After The Japan Times published a Lifelines column on Dec. 15 that focused on visa issues, we received a lot of mail from readers asking about their particular individual situations. We would like to stress that it is always best to have a professional look ...

I hope 2014 has started well for all our readers. Lifelines kicks off the Year of the Horse with an email from overseas reader Hannah, who has several questions about the Japanese education system: How often do English teachers administer dictation to their students? ...

Lifelines is playing catch-up this week, with some feedback from previous columns and a reader hoping for a little bit of Christmas magic to help him reconnect with his musical past in Japan.

The latest round of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) was held yesterday — congratulations to the test takers! A couple of readers wrote to us about the exam after last week’s Community Page published an article by Jun Hongo titled “Is the JLPT ...

With the yearend rush fast approaching, Dave has a very timely question about Japanese New Year cards: “I’m not a Christmas card kind of guy and last year was no exception. However, at New Year’s I got a bunch of postcards from friends and ...

One reader wrote to Lifelines with a question regarding pensions: I’m a part-time English university instructor, now working at two Tokyo universities. In nine years, I will be 70 and, as it stands today, should anticipate being forced to retire. I will still have ...