“Kimi to kekkon shitai (君と結婚したい, I want to marry you). Hontō ni (本当に, really).” The girl grins. “Look at me. I’ve got braces on my teeth.” Peter is disconcerted — not at the braces but at her refusal to ma ni ukeru (真に受ける, take ...

Only our descendants will know for sure, but we may be witnessing something not seen in the world since the slow demise of ancient Egypt — a nation expiring of natural causes. Nations, unlike people, are potentially immortal. When they die, it’s usually violently. ...

“When these sugi (杉, cedars) were umareta (生まれた, born), if that’s the word,” says Mayumi, “Japan was in its Jōmon Jidai (縄文時代, Jomon Period, c. 10,000 B.C.-c. 300 B.C.). Before bunmei (文明, civilization), before nōgyō (農業, agriculture), before sensō (戦争, war) — before almost ...

In April, much of the world ground to a halt. No one not an expert in such matters could have foreseen it, maybe not even Paul the psychic octopus. Nothing more remote from our overflowing cup of concerns and anxieties could have been imagined ...

Some outmoded institutions live on as anachronisms because enduring qualities in them continue to appeal to people. Royalty is one example. Marriage is another. Royal marriage? Well, naturally. Royalty survives here and there as pageantry and as a reminder, always timely, that the present ...

Words come and words go. Times change, language evolves. Here’s a prediction: Two words that will be incomprehensible a generation from now are “secret” and “private.” They will wither like “ether,” “phlogiston,” “the celestial music of the spheres” and so on, and for the ...

“Omedetō, omedetō (おめでとう, congratulations)! A superb kōgi (講義, lecture)! Daiseikō (大成功, a rousing success!) Welcome back, Professor Keyes!” “You’re yopparatta (酔っ払った, drunk) already,” I tsubuyaku (つぶやく, mumble), somewhat dazed myself. “Not yet, but we soon will be!” “We’ll go to the kyūkeishitsu (休憩室, lounge). ...

In Tokugawa days (1603-1867), criticizing the government was a capital offense. Rulers, not only in Japan but the world over, expected to be — and generally were — not only obeyed but revered, sometimes as gods, sometimes as beings only slightly less exalted. “God,” ...

The challenge to which this installment of “Big in Japan” seeks to rise is that of happiness. Is it possible, in these grim, sad, threatening times, to write a happy story without doing violence to journalistic relevance? We know how bad the news is, ...

As a gauge of where this country is heading and what kind of mood it’s in, consider this fact: Last week, almost every mainstream weekly news magazine ran at least one story on old age and/or death. Shukan Asahi’s was titled, “I want to ...

Scientifically and technologically, the world is in flux bordering on chaos. Every day brings something new: a new discovery, a new device, a new technique, a new cure. The pace of change is dizzying; we scarcely know where we stand. Yesterday’s novelty is today’s ...