author

 
Menu
Search
 
December 21, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Yuko Tamura
A date night on Christmas Eve typically starts with a romantic dinner at a restaurant often with a great view or a private space.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 18, 2024
Silent night? Not if you want to impress your Christmas Eve date.
In Japan, a date night on Christmas Eve typically starts with a romantic dinner at a restaurant often with a great view or a private space.
Book Santa is a program that delivers books to children in need for Christmas, but it also operates year-round.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 17, 2024
Looking for ways to be charitable in Japan? Give the gift of reading.
Book donations are just one of many ways you can give back to the community during the holidays.
Actor Sadao Abe accepts the 2024 U-Can New Word and Popular Phrase Award for ふてほど (futehodo), the abbreviated title for his series, “Futekisetsu nimo Hodo ga Aru!” (“Extremely Inappropriate!”).
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 12, 2024
How often do Japan's buzzwords make it into the vernacular?
We crown a new one every year, but trendy terms tend to disappear from public consciousness if they're related to pop culture.
Customers enter Aeon's Shinagawa Seaside store in Tokyo for a Black Friday sale in 2022.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 29, 2024
Master this double negative to better express your Black Friday urges
What better time to learn how to say you can't resist a deal than on a weekend of discounted shopping.
According to a recent survey by Child Fund Japan, a nonprofit, one in eight minors in Japan have experienced online requests from strangers to meet or for sexual photos. Despite the potential harms of social media, strong regulations are lacking.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 28, 2024
Japan doesn't need a social media ban, but it must protect children
Short of stopping minors from using social media, Japan needs to beef up its response to an evermore perilous online environment. One that adults often struggle to grasp.
Cafe N°_5's take on the Dubai chocolate craze that has been circulating on social media over the past few months is a mix of bitter and sweet.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 28, 2024
Tokyo’s take on that viral chocolate from Dubai
Scarce and pricey, Dubai chocolate is winning over Japanese fans thanks to a few flavor modifications.
With Labor Thanksgiving Day approaching in Japan, it's a good time to show some appreciation to your colleagues.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 20, 2024
You don’t need an onion bouquet to say thanks — just the right words
Nov. 23 is Labor Thanksgiving Day in Japan and Nov. 28 is Thanksgiving in the United States. That makes it a good time to learn how to show your appreciation.
Japanese people love to dress up for Halloween, but in recent years there has been an effort to cut down on the alcohol and crowds that tend to come with the holiday here.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 24, 2024
Celebrating spooky season with Halloween-themed vocabulary
Get to know the vocabulary behind different levels of scares from spooky to absolutely terrifying.
Squats are a good way to exercise your legs and glutes, just don't neglect exercising your mind when it comes to new vocabulary.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 10, 2024
Studying Japanese is like exercise: The more you do it, the better you'll feel.
Get to know the language of weight training as experts say strengthening muscles is key to remaining comfortable and injury-free in your old age.
A pedestrian walks past a 7-Eleven convenience store in Tokyo. The Japanese model for a convenience store is gaining fans overseas where similar stores sell mostly gasoline and junk food.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 1, 2024
Making a habit of describing your morning convenience store run
Hitting up the local convenience store before or after work can wind up becoming habitual, and there are a number of grammar points to help describe it.
The Japanese used by any shop clerk in Japan will generally be the most polite form of the language.
LIFE / Language / Vocabulary Boost
Oct 1, 2024
'Need a bag for that?': Knowing what the clerks are saying at the convenience store
When it comes to serving their customers, convenience store workers tend to all read from the same mannerly script.
A farmer harvests rice in a paddy field in Tamba-Sasayama, Hyogo Prefecture, last month.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 25, 2024
In need of rice and some Japanese words that describe necessity
When does something go from being a "want" to a "need"? A few grammar structures can give the listener a sense of how urgent a situation is becoming.
The Japanese word for cooked rice, "gohan," is the same word used for meals in general.
LIFE / Language / Vocabulary Boost
Sep 25, 2024
Some idioms and terms pertaining to Japan's favorite grain
When one kind of food is so essential to the diet of an entire culture, it's bound to affect the language.
Elementary school students in Japan are often assigned roles like "class helper" as a way of instilling a sense of responsibility.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 12, 2024
From kanji to math, what does a day at a Japanese elementary school look like?
Head back to school with this week's language lesson and learn the basics of what's heard in a classroom, as well as the activities in between.
One survey revealed that 68% of recruiters admit to appearance-based hiring and 96% say interviews are influenced by visual impressions, which is why many employment experts advise job hunters to invest significantly in their appearance.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 4, 2024
Why do I need a photo on my resume to apply for a job in Japan?
It is time to build a recruitment system in Japan that rewards people’s talents, irrespective of their looks
The volunteer lifesavers of Nishihama Surf Lifesaving Club never know what's in store at the start of their day.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Aug 19, 2024
It's no simple day at the beach for Japan's volunteer lifesavers
Protecting beachgoers from drowning, heatstroke and possible tsunami, lifesavers are seeking formal recognition for what they do.
A boy skateboards past Yanaka Cemetery in Tokyo’s Taito Ward. A perfectly peaceful spot the rest of the year, it becomes a place children may test their courage during the Bon holidays.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 8, 2024
Japanese cities turn into ghost towns during the Bon holiday period
As people return to their hometowns to pay their respects to their ancestors, children may try to test their nerves with a "kimodameshi."
A child gets a break from the heat thanks to a cooling mist machine at Sensoji temple in Tokyo.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 24, 2024
Whether it's the pool or the park, teach your kids how to be safe this summer vacation
Your children are likely to sneak out of the house for some fun while school is out. Make sure they know the importance of "squid sushi."
The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale returns this weekend and features works by artists such as Yayoi Kusama.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 13, 2024
Got somewhere to be and need a friend? Better learn how to ask.
If you live in Japan long enough, you're bound to receive an invitation sooner or later. Make sure you know how to respond or how to ask in return.
With the vegan lifestyle becoming more popular in recent years, Japanese restaurants and inns have begun to offer more vegetarian options.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 4, 2024
Asking for food substitutions at a Japanese restaurant
If you're vegetarian, vegan or have some kind of allergy, then knowing how to ask about what you're eating is an essential skill to have.
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.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’
Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER