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.
National Sep 26, 2013
Non-native teachers of Japanese growing among Brazil's immigrants
by Motonobu Endo
A growing number of people in Brazil’s large Japanese community are studying Japanese under non-native teachers. “I would like to go out on a date with you this weekend,” one student practiced saying in Japanese during an entry-level class in Sao Paulo’s Liberdade district, ...
National Sep 9, 2013
U.S. JET teacher features in 3/11 film
by Seana K. Magee
While Taylor Anderson’s life was cut short on March 11, 2011, along with thousands of others caught in the massive tsunami triggered by an earthquake off the coast of Tohoku, the full life she led was a source of inspiration for an American documentarian ...
Our Lives Aug 30, 2013
Organizer of annual writers' workshop helps others find artistic way
by Kris Kosaka
John Gribble gives a part of every day to creating. Whether it’s pinpointing the perfect word for a poem or plucking out a ditty on a guitar, his life and livelihood in some way proves creative. As a poet and teacher, Gribble has spent ...
Social Issues Mar 24, 2013
Osaka coach whose abuse led to suicide faces charges
The case of the Osaka high school basketball coach accused of physically punishing players so harshly that one committed suicide has been turned over to prosecutors. According to the Osaka Prefectural Police, former Sakuranomiya High School teacher Hajime Komura, 47, who coached the basketball ...
Our Lives Feb 1, 2013
Canadian uses sports as bridge to teaching, writing, understanding
by Kris Kosaka
Writer, teacher and sports fan Trevor Kew, 32, pedals and kicks his way through culture shock. He uses sports to help him adapt to unfamiliar cultures or new places when traveling, trusting his bike or a soccer ball to bridge the gap with locals. ...
People | CLOSE-UP Nov 4, 2012
Yoshiko Tatsumi: Cookery guru serves wisdom with her soups
by Tomoko Otake
“Never fight a war with Chinese people, because we would lose,” Yoshiko Tatsumi sternly warned, “with absolute certainty,” a 40-strong group of mostly middle-aged women gathered recently in her spacious three-story residence set in gardens in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. “What we eat today is ...