Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Language | BILINGUAL Jan 7, 2013
No loss for words when expressing scale of DPJ's defeat
by Michael Hoffman
December’s election aftermath offered a good chance to learn synonyms for “crushing defeat” and “overwhelming victory.” Taihai (大敗, great defeat), kanpai (完敗, total defeat) — not to be confused with kanpai! (乾杯, cheers!) — kaimetsutekina haiboku (壊滅的な敗北, annihilating defeat), zanpai (惨敗, crushing defeat), rekishitekina ...
Language | BILINGUAL Dec 31, 2012
Even language has winners and losers
by Peter Backhaus
If there’s one thing to be sure of in Japan these days, it’s that by the end of the year you will have a prime minister different from the one you started out with. This year was the sixth year in succession to follow ...
Language Dec 30, 2012
The wonderful worlds of 100 waka
by Stuart Varnam-Atkin
The scene: England, Boxing Day 2012. The archetypical Carters are relaxing after a cold turkey lunch (with bread sauce) and are watching the Royal Family’s latest sonnets being read on the goggle-box. Time for a game! “‘Scrabble’?” “No, it always becomes ‘Squabble’!” “‘Monopoly’?” “No, ...
Language | BILINGUAL Dec 24, 2012
Switching to mama mode is not easy for today's gals
by Kaori Shoji
Bad news on the kekkon sensen (結婚戦線, marriage front) — hardly anyone’s doing it. According to a government survey, more than 60 percent of single men and close to 50 percent of single women are not in relationships, nor are they particularly interested in ...
Language | BILINGUAL Dec 17, 2012
Buzzwords show the changing face of Japanese in 2012
by Mark Schreiber
While hamming it up before the TV cameras on a diving board last September, entertainer “Sugi-chan” (real name: Eiji Sugiyama) suffered a fractured thoracic vertebrae. Wild, right? Or as the chunky 39-year-old entertainer — easily recognizable in his blue denim shirt with cutoff sleeves ...
Language Dec 3, 2012
A third force enters the election race
by Michael Hoffman
On Nov. 16 Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda shūin wo kaisan shita (衆院を解散した, dissolved the Diet’s Lower House). In August he had promised to do it “chikai uchi ni” (「近いうちに」”soon”). The term is elastic and the governing Minshuto (民主党, Democratic Party of Japan, DPJ) stretched ...
Language | BILINGUAL Nov 26, 2012
Notable negatives, funny titles and other linguistic oddities
by Mark Schreiber
When I was a wee lad of 4 or 5, I would sneak up on a chair and explore my grandfather’s desk, atop of which was situated a curious object: a paperweight featuring the famous three wise monkeys of Nikko. At its base was ...
Language | BILINGUAL Nov 19, 2012
Plan A: Live long and inconspicuously
by Kaori Shoji
Among other things, being Japanese means embracing a distinct and particular weirdness. The Japanese are well aware of this fact, and generations of Nipponjin (日本人, Japanese) have pondered on how hen (変, strange) we are since the country opened its doors to outsiders some ...
Language | BILINGUAL Nov 5, 2012
Cooperation is needed to solve global economic crisis
by Michael Hoffman
Everybody agrees: We need kōdō (行動, action). What 行動, though? And whose? That’s where the unanimity crumbles. The Kokusai Tsuka Kikin (国際通貨基金, International Monetary Fund, IMF) and the Sekai Ginko (世界銀行, World Bank) held their nenji sōkai (年次総会, annual general meetings) over three days ...
Language | BILINGUAL Oct 29, 2012
Halloween in Japan: no trick or treat, but scary spots galore
by Mark Schreiber
Japanese people generally have a well developed appreciation for the supernatural, and while the American practice of ringing doorbells in the neighborhood to demand “trick or treat” has yet to take root, Halloween-related events continue to grow in popularity. Seasonal parties, variously called 仮装パーティー ...
Language | BILINGUAL Oct 22, 2012
Politicians may ru the day their names became verbs
by Peter Backhaus
“Which new words would you like to see added to the dictionary?” A couple of months ago the publishing house Taishukan put this generous question to Japanese high school and junior high school students. The students, among other oddities, suggested the terms nodaru (野田る), ...
Language | BILINGUAL Oct 1, 2012
The unneighborly side of nationalism
by Michael Hoffman
It’s out in the open now: Japan is not well liked in its neighborhood, and it doesn’t take much to dissolve the surface civilities. In Washington in April, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara sprung his Senkaku surprise. Metro Tokyo, he announced, would purchase three of ...