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August 22, 2025
 

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Louise George Kittaka

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Louise George Kittaka
Originally from New Zealand, Louise George Kittaka is a bilingual writer based in Tokyo. She contributes to a wide range of news and information media, as well as Japan’s educational publishing sector. When she isn’t at her computer, Louise loves exploring waterfalls, going to cake buffets and collecting anything related to the Aliens movie franchise.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 9, 2017
'The Expat's Guide to Growing Old in Japan: What You Need to Know': a review
If you'r e Japan resident and retirement is now closer than your college graduation, you probably need this book.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Aug 20, 2017
On inheritance tax, net banking and retiring in Japan
This week, Lifelines plays catch-up with some useful tips that have come in from readers over the past few months. However, we start off with a follow-up question from reader S.S. in response to last month's column on recent changes in Japan's inheritance tax laws (bit.ly/jtinheritax) It seems S.S. spends...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 23, 2017
Gift and inheritance tax reforms leave more of Japan's foreign residents liable
A reader writes to Lifelines about Japan's recently introduced inheritance tax law, which he calls 'one of the most punitive in the world.'
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 16, 2017
House sitting in Japan — still mostly an expatriate affair
A reader writes in about the possibility of coming to Japan as a house sitter.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 9, 2017
Thank you, Jean Pearce, for helping us get things done in Japan
If the U.S. had Ann Landers and Dear Abby, and Britain had Marge Proops, then Japan had Jean Pearce — someone who transcended the title of 'columnist' and became a media icon for generations of readers.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 18, 2017
Explicit porn pamphlets on display for all to see in Japan's hotels
This week's topic comes courtesy of M.J., who contacted Lifelines after her uncomfortable experience at a Tokyo hotel with her family.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 21, 2017
Don't bank on Japan's lenders making it easy to relocate abroad
A reader shares her experiences with internet banking upon leaving Japan on a temporary basis.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 14, 2017
Unions can offer a hand in dealing with recalcitrant employers
This week's query comes from A.R., who is having some problems with a less-than-cooperative former employer
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 6, 2017
'A Girls' Guide to the Islands': A touching reflection on travel, art and parent-teen relationships
Touring art museums with a teenager may not sound like everyone's idea of a good time, and at the beginning of this pocket-sized memoir, Shikoku-based writer Suzanne Kamata finds herself wondering how she can renege on a promise to take her daughter to a Yayoi Kusama art exhibit in Osaka.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 26, 2017
Help for those seeking left-behind parents in Japan
Two adult daughters contacted Lifelines hoping to get help with issues related to their fathers.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 16, 2017
Schizophrenia support exists in Japan, but state is wary of stepping in
A reader asks, 'Is there some system in Japan for the police, ambulance or hospital to take an unwilling schizophrenic patient to hospital?'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Mar 25, 2017
'The Sound of the Mountain': Yasunari Kawabata's slow-burning meditation on getting older
The first Japanese winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1968, Yasunari Kawabata, deals with the gradual decline that comes with aging in "The Sound of the Mountain."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Mar 11, 2017
'Twenty-four Eyes': A quiet commentary on the inhumanity of war
Any list of Japan's top 10 films invariably includes the 1954 movie version of "Twenty-four Eyes," directed by Keisuke Kinoshita and starring Hideko Takamine in one of her signature roles as schoolteacher Hisako Oishi.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Mar 5, 2017
What's a visitor with a food allergy to do in Japan?
A selection of foreign nationals coping with food allergies in Japan offer tips for visitors to Japan facing the same challenges.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Feb 5, 2017
No free ride for foreign drivers with disabilities on Japan's expressways
British tourist N.W. contacted Lifelines about benefits for disabled drivers in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 7, 2017
'Falling into the Dragon's Mouth': a poetic tale of overcoming school bullies
In her third verse novel, Japan-based writer Holly Thompson tackles the topical issue of bullying. Her protagonist, likable American sixth-grader Jason Parker, struggles to fit in at his Japanese elementary school after moving from America to a seaside community on the Shonan coast in Kanagawa Prefecture....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 31, 2016
Misuzu Kaneko: A deeper empathy for the natural world
In her brief life, Japanese poet Misuzu Kaneko (1903-1930) produced a body of work with themes that are every bit as relevant today as when she first put pen to paper nearly 100 years ago. Ostensibly a writer of poems for children, Kaneko's work reveals a deep respect for the environment and an awareness...
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Dec 17, 2016
'Goodbye Tsugumi': Banana Yoshimoto's portrait of a feisty young woman in '80s Japan
Banana Yoshimoto found fame in 1988 when her wildly successful debut novel "Kitchen" was published. Her unique take on contemporary themes and ability to conjure up feisty yet vulnerable heroines was what attracted readers — two aspects that reappear in "Goodbye Tsugumi," her 1989 novel that chronicles...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 7, 2016
Japan's taxman sticks his OAR in, looking for leviable expat assets held abroad
Experts answer readers' queries about the overseas assets reporting law aimed at taxing wealth held outside Japan.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 4, 2016
Riding while foreign on JR Kyushu can be a costly business
A problem regarding buying JR train tickets in Kyushu and a reminder to travelers to get the correct travel documents before booking their flights to Canada.
Demystifying the manufacturing success of China
China’s massive scale, strong education system and competitive local governance have enabled it to reach the technological frontier and dominate high-tech manufacturing despite its low per capita gross domestic product.
Japan to revise romanization rules for first time in 70 years
The Agency for Cultural Affairs is recommending replacing the government’s long-standing Kunrei system with more widely used Hepburn-style spellings.
Japanese manufacturers moving headquarters out of central Tokyo
A building in Kawasaki housing Toshiba's new headquarters
Is sumo becoming a victim of its own popularity?
A training session at Shikoroyama stable in June 2016. Sumo training sessions are increasingly simulated or the preserve of group tours.
Japanese man suspected of ordering double murder in Manila
Two suspects arrested over the killing of two Japanese last week are held in restraints in Manila on Tuesday.
Tokyo crowned No.1 'workation' spot
Workations were a burgeoning trend in the corporate world for years before the COVID-19 pandemic turbocharged it.
Atsushi Kitagawara’s exhibition finds poetry in architecture
The inverted cone, one of Atsushi Kitagawara’s six signature elements in architecture, is a key feature of the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection museum building.
Candidates preparing to make final pitches for Sawamura Award
Hawks pitcher Livan Moinelo has a 1.13 ERA in 19 starts this season.
Winning warship bid gives Japan confidence boost as Tokyo eyes more exports
Australia’s decision to select Japan's upgraded Mogami-class warship, seen in this computer-generated image, has been “well received across Japanese industry," a Defense Ministry official said.
In Paris, chefs Chizuko Kimura and Kei Kobayashi make their mark
Chef Kei Kobayashi is France's only Japanese chef with three Michelin stars.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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