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October 31, 2025
 

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Screens display stock market information while news breaks about Japan's new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, at foreign exchange brokerage Gaitame.Com Co. in Tokyo on Oct. 21.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Trick or trade: Talking about the stock market's 'Halloween effect' in Japanese
Japanese investors say Halloween is the best time to buy stocks — a seasonal trend known as the “Halloween effect.”
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Have you heard? This year Shibuya wants us to have a ‘good Halloween’
As Shibuya moves from prohibition to permission, learn how to ask where and how to celebrate Japan’s most haunted holiday.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
The what, where and when of Japan’s autumn leaves
Autumn in Japan is a lesson in color and language — learn how to ask the right questions when it comes to hunting fall foliage.
Even if you don’t get your exact wishes across, younger Japanese　hair dressers tend to know a smattering of English and, of course,　you can always use hand gestures.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 9, 2025
From straight to curly: Getting your hair done in Japanese
By Mishu Callan
From perms to straightening, navigating a Japanese salon isn’t difficult when you know the right words.
What’s worse, waking up to find a bear going through your trash or getting an earful from your neighbor on garbage separation?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 3, 2025
Don’t poke the bear: Learn how to sort your garbage the right way
By Yuko Tamura
Bears are increasingly wandering into towns and cities looking for food. Make sure you don’t tempt them with your leftovers.
Ed Sheeran's marketing team has taken over a shop in Tokyo's Ichigaya Station.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 26, 2025
Oh, Ed(o)! Where have all the vowels gone?
By Peter Backhaus
Japan’s playful “Magica spellings” drop vowels and swap consonants, blending Japanese and English into crafty puns.
The promise of autumn is one of relaxation and just being cozy overall.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 18, 2025
How Japanese captures the subtle shift into autumn
By Yaeko Kabe
From the equinox to cooler mornings, Japanese grammar and expressions reflect how the season gradually deepens into autumn.
Kansas City Chiefs' Travis Kelce kisses partner — now finacee — Taylor Swift as they celebrate after his team won Super Bowl LVIII in 2024.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 10, 2025
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s announcement hits all the right notes in Japan
By Yuko Tamura
Japanese culture is in the depths of a nostalgia wave, and the engagement announcement for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce fits in with it nicely.
Experts say staying off your phone and sticking to a sleep schedule can help those who have trouble dozing off.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 2, 2025
Mark Japan’s Sleep Day by making some lifestyle changes
By Yuko Tamura
The Japanese are not getting enough sleep. Luckily, everyone from scientists to Shohei Ohtani are offering solutions.
A boy looks at samples of Pokemon toys available with the McDonald's Happy Meal set in Tokyo earlier this month.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 28, 2025
How to complain politely: Lessons from the McDonald’s Pokemon debacle
By Yuko Tamura
In Japan, the right phrasing can mean the difference between a request and harassment.

Takaichi buys time and builds trust with ‘near-perfect’ Trump summit
U.S. President Donald Trump walks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during a visit to the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
Trump trims fentanyl-linked China tariffs after 'amazing' Xi meeting
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping greet each other as they arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base, next to the Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell
Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Kyushu banzuke sets the stage to cement 2025’s sumo narratives
Onosato ahead of his bout against Aonishiki at The Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Oct. 18
Takaichi pushed back on U.S. request to ban Russian gas imports, sources say
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reportedly turned down a request from the U.S. to cease imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo
Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo

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