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May 17, 2024
 

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Michael Hoffman

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Michael Hoffman
Michael Hoffman is a fiction and nonfiction writer who has lived in Hokkaido by the sea almost as long as he can remember. He has been contributing regularly to The Japan Times for 10 years. His latest novel is "The Naked Ear" (VBW/Blackcover Books, 2012).
For Michael Hoffman's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 27, 2011
Ditching materialism for the simple life
There's a new notion floating around. Perhaps you've heard of it: Danshari. Its three kanji characters signify, respectively, refusal, disposal and separation. Prosaically it means cleaning or tidying up, but there are psychological and religious dimensions, deriving in part from yoga, which suggest...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 20, 2011
The trouble with today's youth is nothing new
Here we go again. "Young people," frets Sapio magazine, "are rapidly becoming stupid." They can't read, can't calculate, can't communicate. They have no manners, no ambition, no interest in anything; no consideration for other people, no knowledge of world affairs. New technology enabling instant communication...
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Feb 13, 2011
Japan's first pop culture
Pop culture. Japan's today is thriving, vibrant, spreading, turning people the world over into manga/anime freaks and costume players.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL: KEYES' POINT
Feb 2, 2011
Can their young love survive the reality of life?
"Kimi to kekkon shitai (君と結婚したい, I want to marry you). Hontō ni (本当に, really)."
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 30, 2011
The decline and fall of Japan and its sex drive
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. Japan may make history by its...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL: KEYES' POINT
Jan 5, 2011
Dairokkan: sixth sense among the cedars
"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,...
JAPAN / Media
Dec 26, 2010
Somehow we survived a very explosive 2010
In April, much of the world ground to a halt.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 19, 2010
Marriage: A royal pain in the heart
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.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 5, 2010
Privacy is losing its very meaning
Words come and words go. Times change, language evolves.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL: KEYES' POINT
Dec 1, 2010
Kako ni kampai — let's drink to the past!
"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!"
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 21, 2010
Tossing our leaders to the lions
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," wrote the French bishop...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 7, 2010
Freedom, friendship and love: a recipe for true happiness
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?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 3, 2010
Rikai dekiru: understanding the past, today
"Mina-san, konban wa (皆さん今晩は, ladies and gentlemen, good evening). Thank you, I . . .
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 24, 2010
Can we fix Japan's moral morass?
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.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 17, 2010
Utopia means free money for everyone
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 norm, tomorrow's anachronism.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL: KEYES' POINT
Oct 6, 2010
Hiyakasu: Teasing finds easy target in first love
"Yukino! My big brother is in love with Yukino!" Little Kimika Keyes whoops with delight, which of course only throws Peter deeper into misery. Kimika is 10 and he's 14 — he should have the upper hand, but there is in her a bewildering mix of yōchi (幼稚, childishness) and seijuku (成熟,...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 3, 2010
Why not put a little fun into your funeral?
It's your funeral. What's your pleasure?
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 19, 2010
No sex please, we are otaku!
Shock, gasp, horror. Aya Hirano is not a virgin.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 12, 2010
Travel through time on a trip to Otaru
The Hokkaido port of Otaru is less than an hour by train from downtown Sapporo. Same neighborhood, different world.
Japan Times
LIFE
Sep 12, 2010
Aging through the ages
"If only, when one heard That Old Age was coming One could bolt the door Answer 'not at home' And refuse to meet him!" (Anonymous, "Kokinshu" Imperial poetry anthology, 10th century)
Japanese stripper bids to have her porn movies taken off internet
Plaintiff Miyuki Ariga (left) speaks at a news conference along with her lawyer, Yoshitomo Morohashi, after filing a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on Monday.
Kishida defends planned rule to revoke foreigners' residency
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a meeting of the Lower House Judicial Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
Human bone-like objects found at Nippon Steel plant’s molten iron pot, with one worker missing
Police believe it’s highly possible that human bones found in a molten iron pot at Nippon Steel's Oita factory belong to a missing male employee.
Was Onosato's defeat of Terunofuji an era-defining bout?
Onosato (right) defeats Terunofuji at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on May 12. While nothing in sumo is guaranteed, it seems almost inevitable that Onosato is destined for the top of the sport's pyramid.
Man suspected of using smart glasses to cheat on Waseda University exams
The Waseda University campus in Tokyo. An 18-year-old male test-taker is suspected of using smart glasses to cheat during the university's entrance exam.
Japanese billionaire sues Meta over investment scams using his image
Entrepreneurs Yusaku Maezawa (second from right) and Takafumi Horie (third from right) attend a study session on fake social media ads and investment scams at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on April 10.
Japanese rap creates its mecca in Pop Yours
Tokyo-based artist Jumadiba says he forgoes the label of simply “rap” for his music because the Japanese rap scene isn’t confined to a particular sound.
Who’s toughest on China? Biden’s tariff tactic ups ante as election looms.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about new actions to protect American workers and businesses from China's "unfair" trade practices, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
Was Onosato's defeat of Terunofuji an era-defining bout?
Onosato (right) defeats Terunofuji at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on May 12. While nothing in sumo is guaranteed, it seems almost inevitable that Onosato is destined for the top of the sport's pyramid.
Ishin struggles to set itself apart from other parties
Nippon Ishin no Kai Secretary-General Fumitake Fujita (right) speaks beside Yui Kanazawa, the party's candidate in the Tokyo 15th district by-election on April 28. Nippon Ishin lost in this by-election as well as another in Nagasaki held on the same day.

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