Matching the ins and outs of two common kanji
From April 1, the 入国管理局 (nyūkoku kanri-kyoku, Immigration Bureau), which operated under the auspices of the 法務省 (hōmushō, Justice Ministry), was upgraded from a bureau to an agency. Its Japanese name changed to 出入国在留管理庁 (shutsunyūkoku zairyū kanri-chō), which can be interpreted as the agency ...
A few parting words in Japanese for when you retire
Japan needed to pass a special law before the Emperor was able to "retire," but for the rest of us the process is a bit easier — as long as you know the vocabulary involved.
Use 'shin' to make a new start in the Reiwa Era
Spring is the time for new life, the new school year, new coworkers and, in 2019, a new Imperial era.
For Tokyo calendar maker, announcement of Reiwa era name was cue to get printers rolling
At the Tokyo offices of a major calendar maker on Monday, executives and employees crowded around a television broke into applause as Reiwa, the country's next Imperial era name, was announced. While the Gregorian calendar is in common use in Japan, the country's Imperial era ...
Japan assures world that Reiwa is all about 'beautiful harmony' and has nothing to do with 'command'
The move is intended to dispel what the ministry considers erroneous reports overseas that the new era name has connotations of “command” or “order.”
Banna, Banpo, Eiko, Koshi and Kyuka: The Japan eras that could have been, beaten out by Reiwa
Five of the potential names for Japan's next era that were unsuccessful at the final stage came to light Tuesday, a day after the government selected Reiwa from the six finalists. The five other candidates were Eiko, Kyuka, Koshi, Banna and Banpo, sources with knowledge ...
What's in a name? Reiwa reflects today's politics, Japan's cultural history and a social philosophy
Media hype over Reiwa, the newly announced name for the upcoming era, continued unabated Tuesday. At the same time, a majority of people appeared to happily welcome the name, which means "auspicious" (rei) and "peace" or "harmony" (wa). However, the choice of the era name ...
Shizuoka man shares same kanji as Japan's new Reiwa era name
A 45-year-old man in Fujieda, Shizuoka Prefecture, received many congratulatory messages after the government announced the next era's name, written with the same kanji as his given name. "I was first surprised and then felt happy," Norikazu Matsuura said. He learned the era name in ...
Some in China baffled by Japan's era name, with regret that it wasn't inspired by a Chinese classic
Some citizens in Beijing on Monday evaluated Japan's new era name, Reiwa, as "strange" and expressed disappointment, saying it doesn't make sense in their language and was not derived from Chinese classics. On Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, many young people had tried to guess ...
Sai, meaning disaster, picked as kanji that best sums up Heisei Era in insurance firm survey
In a survey conducted by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co., sai, meaning disaster or harm, topped the list of kanji characters representing the Heisei Era. The result apparently reflected Japanese people's clear memories of a host of difficulties during the period, including the March 1995 sarin ...
Turn an 'H' on its side and look what kanji you get
If you turn an 'H' on its side, you get something that looks like the kanji kō or ku, and from there you can go all sorts of places.
Wrestle mania: The changing landscape of professional wrestling in Japan
In June 1976, professional wrestler Kanji "Antonio" Inoki took on iconic American boxer Muhammad Ali at the Nippon Budokan arena in Tokyo in a fight that would be broadcast to an estimated global audience of 1.4 billion. The vaguely comical bout, which ended in a ...
