Voices | FOREIGN AGENDA
by Andreas Neuenkirchen
I'm fine with playing the German to humor my Japanese acquaintances — just not one German in particular.
TOPICS
Voices | FOREIGN AGENDA
Be proactive, not reactive, as an intern
by Camryn Privette
An internship at a Japanese office can teach you a lot about the country's business culture.
Voices | FOREIGN AGENDA Sep 11, 2019
Unpicking the mysteries of a Japanese convenience store at night
by William Lang
"Ping-pong, ping-pong! Ping-pong, ping-pong!" The automatic doors slide open and you step onto the mat on the inside of the convenience store. A strong smell of freshly brewed coffee hits you from the counter where a woman is making herself a ¥100 cup. There is ...
Voices | FOREIGN AGENDA Sep 1, 2019
Making sense of the oppressiveness of summer in Japan
by Damian Flanagan
Japan has a venerable tradition of quirky and inventive means of escape from the oppression of summer, as well as from rigid social constraints and conventions. Some of them take distinctly weird forms. In Edogawa Ranpo's classic story, "The Stalker in the Attic" (1925), ...
Voices | FOREIGN AGENDA Aug 25, 2019
The subtleties that bedeviled St. Francis
by William Lang
There's a certain script that you need to follow when interacting in Japanese. It's a shame nobody told St. Francis Xavier.
Voices | FOREIGN AGENDA Aug 21, 2019
The odd blunder is OK at your local dad-to-be class
by Patrick St. Michel
Future fathers in Japan get lessons in caring for a baby at their local ward or city office. Yes, pregnancy suits are involved.
Voices | FOREIGN AGENDA Aug 18, 2019
Dealing with the death of a friend while in Japan
by Marc Davies
When you live in Japan your friends are often your main system of support. If they happen to pass while they're here, you can sometimes be asked to step in for a relative.