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December 04, 2024
 

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Louise George Kittaka

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Louise George Kittaka
Originally from New Zealand, Louise George Kittaka is a bilingual writer based in Tokyo. She contributes to a wide range of news and information media, as well as Japan’s educational publishing sector. When she isn’t at her computer, Louise loves exploring waterfalls, going to cake buffets and collecting anything related to the Aliens movie franchise.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 28, 2015
Making your U.S. tax filing from Japan that little bit less ... taxing
Calvin Tong, an American taxation expert and long-term Japan resident, explains recent changes in U.S. taxation laws that have left many Americans here confused.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 18, 2015
'Baby-friendly' Tokyo cafe tells moms to pay to use their own baby food — or go
Reader N was decidedly unimpressed with the service encountered at one Tokyo establishment when she and her friend took their young babies out for lunch.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 14, 2014
JCN on mission to tackle Japan's stray-cat problem
Japan Cat Network rescues abandoned felines and advocates for spaying and neutering as a means of cutting the country's stray cat population.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 7, 2014
Group offers free English to kids in care in Japan and aid to children in Philippines
JOYFUL — the Japan Outreach Youth Foundation for Underprivileged Learners — is a volunteer group that helps children here in Japan and in the founder's homeland of the Philippines.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 6, 2014
On the hunt for Tono's mythical water trolls
Sushi fans will probably know that cucumber rolls are known as kappamaki in Japanese. This is in honor of what is surely one of Japan's strangest mythical creatures — the kappa.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Nov 30, 2014
Stage veteran invites Tokyoites to try treading the boards
While Ann Jenkins has taken roles in numerous Tokyo International Players productions during her 24-year involvement with the group, she is just as active behind the scenes.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Nov 10, 2014
Foreign wives of Japan offer NHK and 'Massan' criticism and kudos
Ellie's successors question the character's swift mastery of Japanese and penchant for hugs but welcome the issues she raises.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Nov 2, 2014
Closing a bank account from outside Japan; a new way to pay NHK
Advice on closing a bank account from abroad, and how you could lump your NHK fees together with cable TV payments.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Oct 19, 2014
DeafJapan opens up the world to the hearing-impaired
DeafJapan provides opportunities for hearing-impaired people in Japan to enjoy activities in English while also linking them up with the global community.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Oct 6, 2014
Range of services rush to fill gaps in Japan's after-school care market
As the government moves to widen access for older children, the private sector offers flexibility and a focus on areas such as English and sports.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Oct 5, 2014
Families run into twin 'walls' as they seek after-school care
The gulf between day care for preschoolers and after-school care for elementary school students can come as a major shock to the system for parents and children alike.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 14, 2014
KidArt seeks to coax out Japanese students' neglected creativity
Disappointed at the lack of creativity in the English curriculum in Japanese schools, Jonathan Genji Abbott founded KidArt International in 2012.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Sep 8, 2014
Mind the 'geb': Little word is a big problem for Japan's German residents
Inflexible residence card system leaves married Germans with ridiculously long names on their IDs — along with an annoying little extra word.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Sep 7, 2014
Yoko and author's other furry friends help kids cope with childhood challenges
Rosemary Wells' stories — including a series about a Japanese kitten's experience at an American school — have been delighting children and adults alike around the world for over 40 years.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Aug 24, 2014
New buildings can take the sunshine out of life
As residents of Japan, most of us probably expect that our right to sunlight is protected by law. However, as reader Y found, that isn't really the case.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 27, 2014
Dependents, know your limit: ¥1,030,000, to be exact
This week's question comes from the non-Japanese parents of a teenager who wants to work part-time to save for university.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 13, 2014
Shifting from the SOFA to permanent residency
An American civilian worker on a U.S. military base who has plans to retire here with his older Japanese wife wonders what will happen to his visa status if she predeceases him.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jul 7, 2014
Foreign women also face 'maternity harassment'
Non-Japanese women discuss their experiences of mata-hara, or 'maternity harassment' — discrimination in the workplace against women who are pregnant, on child-care leave or have returned to work after giving birth.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 29, 2014
British School runners hit historic Nakasendo trade trail
A team of students, staff and parents sets out to run the Nakasendo, the ancient route linking Kyoto and Tokyo, to raise money to build a school in Cambodia.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jun 22, 2014
All-consuming school clubs worry foreign parents
School club activities — something that most Japanese parents accept as a normal and desirable rite of passage in their child's development — can leave foreign parents quaking in their boots at what lies ahead.
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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