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September 17, 2025
 

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JLPT N2

A lot of Japanese workers join online group texts to communicate with their coworkers, but at what point do those chats threaten a healthy work-life balance?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 22, 2025
Expressing annoyance with work group chats in Japanese
Some employees value the convenience; others feel trapped by after-hours texts and social expectations embedded in office messaging culture.
A man takes part in Tokyo’s Sanja Matsuri by helping to carry a "mikoshi" (portable shrine). Many Japanese festivals are open to foreign residents and tourists to participate in.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 19, 2025
Dancers, festivals and one very useful Japanese grammar point
From Kyoto’s Gion Matsuri to Tokyo’s Sumida fireworks, Japan’s summer festivals offer history, spectacle — and a chance to learn some vocabulary.
Get those umbrellas out, rainy season has arrived in much of Japan.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 12, 2025
In the forecast for June — a lot of talk about the weather
From "tsuyu" to "amayadori," the current season has no shortage of vocabulary for downpours, floods and wet weather.
As humidity rises in the rainy season, it’s a good idea to get some moisture absorbers and place them around the home.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 30, 2025
How to talk about change in Japanese — one forecast at a time
Use the changing seasons as a springboard to learn how Japanese expresses cause-and-effect shifts.
Signs advertising the upcoming World Expo in Osaka have proliferated in the city's different neighborhood for the past few years.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 11, 2025
I’ve only just come back from Osaka, but I’m ready to hit the Expo
The term “bakari” can be used in several different ways to emphasize and define the limit of a range.
People walk around an outlet mall in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture. At stores across Japan, clerks use a form of polite language called "manyuaru keigo," literally, “manual honorifics,” named for the service manuals they study it from.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 6, 2024
Japan's honorific language can be challenging for native speakers, too
According to surveys, more than half of those in their teens, 20s and 30s, believe they cannot use "keigo," or honorific language, appropriately.
Get your dark blue suit out of the closet, job hunting season is once again upon us.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 6, 2024
Those looking for jobs in Japan get another shot at it in September
Hiring for new recruits usually takes place in time for an April start, but Japanese companies are increasingly looking to hire in the autumn.
Two people in Tokyo walk past a poster meant to evoke a cooling feeling the summer heat.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 31, 2024
Sunscreen bans, UV-cuts and the language of summer skincare in Japan
Get to know Japanese terms for products that will help you protect your skin in the scorching sun.
People look at the election poster board at Kasai Rinkai Park in Tokyo. The board includes posters for each of the candidates running in that specific riding.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 28, 2024
Tokyo's election day is coming. Are you comfortable talking about politics in Japanese?
Even if you don't want to talk about politics, expressing your opinion on a particular topic is always a good skill to have in your daily life.
Dads in Japan tend to fall in one of two categories: "amatō," a person fond of sweets, or "karatō," a person fond of alcohol.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 14, 2024
Dads like sweets, but some like sweet words even more
Looking for a gift for Father's Day? It's said that Japanese dads fall into one of two categories: They like sweets or they like sake.
Artificial chemical scents that come from things like perfume or fabric softener can cause discomfort or even sickness for some individuals.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 7, 2024
Scents and sensitivity: Understanding ‘smell pollution’ in Japan
In the country's crowded urban areas, it is important to be aware of how your deodorant, perfume or fabric softener can affect others.
The idea of quitting tends to be associated with weakness, but moving on from a problematic situation can sometimes be extremely positive.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 10, 2024
Sometimes there's power in quitting
Modern society tends to see quitting as a sign of weakness, but Buddhist teaching has extolled the benefits of letting go of something at the right time.
While carnations and hydrangeas seem to be Japan’s preferred flowers for Mother’s Day, your mom will likely be happy just spending quality time with you for the occasion.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 3, 2024
Before you forget, order those hydrangeas for Mother's Day!
"Before it's too late," "while you remember" — Mother's Day offers us a chance to learn ways to express a range of time in Japanese.
The carp-shaped streamers you see flying in the wind around the start of May are connected to Children's Day. The carp is a symbol of strength and success, which is why it is used in connection to the holiday.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 25, 2024
Getting extremely emotional with grammar ahead of Children's Day
Certain Japanese grammatical structures can help enhance emotions in conversation and writing, conveying the idea of "unbearably."
What would you do if you received a juicy piece of gossip at work, do you know the Japanese for how you'd respond?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 23, 2024
Rumor, gossip and misinformation with neither roots nor leaves
Areas hit by the New Year's Day earthquake find themselves subject to damaging misinformation as they try to focus on reconstruction.
The Japanese term "yarinuku" means to do something to completion and implies there were difficulties along the way. It may feel like climbing a mountain, but it's often used in the boardroom.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 19, 2024
Persevere with your Japanese grammar using these compound verbs
By mixing and matching certain verbs, your vocabulary will expand immensely.
Fast fashion concept. Woman chooses jeans in a store. Lots of clothes in the store. Fast Fashion Destroying Planet
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 21, 2023
Fashion, fast and slow: Discussing shopping ethics in Japanese
Whether it’s a trendy top from a chain store in Shibuya or a vintage piece from the backstreets of Kichijoji, know how to shop with a mind to sustainability in Japanese.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 14, 2023
Long story short, cont’d: Brevity rules in Japanese grammar
The Japanese don't just abbreviate their vocabulary, when you're short on time even grammatical structures can get the chop.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 7, 2023
Summer festivals like Tanabata are back in full force (yay!), and so is heatstroke (boo!)
Get to know the vocabulary surrounding symptoms of heatstroke, heat exhaustion and how to ask someone if they need help.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 23, 2023
Get your sports vocabulary into shape for the start of baseball season
Preseason baseball games have begun, catch up on your sports-related vocabulary so you don't strike out in any conversations.
Haneda Airport security staff arrested over theft
Tokyo police have arrested a 21-year-old security inspector at Haneda Airport after he allegedly stole cash from a passenger during a baggage inspection.
Japan's elderly population down at around 36.2 million
The estimated number of people age 65 or older in Japan stands at 36.19 million as of Monday, accounting for record 29.4% of the country's total population, according to the internal affairs ministry.
SDF spots China’s biggest aircraft carrier for first time
The Fujian aircraft carrier is seen in Shanghai in May 2024 as it leaves for its first sea trial.
White House threatens broad crackdown on liberal groups
FBI Director Kash Patel (right) listens to senior White House adviser Stephen Miller speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
Why more hotels in Japan are offering room-only service
Nipponia Hotel Ise Kawasaki Merchant Town in Ise, Mie Prefecture
Pole vault rivals in awe after Duplantis has another historic night in Tokyo
Sweden's Armand Duplantis competes in the men's pole fault final during the World Athletics Championships at National Stadium in Tokyo on Monday.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.
Tara Davis-Woodhall leaps to gold and finds redemption at world championships
Tara Davis-Woodhall celebrates after winning the women's long jump final at the World Athletics Championships at Tokyo's National Stadium on Sunday night.
An aesthetic escape to Hakone’s art-drenched hills
Between traditional examples of fine art and sleek, modern exhibitions that blend with nature, Hakone offers a unique escape from Tokyo's urban sprawl.
Niinami’s ouster quick but not unusual as corporations protect reputation
Takeshi Niinami resigns as chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings.

Podcast

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

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

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