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August 26, 2025
 

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LANGUAGE

Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Sep 17, 2018
When stumped in Japanese, go where stumped Japanese go
Reading Japanese explanations of Japanese grammar patterns is a surefire way to improve your reading ability and to make sure you're getting unadulterated content.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Sep 17, 2018
Living and working — choosing the right verb in Japanese
Introducing the differences between the verbs 'sumu' and 'kurasu,' as well as 'tsutomeru' and 'hataraku'
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 10, 2018
Rest, weary Japan traveler, and read this riveting 'ishibumi'
Much can be gleaned from memorials and markers erected at roadsides and elsewhere in Japan to commemorate people or mark events.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Sep 10, 2018
Chilling in Japanese with 'hieru,' 'hiyasu,' 'sameru' and 'samasu'
Introducing the verb u51b7(u3072)u3048u308b (to become cold) and its related words and expressions.
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Sep 10, 2018
Fossils of largest dinosaur ever found in Japan go on show in Hokkaido
At a little over 8 meters from head to tail, a dinosaur skeleton on show in Hokkaido is the largest ever discovered in Japan.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 3, 2018
Getting to know Japan on a first-name basis
What's in a first name? In Japan, you'll find insights into societal change.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Sep 3, 2018
In Japanese, turn to 'omoi' when something weighs on your shoulders or mind
Introducing the i-adjective u91cd(u304au3082)u3044/u91cdu305fu3044 (heavy).
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Sep 3, 2018
Five deaths go unreported at Gifu city hospital
Five patients in their 80s passed away while staying in rooms with broken air conditioning at Y&M Fujikake Daiichi Hospital in Gifu.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Sep 3, 2018
Let's discuss flying cars
Japan is making a push to develop flying cars, enlisting companies including Uber and Airbus to join a public-private panel tasked with making airborne vehicles a reality in the next decade.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 29, 2018
In Japan, the most important rule for language translation is often broken
As Japan continues to court more foreign tourists, the nation must learn to respect foreign languages as much as its own.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 27, 2018
Will society still need me, will it still feed me, when I'm 100?
Back in the 1960s when Paul McCartney wrote 'When I'm 64,' the average life expectancy worldwide was 52. Yet half a century on, Japan is already gearing up for the era of u4ebau751fu767eu5e74 (jinsei hyakunen, 100-year life).
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Aug 27, 2018
Using 'zenzen' in Japanese is no problem at all
Introducing some of the usages of the adverb u5168u7136(u305cu3093u305cu3093, never/not at all), which is often heard in conversation.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Aug 27, 2018
Let's discuss the lost and found boy
The recent discovery of an uninjured 2-year-old boy who had been missing for three days on an island in western Japan is being called a miracle.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Aug 20, 2018
Let's discuss the Japan boxing scandal
Japan Amateur Boxing Federation President Akira Yamane has quit following numerous allegations of misconduct, including pressuring referees to fix matches and misuse of grant money.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 20, 2018
Smile as you study:/ Sharp salaryman senryu/ satirize the slog
Highlights from the 31st Senryu for Salaried Workers Contest riff on the situations employees encounter at the office, home or both.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Aug 20, 2018
A little Japanese primer on using 'chotto' in Japanese
introducing some uses of the adverb u3061u3087u3063u3068, which comes up in all kinds of situations.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 13, 2018
Japanese surnames: Among the usual suspects, you're bound to find some curveballs
How many Japanese surnames are there anyway? It's a tricky question, because the total depends on how you decide to count them.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Aug 13, 2018
The good, the bad and the 'by all means' of 'zehi' in Japanese
A closer look at u662fu975e(u305cu3072), which means 'good and/or bad' or 'by all means.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 6, 2018
Spooky Japanese tales will scare the summer's heat out of you
Until recently, summer nights involved turning off the AC and doing things like kurumaza ni natte kaidanbanashi (sitting in a circle and telling ghost stories).
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Aug 6, 2018
Raise a glass, count your squid, say you're full but watch your tone with 'hai'
Introduce the word u4e00u676f (u3044u3063u3071u3044, one cup) and its related expressions.
Toyoko Kids: The lonely street children of Tokyo
Many young people who feel neglected at home flock to the Toyoko area to find a community where they can fit in.
Japan unveils new overtourism countermeasures
The majority of tourists in Japan tend to stay in Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto, resulting in overcrowding in popular tourist spots and a strain on transportation systems.
South Korea couple beat same-sex barriers to parenthood
South Korean lesbian couple Kim Kyu-jin (left) and her wife, Kim Sae-yeon, pose with a "pregnant woman" badge during an interview in Seoul last month.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Opportunities await the bold in the Year of the Wood Dragon
2024 marks the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, with the year predicted to be a good time for fresh starts.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.
Germany's first sakemaker offers a bold brew of ideas
Reigen, Germany's first sake brewery, makes a diverse, nontraditional range of sake that includes fruit-flavored sips and wine barrel-aged renditions.
Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.
Is the LDP’s catch-all approach to politics still effective?
Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi visits Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15. Political commentator Toru Hashimoto has suggested that Takaichi ought to lead a group of like-minded hawkish politicians out of the Liberal Democratic Party and form their own party.
Fingers sore from too much phone time? You might have ‘sumaho yubi.’
A catch-all term for tendonitis and arthritis caused by excessive smartphone use, 'sumaho yubi' may be difficult to treat for gadget-crazy Japan.

Podcast

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

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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