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October 30, 2025
 

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LANGUAGE

Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Jan 23, 2020
Hoping for a Japanese society in which all of its members can shine
Black Eye columnist Baye McNeil opens the new year with an email from a reader that illustrates the importance of language in dealing with multiracial individuals.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 21, 2020
Japan going the wrong way in English-education reform
English-language education in Japanese schools should focus on reading and writing rather than conversation to build a strong foundation.
WORLD
Jan 4, 2020
Singular 'they' chosen as word of the decade in U.S.
American linguists on Friday chose "they" as their word of the decade, recognizing the growing use of third-person plural pronouns as a singular form to refer to people who identify their sex as neither entirely male nor entirely female.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 20, 2019
Scrabble casts spell over Asia with Welsh hugs and mustard seeds
Malaysian teenage Scrabble protege Tengku Ariff Shah can spell more English words than most adults in the Western world, but he doesn't always know what they mean.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2019
Japanese rugby's 'One Team' motto declared buzzword of 2019
"One Team," Japan's slogan for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, was picked as buzzword of the year on Monday after the Brave Blossoms thrilled fans with their historic advance to the top eight.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Dec 2, 2019
With great knowledge comes a great chilled beer
Sultan 'Sam' Vidhani operates Sam's Bar TalkEigo, a place in Fukuoka where you can participate in some language exchange with a cheeky drink.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 17, 2019
Outsourcing of English tests stirs up storm in education
When speaking last month about a plan to introduce private-sector English testing for university entrance exams, education minister Koichi Hagiuda created an outcry when he said students should compete for entry "in accordance with their (financial) standing," implying they should compete financially....
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2019
Japan's rugby, disasters and social change generate buzzwords in 2019
The 2019 Rugby World Cup, natural disasters and cashless payment inspired a large portion of the nominations for the annual buzzword of the year awards.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Oct 20, 2019
Linguistic ignorance can be bliss
When it was revealed that Pico Iyer knew only a 'smattering' of Japanese despite living in Japan for 25 years, some were critical. However, could there be artistic benefits to not being fluent?
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Oct 7, 2019
Let's discuss the consumption tax
An English lesson focuses on some new vocabulary surrounding taxes and discussion prompts on the new tax in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Sep 9, 2019
Let's discuss summer homework
With summer homework a staple for many Japanese children, are youngsters suffering from exhaustion and do their parents support the allocation of studies during vacation?
EDITORIALS
Sep 5, 2019
Address concerns about new English exams
Efforts to improve of the university exam system are welcome, but forcibly implementing reforms without proper preparation could cause problems for high school students.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2019
Ministry launches website to provide info on English tests used in Japan university admissions
The education ministry on Tuesday launched a website to provide information on private-sector English tests set to be used under a new standardized university examination system starting in fiscal 2020, which begins next April.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 23, 2019
New South Wales to end Chinese-funded Confucius Institute education program
Australia's most populous state will ax a Chinese-funded education program that teaches Mandarin in schools amid fears over potential foreign influence.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2019
For Japan's medical interpretation industry, tourism boom presents growing challenge
During one of her medical-interpreting lessons in July, teacher Yoshiko Ishizaka, 77, brought up the case of a former student who was dealing with schizophrenia.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 13, 2019
Japan needs guidelines and infrastructure for multilingual support for foreign residents
It is high time that the national government formulated guidelines on what information it should disseminate in what languages.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2019
Tourists to Japan are fueling a boom in personal translation devices
Takehiko Fujita wouldn't be able to do his job selling eye drops and pain relievers without his pocket translator.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2019
Japan to toughen eligibility standards for Japanese-language schools
The Immigration Services Agency said Thursday it will toughen eligibility standards for Japanese-language schools that can accept foreign students, effective Sept. 1.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2019
Nationwide test results highlight Japanese students' poor English speaking and writing skills
In the speaking section, many students struggled with improvised speech on randomly chosen topics.
Japan Times
EDITORIALS
Jun 27, 2019
Helping foreign residents learn Japanese
The enactment of a new law that spells out the government's responsibility to ensure adequate Japanese language education for residents from overseas is a step forward. Policy actions and funding to back it up must now follow.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell
Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
At first summit with Trump, Takaichi pledges 'new golden age' for alliance
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi raises her fist as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech in front of U.S. Navy personnel on board the U.S. Navy's USS George Washington aircraft carrier at the American naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
Abe shooting suspect Yamagami pleads guilty to murder
Members of the media gather outside the Nara District Court in the city of Nara on Tuesday hours before the start of the trial of Tetsuya Yamagami, the man accused of fatally shooting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022.
Takaichi buys time and builds trust with ‘near-perfect’ Trump summit
U.S. President Donald Trump walks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during a visit to the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JPYC, world’s first yen stablecoin, is issued
Noritaka Okabe, head of Japanese startup JPYC, at a news conference for the first yen stablecoin in Tokyo on Monday
Oasis returns to Tokyo: Rain, rapture and rock
Fans wait to get into the Oasis show at Tokyo Dome on Saturday. While lining up in the rain, some broke into impromptu versions of the British rock group's hits.
Kyushu banzuke sets the stage to cement 2025’s sumo narratives
Onosato ahead of his bout against Aonishiki at The Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Oct. 18
Tokyo Film Festival opens with global stars and a spotlight on Asian storytelling
Director Junji Sakamoto (left) walked the Tokyo International Film Festival red carpet with Sayuri Yoshinaga (center) and Non (right), who both play mountaineer Junko Tabei, the first woman to summit Mount Everest, in the biopic "Climbing for Life."
Spanish artist and Japanese writer duos diversify the manga talent pool in Japan
"Menheim” is a dark fantasy manga with a story that centers on a girl’s quest to find a cure for her ill brother.
Japan’s youth are apathetic toward the climate crisis. Could anime change that?
“Future Kid Takara,” a series of anime shorts to be aired on NHK Educational TV in November, attempts to educate children about climate change.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo
Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo

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