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November 24, 2024
 

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LANGUAGE

Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 3, 2013
Shinto's kami and jinja seeking world acceptance
Ise Jingu (伊勢神宮, Ise Jingu Shrine) has recently published a sasshi (冊子, booklet) in English, titled "Soul of Japan — An Introduction to Shinto and Ise Jingu."
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 27, 2013
Oyaji gyagu, more than just cheesy puns
Stop me if you've heard this one. Two men aged around 50 enter a sushi restaurant. One orders a raincoat, the other a garage. What looks like the beginning of a "Monty Python" sketch is in fact the stuff of a most typical oyaji gyagu (おやじギャグ), or old man's joke/gag. Such jokes normally center...
WORLD
May 20, 2013
English-language education proposal has French up in arms
There was a time, not so long ago, when anyone with a proper education spoke French. Diplomacy and business were conducted in French. Knowledge was spread in French. Travelers made their way in French and, of course, lovers traded sweet nothings in French.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 20, 2013
Product names show language creativity at work
Recently I was asked to write a blurb for a new liquid plant-nutrient. As soon as I saw the name of the product, u65e9u6839u65e9u8d77 uff08Hayane Hayaoki), I smiled at this example of linguistic creativity.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 5, 2013
Media weighs in on LDP's English education plan
The Liberal Democratic Party has a thing for archery. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's financial policies comprise "three arrows." The symbolism is based on the old Japanese saying, "Three arrows are harder to break." Since "Abenomics" has proven to be a PR success, at least with the electorate, he's using...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 29, 2013
Bilingual beauty, straight and permed
Beauty must be a bilingual thing. At least that's the impression one gets from looking at signs outside hairdressers, beauty parlors and similar types of businesses in Japan.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 22, 2013
Ways to 'spell' Japanese out loud
I dial a number and ask to speak to my literary agent, Mr. Suzuki.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 8, 2013
The life and times of the destitute girl
I was one of those suckers who thought that the seifu (u653fu5e9c, government) might get it right this time.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 1, 2013
It's all change at Shibuya Station for the Toyoko Line
On March 16, the platforms for the Tokyu Toyoko Line at Shibuya Station moved from the chiju014d nikai (u5730u4e0au4e8cu968e, second floor) to the chika gokai (u5730u4e0bu4e94u968e, fifth basement floor) to connect the Toyoko Line with the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2013
Abe wants TOEFL to be key exam
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is not satisfied with revising monetary policy — he also appears bent on reviving another failing field: the public's ability to speak English.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 11, 2013
A personal invitation to the I-hate-cherry-blossoms club
It's that time of year when the Japanese turn their thoughts to what I call the 3-S's: sakura (桜, cherry blossoms), sakamori (酒盛り, drinking parties) and shuran (酒乱, getting raucously drunk).
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 11, 2013
Growing world-beating communication skills
Japanese business people's inability to compete on the world stage because of poor communication skills is spurring debate over how English is taught.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Mar 2, 2013
Teacher cultivates more bilingual education opportunities for children
As international marriages rose in Japan in recent years, the number of bicultural families increased, and many children of such families are being raised to speak the languages of both parents. American Mary Nobuoka, director of the Bilingual Special Interest Group (B-SIG) and parent of a bicultural son, devotes much of her time and energy to helping other families in their journey of language and discovery.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 25, 2013
The Japanese traffic light blues: Stop on red, go on what?
Road traffic in Japan is a complicated affair. Apart from those narrow, crooked streets that sometimes end without warning, you have to get used to unclear right-of-way rules and the national fetish for backward parking.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Feb 20, 2013
Language startup rises to cloud nine
Innovations in software coupled with the widespread availability of Internet broadband are transforming the once stodgy business of language education. Leading the charge in Japan are two Japanese-American brothers, John Hideyoshi Martyn and Billy Kosuke Martyn.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 18, 2013
Can-can dancers, tea-time snacks and katakana confusion
In last month's column, I looked at the origins of several famous Japanese product brands. Thinking back, perhaps the very first brand I noticed here was a confectioner named 文明堂 (Bunmeido). The company, a 老舗 (shinise, well-established shop), was founded in Nagasaki in 1900, taking its name...
U.S. aircraft carrier returns to Japan carrying navy’s ‘most capable fighter’
U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Fred Kacher speaks to reporters shortly after the arrival of aircraft carrier USS George Washington at Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Friday.
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.
Japan approves ¥21.9 trillion stimulus plan
The policy chiefs of the Democratic Party for the People, Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito — Makoto Hamaguchi (left), Itsunori Onodera (center) and Mitsunari Okamoto — shake hands after reaching an agreement on an economic stimulus package on Wednesday.
Woman dies after train collides with car in Tochigi
A Moka Railway train car
Japan will spend ¥325 million in government funds on Princess Yuriko's funeral
Princess Yuriko waves during the New Year's public greeting at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in January 2019.
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.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.

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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