Tag - expats

 
 

EXPATS

Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 1, 2014
For Japan's foreign residents, the little things make such a big difference
American political ideals may be grander, European philosophy may be deeper, Islamic faith may be firmer than anything native to Japan — but Japan, perhaps uniquely, knows the value of small things.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 27, 2014
A death in detention in Tokyo and a bitter belated farewell
What was the back story to this Ghanaian's death from pneumonia? A pre-existing condition? Or something the immigration authorities wanted hidden? Without an autopsy, there would be no answers to these gnawing questions. We already knew all we would ever know.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jan 24, 2014
Don't let ANA off the hook for that offensive ad
If ANA had really wanted to 'change the image of Japan,' it should have avoided racializing its product. Instead, it's just business as usual.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 22, 2014
Teachers tread water in eikaiwa limbo
Every year, thousands of young native English-speakers fly to Asia in search of an adventure, financed by working as English teachers. They come from Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., Britain, Canada and elsewhere.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jan 15, 2014
No refuge from booze in Tokyo, paradise for alcoholics in denial
Many of us foreigners living here know deep down that we and many of our friends are at least mild alcoholics, masking each other's addictions, and the allure of alcohol is not an easy monkey to get of your back. It's difficult in any city, though living in Tokyo provides it's own unique set of problems.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jan 10, 2014
Educator with a mission sends out support from Hiroshima
Some people seem to have a knack for turning their hand to anything that comes along and, moreover, making a success of it. This is certainly the case with Hiroshima-based Adam Beck. Over the years, the American has been a children's theater director, an English teacher, a newspaper columnist and the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jan 6, 2014
The empire strikes back: the top issues for non-Japanese in 2013
2013 saw the enfranchised elite consolidating their power further than has ever been seen in the postwar era, while Japan's disenfranchised peoples slipped ever lower down the totem pole, becoming targets of suspicion, fear and loathing.
COMMUNITY
Dec 29, 2013
Orphan of distance? Find time to latch onto some Okinawans this New Year's
Japanese New Year's is a decidedly family affair. If you can't find a family to invite you in from the streets for a bowl of soba, it's important to find the right group of friends — friends who will make a point to gather on a cold New Year's Eve with a fellow orphan of distance. Friends who find themselves, like you, far from their homes and families, caught between two worlds.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Dec 25, 2013
Tokyo, the city that's not as crazy as everyone thinks
As a Japanese friend of mine who has lived all over Japan once said, 'People from the Kansai area are like Latin people, but in Tokyo they're more like Germans.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Dec 25, 2013
Race-based ID checks in front of families send wrong message
I cannot accept the way Japanese police treat foreigners such as myself in public places — especially how they judge people by color and appearance. I have had several unpleasant experiences that suggest this is the case.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Dec 22, 2013
Don't let the holidays leave you homesick this year
Homesickness is a particular concern for foreign residents in December, when the holiday season starts to conjure up images of family dinners and drinking parties with old friends. For new arrivals, it's further complicated by the simultaneous challenge of adjusting to a different culture.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 22, 2013
Beauty, shoes and music to round up 2013
Lifelines is playing catch-up this week, with some feedback from previous columns and a reader hoping for a little bit of Christmas magic to help him reconnect with his musical past in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Dec 20, 2013
Cook, writer, TV host, actress and more: Briton toasts eventful half-century in Japan
Civil servant, cook, columnist and TV personality are among the hats Jill Sinclair Ito has worn during her 50 years in the country.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 15, 2013
To stay here long term, visa seekers need to prove they can pay their way
From finding a residence status that suits your circumstances to signing up a sponsor, getting a visa to stay in Japan for the long term can be a challenge.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / MIXED MATCHES
Dec 13, 2013
For Canadian traveler, last-minute meeting led to change of heart and new start in Japan
Michelle Takahashi works as an English teacher at a school for families who hope to raise their children in bilingual and multi-cultural environments. Together with Toru, a systems engineer at an IT-related U.S. company, and their two sons, she now lives in Kodaira, western Tokyo.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Dec 9, 2013
Korean volunteers put the K into kizuna
One volunteer group, based at Tokyo's Meiji University, is called Kizuna International; the other, at Kyoto University, is Kizuna From Kyoto. The coincidences do not end there: Both groups' leaders share the same surname and both are ethnic Koreans.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Dec 6, 2013
Feasting at the Hooters 'breastaurant': Wise old owls ought to know better
How should I play my first visit to Hooters, the land of hamburgers and hot pants? Should I go highbrow? Or low? I turn to my guide for, uh, guidance. 'Well, their motto is 'Delightfully tacky.' What do you think?'
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Dec 6, 2013
Writer inducted into intricacies of country life shares her story
Home for Rebecca Otowa is a 350-year-old farmhouse nestled on the edge of a tiny village in Shiga Prefecture, where generations of her husband's family have lived. It is a lifestyle she has grown to cherish since arriving in rural Kansai as a bride more than 30 years ago.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Dec 4, 2013
In Japan, no escape from The Eye's perpetual policing glare
In Japan, The Eye compels you towards collective behavior: Mustn't be forceful or push back against the status quo, lest you get hairy-eyeballed.

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’