Tag - foreign-agenda

 
 

FOREIGN AGENDA

Time is nearly up for the hordes of insects that are thriving more than ever in Japan's increasingly boiling summer.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Sep 23, 2024
Saying good riddance to what bugs me about a Japanese summer
For an arachnophobe in Japan, the fall, winter and spring just can’t come quick — and stay long — enough.
Summer in Japan is now consistently brutal enough to drive you indoors and keep you there until autumn.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jul 27, 2024
When did summer in Japan stop being fun?
Summer in Japan used to be something to enjoy. Now, it’s something to endure.
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jul 15, 2024
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
I do have a unit, and I dutifully clean the filters now and then, but over the past two or three years, I’ve learned to live entirely without it.
Perhaps being seen in the company of your own children in the right places — playgrounds, schools, etc. — can make you seem more approachable and allow children to say exactly what’s on their mind.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jun 24, 2024
‘You’re a spy, then?’ The odd interactions of a non-Japanese father in Japan
Remember to keep your ears open whenever you’re near children and you’re guaranteed to hear something that’ll make you think.
Why does it feel like we’re in a ceaseless cycle of seasonal prep?
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
May 31, 2024
Help! I'm stuck in Japan's endless cycle of seasonal prep
Rainy season is here, and so are all the preparations for your home and clothes. Why does living in Japan feel like an endless cycle of gearing up for the weather?
For someone who grew up in a country with a system of street names, finding an address in Japan — or worse: trying to guide someone else to one — is no easy task at first.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
May 7, 2024
Lost in translation? No, lost in Japan’s maze of streets.
Anyone who experienced wayfinding in Japan before the age of map apps will remember how much sleuthing was required to get to your destination.
Making things work as a foreign, single mother in Japan isn't easy, but these tips and tricks can help you through the hardest parts.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Apr 28, 2024
Raising kids in Japan as a single parent? It takes a village.
As with for any single parent, life can present challenges. For those times, you'll need to learn resilience, perseverance and attention to detail.
Transfers usually take place in March at the end of the Japanese business year, but each family's reasons for living apart are different.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Apr 8, 2024
When your job separates the family
Japan's “tanshin funin” system sees married company employees leaving their families behind when they are transferred to faraway posts.
Runners fill the street in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building at the start of the 2023 Tokyo Marathon.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Mar 25, 2024
Medals, jewelry and veggies: Japan’s race prizes run the gamut
Japan's marathons try everything to offer runners experiences they can’t get elsewhere.
It doesn't snow everywhere in Japan, but when it does, it falls in blankets that must be cleared away, sometimes through unexpected means.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 4, 2024
Rural Japan’s snow removal solutions range from cute to curious
Outside of Tokyo, cities that get a significant volume of snow tend to have better ways of dealing with it than the capital.
Who should foot the bill when it comes to making sure Japan's new ¥500 coin can actually be used as widely as the old one?
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jan 15, 2024
All ¥500 coins that glitter are not gold
Twenty years on and the ¥2,000 note can almost certainly still be described as a “novelty" — what if the new ¥500 coin is destined for the same fate?
A look into what used to be the Koyamacho neighborhood in Tokyo's Minato Ward may reveal what Japan stands to lose from not protecting its recent past.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Dec 25, 2023
Mita facelift paves over another slice of Tokyo history
The death of Koyamacho shows that Japan needs to begin preserving some parts of its modern history for future generations.
In Japan on a scholarship he fought hard for, Oscar Ruto found himself needing to take a break and headed into Tokyo for a weekend of partying.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Nov 27, 2023
'I wasn't always an alcoholic … and then I was'
As the party season draws near, it's important to deal with yearend stress in healthier ways.
The community pool is a great place for exercise and meeting your neighbors.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jul 31, 2023
Figuring out the rules at a Japanese community pool can be an ongoing education
If you’re headed for the community pool, be prepared: Japanese pool rules are an ongoing education.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
May 22, 2023
Filling in the cracks: Japan’s shifting perspective on disability employment
The Valuable 500's Crosby Cromwell discusses best practice regarding disability in business in Japan, and she is optimistic about the direction we are heading in.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Apr 30, 2023
Anger, joy and feelings of pride: Tokyo's biggest LGBTQ event returns in full form
Amid 'rainbow washing' and 'counter marches,' drag queen Le Horla writes about what the return of Tokyo Rainbow Pride means to them.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 25, 2023
'Dear, the war has started': My journey from Ukraine to Japan
It was around this time a year ago that Natalia Makohon hung out with her friends for the last time. From then on, her life would mostly be about survival.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Dec 5, 2022
Should I stay or should I go, now?
A sense of isolation and concerns over being able to communicate during the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred some people to make the move back to their home countries.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Nov 13, 2022
Shichi-go-san: Take the picture, skip the ceremony
Celebrating your offspring or just getting hitched? Create fake memories with real photographs.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Oct 18, 2022
Japan has reopened. Instagrammers of the world, rejoice!
After years of watching Japan via their screens, eager tourists are ready to come over and document their own experiences. But are their vacation photos likely to all look the same?

Longform

Capsule hotels were created as a way to deal with the amount of overwork employees tend to do in Japan. Can't commute home? Then spend the night in an tiny, affordable sleeping space.
Japan wakes up to the market for a proper sleep