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July 16, 2025
 

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BILINGUAL

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 13, 2007
What women want is to be treated 'like a girl'
Since the Danjyo Koyo Kikai Kinto Ho (Equal Employment Opportunity Law) kicked in two decades ago, it's become the norm for women to work as hard and long as men, though not necessarily under the same conditions. Accordingly, money matters between danjyo (men and women) have become a lot more complicated....
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 9, 2007
Holidays bring back that lovin' feelin' for work
There's something about the Japanese new year that saps all the energy out of a woman and plunges her into despair. It's little wonder that many a working girl returns to the office after the holidays, heaves a sigh of relief and mutters "shigoto shiteta hoga mashi dawa (it's easier to work)" before...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 12, 2006
Pluck, trim, extend -- making up is hard to do
The word kesho (makeup) is beautiful to look at -- made up of the kanji characters ke (to metamorphose) and sho (to decorate). Combined, they evoke far more than the mere act of making up. Novelists have poured much ink over the depiction of a woman applying powder, dabbing rouge or performing that special...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 14, 2006
Boyfriends of today bring out the prince in Genji
Boyfriend stories used to be boring.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 12, 2006
Owning the bragging rights to work addiction
The Japanese were once famed for their work ethic. Now, shigoto-chudoku (workaholism) has been franchised out to the rest of the world and become a fact of globalized life.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 8, 2006
Osim is next to continue 'sports bully' tradition
In the wake of Japan's disastrous World Cup campaign, the mood in the country has swung quickly from darkly pessimistic to remarkably upbeat. Much of it has to do with the appointment of the new national team coach, Ivica Osim.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 11, 2006
Multitasking recluses find route to respectability
There are many factors behind the shoshika (the declining birth rate) trend. One is mistrust on the part of Japanese women toward child rearing. The feeling is: Why have children and divest the best years of one's life bringing them up when they're likely to metamorphose into shonen-hanzaisha (underage...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 13, 2006
World Cup commentary a whole new ball game
It's the season of the Warudo Kappu (World Cup, duh!), the season that screams: Sakka fuan ni arazuba hito ni arazu (Those who aren't soccer fans aren't even people). At least until July 11 (the day after the World Cup final) that is, or until the sakka netsu (soccer fever) abates -- whichever comes...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 9, 2006
Hierarchy at work, hiding in underwear drawer
Here's a dating story with a twist: One of my girlfriends had finally started dating a guy she had liked for a long time. She was the one who did the kokuhaku (admission of love), the one who did the calling and messaging, the one who offered to come to his apartment and cook dinner on a Saturday night....
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 11, 2006
Linguistic art of cutting and running gets a tweak
Last week, a girlfriend of mine was at an over-30s-only go-kon (singles drinking party) and came back sorely disappointed. Her gripe was that all the men there -- handsome, well-off and working for high-profile companies -- were nigegoshi (noncommittal, making ready to cut and run) from start to finish....
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 14, 2006
Ensnared in the office, dads increasingly remote
There is this enduring stereotype of the Nippon no otosan (Japanese Dad). It emerged sometime during the 1970s and remains, to this day, the most common and recognizable model for fatherhood in Japan.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 14, 2006
Unwrapping the 'nonsense' of Valentine's Day
Even as the season of love and romance descends upon us in all its hues of gooey cherry-reds and electrifying pinks, a great number of Japanese women remain . . . shira-keteru (frigidly sober).
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 10, 2006
Men retreat from 'hassle' of loving relationships
We're told that the nation's economy is in its best shape in a decade. While this is "roho (good news)," other things are happening in this country that are not so hot. Literally.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 13, 2005
Sweetness counts for women in search of geeks
First of all, they're not called otaku anymore but go by the much snazzier name of Akiba-kei. With this recasting, it looks like Japan's muscle-less, girlfriend-less, PC/iPod obsessed class of bespectacled oddballs have moved en masse into the cultural mainstream.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 8, 2005
Spreading the spirit of an old Japanese tradition
It's probably a sign of impending old age but these days, I find myself recalling the words of my late grandmother and applying them to current life situations.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 18, 2005
Girls in need of direction get it from the comics
The business of being a wakai musume (young woman) in this country used to have just one subtext: There were no options. If she didn't get married she was less than a whole person; on the other hand, marriage meant abject obedience to her husband's household and an endless round of bone-crunching chores....
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 13, 2005
M's the word in high-pressure popularity stakes
There's a new phrase on working women's lips: "yononaka kara sekuhara ga kieta (sexual harassment is gone from the world)."
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 18, 2005
Summers in Japan mean blood sweat and tears
Though it hasn't been scientifically proven, there appears to be a definite link between summer heat and summer funerals. In my neighborhood, the onset of o-neppa (heat wave), followed by those negurushii yoru (restless nights) sets off a string of o-soshiki (funerals) at the local temple. Almost always,...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 21, 2005
Beauty: Japanese women's never-ending quest
Elsewhere in the world women are concerned about politics, social issues, family, warfare or simply survival. In Japan, it seems their interests are centered on just one thing: bi (beauty).
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 30, 2005
A revealing peek inside working women's purses
Let me confess my weakness: women's briefcases. I don't mean buying them; I mean peeking into those belonging to my friends, and begging them to take out the contents so I can look them over and go "Heeeee, soonandaaa (Oooh, so THAT's what it's all about)."
Students in Japan struggle with Japanese language and math sections on national exam
The correct answer rate for the Japanese language section on a national test dropped to 67.0% from 67.8% the previous year among elementary school sixth-graders.
Japan team finds ancient ocean full of squids
The ancient ocean was full of squids, whose population exceeded that of fish or ammonites, a Japanese research team mainly from Hokkaido University has found through a new method using technology.
Japan researchers identify gut bacteria strain that boosts anticancer drugs
Researchers at the National Cancer Center Japan say a new type of gut bacteria named YB328 could help unlock the potential of cancer immunotherapy.
Tourists in Japan have telemedicine options before calling 119
Foreign tourists at Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo. More than 1 million international visitors have a medical issue in Japan every year.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
Japanese scientists discover clue to why women burn more fat than men
Scientists say a recently-published study could help explain why women are typically less prone to weight-related conditions and may lead to new therapies that target calorie-burning mechanisms.
Music idol and anime fandom merch is big business
Businesses who cater to fandoms gathered at Tokyo Lifestyle Week for the second annual Oshikatsu — Merch Collection Expo, a trade show devoted to fandom goods.
U.S. urges clarity on Japan’s role in potential war over Taiwan, report says
A Ground Self-Defense Force member conducts a military drill with an anti-ship missiles unit, at the GSDF's base on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2022.
Tourists in Japan have telemedicine options before calling 119
Foreign tourists at Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo. More than 1 million international visitors have a medical issue in Japan every year.
Is Japanese skin really ‘too smooth’ for Hideo Kojima’s games?
Hideo Kojima, the leading auteur in Japanese video games, has skirted controversy in the wake of the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Podcast

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

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
By Megha Wadhwa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after
Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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