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November 25, 2024
 

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LANGUAGE

A Nihon Kotsu Co. taxi departs one of the company's service offices in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 23, 2024
Japan to aid introduction of multilingual ride-hailing apps
With the number of inbound visitors rapidly increasing, rural areas are facing the urgent challenge of securing transportation options for tourists.
Japanese companies lack the agility needed for the digital transformation, a new report says.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 15, 2024
Japan ranked 31st in digital competitiveness, 92nd for English skills
In the 2024 EF English Proficiency Index, Japan was ranked 92nd, down from 87 the previous year. It was its worst showing yet.
The topics nominated for this year’s buzzwords of the year ranged from new banknotes and Olympian quips to political scandals and rice shortages.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 5, 2024
From cat memes to Olympians with too much rizz, these are Japan's 2024 buzzword nominations
The buzzword of the year, along with the top 10 picks, will be decided from the 30 nominated terms on Dec. 2.
Members of the rock band Bright Eyes Super-Duper perform a song using sign language at a venue in Nagoya on Sept. 15.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 27, 2024
Sign-language rock band marks 35 years in Japan
To keep rhythm for their performances, the members of Bright Eyes Super-Duper with impaired hearing feel the vibrations of the music.
The Tokyo District Court on Friday sentenced Australian Daniel Mathew Otto, 32, to two years in jail for breaking into a home in Shinjuku Ward in June 2023 and injuring an elderly man who lives there. Otto had claimed that a language mix-up led to the victim thinking he was a robber.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 18, 2024
Australian man claiming language mix-up jailed over Tokyo break-in
He claimed he was trying to warn the home owner of danger by telling him to “Go to a door.” The victim heard him shout "gōtō da" (This is a robbery) instead.
Aziz Ahmed talks about young language carers in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture, on Sept. 18.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 5, 2024
Young language carer hopes to support others facing hardships in Japan
Aziz Ahmed came to Japan from Pakistan at the age of 9 and remembers the hardships he faced interpreting for family members who do not speak Japanese.
Fluffy animals like English angora rabbits can be described in Japanese using new expressions such as mofumofu.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 18, 2024
Over 80% in Japan accept new expressions such as 'mofumofu'
Over 80% of the respondents said that they do not mind the use of these words by others, with younger generations being more likely to use them themselves.
An electronic sign developed by Mitsubishi Electric displays announcements in multiple languages at a factory in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 10, 2024
Mitsubishi Electric develops multilingual translation system for meetings
The firm hopes the system will be used when information needs to be related accurately to a large number of workers, including non-Japanese ones.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Japan should develop its own generative AI.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 27, 2024
Nvidia to support development of AI based on Japanese language data
The move is seen helping local efforts to protect critical infrastructure and strengthen industrial competitiveness without relying on other countries.
Sarvam AI, often described as India’s OpenAI, introduced software for businesses that can interact with customers using spoken voice rather than just text.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 26, 2024
Cheap AI voice bots are suddenly everywhere in India
Startups may turn India into a proving ground for what could be the next frontier of generative artificial intelligence products.
A new rule of having prison officers use honorifics when addressing inmates sparked apprehension when it was introduced in April. Three months later, a prison officer said the rule helps avoid situations where older inmates might not feel comfortable being called by their names without honorifics by officers fresh out of school.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 15, 2024
Prison officers and inmates warm up to rule on use of honorifics
Since April, a new rule requires prison officers to use the honorifics san and kun when addressing inmates by their last names.
A demonstration of a clear-screen translation system is conducted at a counter at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2024
Clear-screen translation system is being tested at Tokyo's Haneda
The translation system is designed to rapidly provide information to foreign travelers and those with hearing difficulties.
While the education ministry recently introduced a new subject called “logic and expression” in its new curriculum guidelines, experts say that many teachers, in practice, are still focusing on grammar acquisition.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 19, 2024
Japan study downplays complex grammar in improving English writing skills
English learners are better off focusing on making good arguments, according to the Kobe University research.
Young Kenyan students look at a computer monitor in Nairobi on Oct. 31, 2023.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 19, 2024
From Swahili to Zulu, African techies develop AI language tools
Technology experts warn the lack of AI tools in African languages will lead to millions of people on the continent being excluded.
A bird perches on an elephant in the Amboseli National Park in Kajiado County, Kenya, on April 4.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 12, 2024
Study shows elephants might call each other by name
In the study, researchers analyzed vocalizations made by more than 100 elephants in Amboseli National Park and Samburu National Reserve in Kenya.
Hyappu Ishikawa (left) attends to children at the "Karafuru" Japanese language school in Nishio, Aichi Prefecture, in April.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2024
How one Japanese city supports foreign students through community education
In the city of Nishio, public and private sectors collaborate with schools to support foreign students in Japanese language education and raise their school enrollment rates.
Language support groups in Fukushima Prefecture are calling for the creation of a better environment for foreign children to learn Japanese.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
May 27, 2024
With more foreign children, Fukushima struggles with language support
A number of children attending schools in the prefecture in fiscal 2023 were unable to fully understand Japanese.
The Japanese government updated its English education guidelines in 2017 to emphasize communication over grammar and memorization. Public school teachers are incredibly busy, however, which means schools haven’t been able to implement changes uniformly. Private and alternative schools are attempting to remedy this.
LIFE / Language / Longform
May 27, 2024
The language of opportunity: Bilingual education is on the rise in Japan
Stuck with a reputation for poor English, Japan is pushing its next generation to be bilingual. Privately run schools are seeing the benefits.
An advisory panel to the education ministry will consider how the Japanese language should be transcribed into the Latin alphabet, including unifying different romanization styles currently in use.
JAPAN
May 15, 2024
Japan to review romanization system for first time in 70 years
The review is due to be submitted as early as next spring.
Woman dies after train collides with car in Tochigi
A Moka Railway train car
After Shohei Ohtani bump, Iwate ironware maker sees brighter future
Kaito Kikuchi's decision to send superstar Shohei Ohtani one of his company's traditional ironware tea kettles has paid off with a surge of interest from general consumers.
Tokyo police care for lost umbrellas, keys and flying squirrels
An employee at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Lost and Found Center in the Iidabashi area of central Tokyo bags, tags and organizes thousands of items.
Japan to aid introduction of multilingual ride-hailing apps
A Nihon Kotsu Co. taxi departs one of the company's service offices in Tokyo.
Seven & I founding family sounded out KKR and others about buyout: report
A 7-Eleven convenience store in Tokyo
Tokyo’s newest three-star chef wants ‘harmony across every detail’
British-born Daniel Calvert earned his third Michelin star last month — a stunning achievement considering his restaurant, Sezanne, has only been open for just over three years.
133-year-old Kyushu railway station remains to be partially preserved
The remains of the original Moji Station in Kitakyushu
After Shohei Ohtani bump, Iwate ironware maker sees brighter future
Kaito Kikuchi's decision to send superstar Shohei Ohtani one of his company's traditional ironware tea kettles has paid off with a surge of interest from general consumers.
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”

Podcast

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

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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