 27, 2019
Speaking up in Japanese for quality time off work
Decades ago, the mid-1980s to be exact, I complained to my mom that my dad worked too much. Like legions of middle-aged Japanese salarymen, my father was never home before 9 p.m. and spent his weekends on 海外出張 (kaigai shucchō, overseas business trips). He was also big on 休日出勤 (kyūjitsu...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
May 18, 2019
Mari Yamamoto: Staying international on and off camera
Becoming an actress was a way to liberate Mari Yamamoto from a salaryman way of life.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 8, 2019
Use 'shin' to make a new start in the Reiwa Era
Spring is the time for new life, the new school year, new coworkers and, in 2019, a new Imperial era.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 18, 2019
Hay fever season gets people sneezing and talking
A good way to start a conversation in Japanese at this time of year is to talk about allergies and hay fever in particular. Learning the vocabulary for sore eyes and runny noses can also help at your local pharmacy.
Japan’s 2024 buzzword of the year urges a reevaluation of past norms
Sadao Abe, who played the role of a time-traveling Showa Era teacher transported to present day in a popular TV drama, receives the 2024 buzzword of the year award for the word "futehodo," the nickname of the series.
Princess Aiko, only child of emperor, turns 23
Princess Aiko on Nov. 22 ahead of her 23rd birthday on Sunday at the Imperial Palace
Ishiba questioned on political reform, social issues and the economy
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in the Lower House in Tokyo on Monday.
Nearly 90% in Japan and China have negative views of other
Chinese people's sentiment toward Japan is believed to be impacted by their use of social media platforms such as Weibo and Douyin, as well as whether they have visited Japan.
Bear that attacked Akita supermarket employee captured
A brown bear in Hokkaido. In the city of Akita, a bear that attacked a supermarket employee over the weekend was captured in a box trap on Monday morning.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Europe eyes 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine as possible peace deal option
A serviceman with the Ukrainian Army's 24th mechanized brigade fires a machine gun during an exercise, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the country's Donetsk region on Friday.
Seven strangers and an algorithm: Can this new dinner app help you make friends?
Timeleft uses an algorithm to match its users with five or six strangers in an effort to prompt “human connection” over dinner at a restaurant. It determines the attendees with the help of a simple personality quiz available when you sign up for the service. 
Don’t worry, you can still use your Japan health insurance card — for now
A My Number card reader at a pediatric clinic in Tokyo. While the government will stop issuing new health insurance cards on Monday, most people will remain unaffected by the move in the short term as existing health insurance cards can still be used for another year.
The Geisha bean is the leading lady of Tokyo's coffee scene
Discovered in the 1930s, the Geisha coffee plant came to worldwide fame in the early 2000s and now represents some of the best coffee on the planet — Tokyo's top cafes included.

Podcast

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

Longform

The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
By Tomoko Otake

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