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April 01, 2025
 

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Eric Margolis
Eric Margolis is a writer, book editor and translator from Japanese who is based in Nagoya. His writing has been published in The Japan Times, The New York Times, Foreign Policy, Slate, The New Republic, Tokyo Weekender and elsewhere.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 4, 2021
Dress like Naruto? Great cosplay. Speak like Naruto? Hmm, chotto …
With anime's popularity booming, some may see it as a shortcut to learning Japanese. But you wouldn't necessarily learn English from Donald Duck, would you?
CULTURE / Longform
May 31, 2021
Cool Japan campaign at a crossroads 10 years after setting sights abroad
The government-funded initiative's future looks uncertain given its mixed results so far in promoting Japanese culture overseas.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos
May 31, 2021
What's behind housing discrimination in Japan?
Japanese real estate agents sometimes don't want to try to deal with non-Japanese renters, which is why specialist companies are popping up to help.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos
May 17, 2021
Renting, building or renovating: Tips to get the best roof over your head
If you plan to stay for a while in Japan, there are several routes you can take when it comes to finding a place to rest your head.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 14, 2021
When you find the right notes to learn Japanese, even karaoke can be your classroom
From children's lullabies to visual-kei, writing out lyrics and singing along to Japanese pop can help you with everyday conversation.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos
May 10, 2021
Japan’s undeterred housing market is full of opportunity for foreign residents
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many foreign residents to think about what they want to do long-term in Japan. For some, buying property is the answer.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 16, 2021
'Bidenese' returns interpreters and translators to a linguistic safe zone
Japanese translators made news when they expressed difficulties in translating former U.S. President Donald Trump. So, how are they doing with Joe Biden?
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 19, 2021
What makes beautiful Japanese? It's as simple as a morning greeting
A word that sounds good rolling off the tongue? Or an everyday greeting that lets people know you care? Japanese speakers sound off on what words they think are beautiful.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 8, 2021
Ten years on from 3/11, do you think you're ready for the 'Big One'?
What if the quake that hit Tohoku 10 years ago happened along the Nankai Trough to the south of Japan? Well, experts are predicting this very scenario.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 1, 2021
Environmental activism is at the heart of Nagoya's international community
The search for friendship and community among foreign residents of Nagoya has become intimately tied to environmental education and activism.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 6, 2021
Literary manga ‘The Man Without Talent’ speaks volumes in hermetic angst
The work of Yoshiharu Tsuge, one of Japan's masters of literary manga, is now available in English thanks to translator Ryan Holmberg.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 5, 2021
The art of the Japanese pun: From classic poetry to dad jokes
Wordplay is used in a non-comical way even in traditional Japanese dishes at the holidays, with the names of ingredients recalling expressions of good tidings.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 3, 2021
Episode 80: A shift in Japan's climate policy
Japan Times staff writer Ryusei Takahashi joins Deep Dive to discuss Prime Minister Suga's pledge to make Japan carbon neutral by 2050.
ENVIRONMENT
Jan 16, 2021
The true cost of the climate crisis on Japan
The prime minister has called for Japan to be carbon neutral by 2050, but bolder measures look necessary to reduce the economic damage caused by global warming.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Dec 28, 2020
Anne Frank and Sadako Sasaki: Two girls that symbolize the horrors of war
The 75th anniversary of the end of World War II came amid a pandemic. We take a moment to look back to remember two people in particular who died in that global crisis.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / 2020 in review
Dec 19, 2020
Our critics’ favorite books published in 2020
As 2021 approaches, six Japan Times book reviewers look back on their top reads released in English this year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 15, 2020
Cook up a sweet Japanese lesson … and some good food at the same time
Following a recipe in Japanese can be a language lesson all on its own. Get some grammar, add some vocabulary and serve fresh.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 10, 2020
Rabbi Shmuel Vishedsky: 'Hanukkah reminds people that miracles do happen'
While it can be hard to observe Jewish practices anywhere there isn't a large Jewish population, the Jewish community in Kansai supports each other.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 1, 2020
I'm sorry, but I think you can complain a little bit better than that
Japanese is well-known for being an indirect language, but that doesn't mean you can't make your dissatisfaction with a situation clear to others.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Nov 26, 2020
Yosakoi gets a second chance during Kochi hero’s birthday celebrations
There is no place that loves Sakamoto Ryoma like Kochi.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

Podcast

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

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
By Johan Brooks

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