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May 16, 2024
 

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JAPANESE LANGUAGE

JAPAN
Dec 13, 2013
Japan to announce ¥20 billion for ASEAN cultural exchanges
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will announce at a regional summit this weekend that Japan will extend ¥20 billion in official development assistance to promote cultural exchanges ASEAN, a government source said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2013
Korean teen wins Japanese speech contest
A South Korean high school student has won the top award in a Japanese-language speech contest in Okayama.
EDITORIALS
Oct 5, 2013
Japanese language diplomacy
An expert panel has proposed increasing the number of Japanese teachers sent abroad to teach the Japanese language as a way of improving relations with Southeast Asian nations.
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2013
More Japanese teachers needed in ASEAN, Abe is told
An expert panel to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has proposed bolstering support for Japanese-language education in ASEAN countries by increasing the number of teachers, as more people in the region are learning Japanese.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 25, 2013
When does one's native language stop being native?
A 71-year-old man in Gifu Prefecture made headlines recently when he attempted to initiate a lawsuit against broadcaster NHK. Through its excessive use of foreign derived words, the man claimed, NHK had caused him 精神的苦痛 (seishinteki kutsū, psychological pain). He demanded ¥1.41...
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2013
Panel plans strategy for overseas Japanese language education
Experts discussing ways to increase the number of Japanese language learners overseas propose promoting 'Cool Japan' pop culture and online services to provide more opportunities for speaking the language.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 28, 2013
Hyper, mega, ultra: talking in superlatives
One of the ultra-fascinating facets of Japanese is its super-large arsenal of intensifying prefixes that provide an otherwise neutral expression with some emphatic edge. The best-known (and least spectacular) of them is dai (大), which usually translates as "big." When something went really well, for...
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2013
4 million studying Japanese abroad
4 million studying Japanese abroad: A record 3.98 million people were studying Japanese abroad in 2012 amid widespread interest in the country, the Japan Foundation announces.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2013
Job potential draws Midwest students to classes in Japanese
More college students in the U.S. Midwest are taking Japanese classes because of the potential for future employment.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 3, 2013
Shinto's kami and jinja seeking world acceptance
Ise Jingu (伊勢神宮, Ise Jingu Shrine) has recently published a sasshi (冊子, booklet) in English, titled "Soul of Japan — An Introduction to Shinto and Ise Jingu."
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 27, 2013
Oyaji gyagu, more than just cheesy puns
Stop me if you've heard this one. Two men aged around 50 enter a sushi restaurant. One orders a raincoat, the other a garage. What looks like the beginning of a "Monty Python" sketch is in fact the stuff of a most typical oyaji gyagu (おやじギャグ), or old man's joke/gag. Such jokes normally center...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 20, 2013
Product names show language creativity at work
Recently I was asked to write a blurb for a new liquid plant-nutrient. As soon as I saw the name of the product, u65e9u6839u65e9u8d77 uff08Hayane Hayaoki), I smiled at this example of linguistic creativity.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 22, 2013
Ways to 'spell' Japanese out loud
I dial a number and ask to speak to my literary agent, Mr. Suzuki.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 8, 2013
The life and times of the destitute girl
I was one of those suckers who thought that the seifu (u653fu5e9c, government) might get it right this time.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 1, 2013
It's all change at Shibuya Station for the Toyoko Line
On March 16, the platforms for the Tokyu Toyoko Line at Shibuya Station moved from the chiju014d nikai (u5730u4e0au4e8cu968e, second floor) to the chika gokai (u5730u4e0bu4e94u968e, fifth basement floor) to connect the Toyoko Line with the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 11, 2013
A personal invitation to the I-hate-cherry-blossoms club
It's that time of year when the Japanese turn their thoughts to what I call the 3-S's: sakura (桜, cherry blossoms), sakamori (酒盛り, drinking parties) and shuran (酒乱, getting raucously drunk).
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 25, 2013
The Japanese traffic light blues: Stop on red, go on what?
Road traffic in Japan is a complicated affair. Apart from those narrow, crooked streets that sometimes end without warning, you have to get used to unclear right-of-way rules and the national fetish for backward parking.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 18, 2013
Can-can dancers, tea-time snacks and katakana confusion
In last month's column, I looked at the origins of several famous Japanese product brands. Thinking back, perhaps the very first brand I noticed here was a confectioner named 文明堂 (Bunmeido). The company, a 老舗 (shinise, well-established shop), was founded in Nagasaki in 1900, taking its name...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 28, 2013
Blame it on the hara: harassment vocabulary makes us all victims
Japan has a new hara. No, the nice couple down the hall didn't just have a baby; according to recent news, yet another form of harassment is supposedly becoming a social problem.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 28, 2013
What's in a Japanese name? More than you might expect
Last year I went to Yumenoshima Park in Tokyo's Koto Ward to see a museum housing the 第五福竜丸 (Dai-go Fukuryu Maru, aka No. 5 Lucky Dragon), the ill-fated fishing boat that inadvertently sailed too close to a 水爆実験 (suibaku jikken, thermonuclear test) at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands...
Japanese stripper bids to have her porn movies taken off internet
Plaintiff Miyuki Ariga (left) speaks at a news conference along with her lawyer, Yoshitomo Morohashi, after filing a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on Monday.
In Japan, 68,000 people over 65 projected to die alone at home this year
As Japan grapples with its population's rapid aging, supporting people who live and age alone is looming larger on the policy agenda.
Kishida defends planned rule to revoke foreigners' residency
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a meeting of the Lower House Judicial Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
Japan concerned over U.S. officials' remarks on atomic bombings
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks to reporters during a news conference in Washington on Thursday.
Was Onosato's defeat of Terunofuji an era-defining bout?
Onosato (right) defeats Terunofuji at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on May 12. While nothing in sumo is guaranteed, it seems almost inevitable that Onosato is destined for the top of the sport's pyramid.
Japanese rap creates its mecca in Pop Yours
Tokyo-based artist Jumadiba says he forgoes the label of simply “rap” for his music because the Japanese rap scene isn’t confined to a particular sound.
Who’s toughest on China? Biden’s tariff tactic ups ante as election looms.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about new actions to protect American workers and businesses from China's "unfair" trade practices, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
Was Onosato's defeat of Terunofuji an era-defining bout?
Onosato (right) defeats Terunofuji at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on May 12. While nothing in sumo is guaranteed, it seems almost inevitable that Onosato is destined for the top of the sport's pyramid.
Ishin struggles to set itself apart from other parties
Nippon Ishin no Kai Secretary-General Fumitake Fujita (right) speaks beside Yui Kanazawa, the party's candidate in the Tokyo 15th district by-election on April 28. Nippon Ishin lost in this by-election as well as another in Nagasaki held on the same day.
In Japan, 68,000 people over 65 projected to die alone at home this year
As Japan grapples with its population's rapid aging, supporting people who live and age alone is looming larger on the policy agenda.

Podcast

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[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.
How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan
By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there
Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

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