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October 30, 2025
 

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LANGUAGE

Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 28, 2018
The 'Mao suit': One outfit for the people, but with many names
The English-language media recently described North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un as wearing a 'Mao suit,' but no one in East Asia would refer to it this way.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
May 28, 2018
Getting things straight and getting things done in Japanese with 'n desu kara' and 'n desu kedo'
Introducing the proper use of Xu3093u3067u3059u304bu3089u3001Y and Xu3093u3067u3059u3051u3069u3001Y.
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
May 28, 2018
License plates with regional designs to be introduced across Japan
On May 22, the transport ministry announced new designs for license plates that will be introduced in 41 regions nationwide.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
May 28, 2018
Let's discuss unfair play from Nichidai
The head coach of Nihon University's American football team says he will quit after apologizing to a Kwansei Gakuin University player over a controversial play.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 21, 2018
To know Japan, its people and its story, know its grub
Food in Japan is hardwired to emotion, personal identity and memory in a way that is often baffling to Westerners.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
May 21, 2018
Let's discuss the scandal surrounding Tokio's Tatsuya Yamaguchi
Tatsuya Yamaguchi, a member of Japanese all-male pop group Tokio, intends to leave the band after coming under fire for kissing a high school student.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
May 21, 2018
Explaining what you see and hear with 'no da'
Introducing u306eu3060, a phrase that is frequently used in daily conversation but has no good translation in English.
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
May 21, 2018
Island of monkeys once again connected to the mainland
For the second consecutive year, the island of Koshima is connected to the mainland thanks to a lack of major typhoons, raising fears of trouble between visiting humans and resident monkeys
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 14, 2018
Whose line is it anyway? Tips for deciphering dialogue in Japanese fiction
Dialogue in Japanese fiction has its own set of rules, and if you're not paying close attention, you may have trouble understanding who is saying what to whom.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
May 14, 2018
Give your Japanese verbs wings using 'agaru' and 'ageru'
Introduce the basic meanings and uses of compound verb structures Vu4e0a(u3042)u304cu308b and Vu4e0a(u3042)u3052u308b.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
May 14, 2018
Numbers of bicycle accidents in Tokyo involving children have risen
The number of people hospitalized in accidents involving children riding in bicycle child seats has been rising in the Tokyo metro area, new figures show.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
May 7, 2018
A formal lesson on informal endings
Introducing the proper use of the sentence-ending particles of u306a(u3042) and u306d(u3048).
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
May 7, 2018
Let's discuss relations between Japan and North Korea
Despite what appears to be good news that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is eager to hold a bilateral summit with Japan, the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe remains cautious, saying there are many hurdles to be overcome.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 30, 2018
Using the internet to dig up some basics in Japanese
Once, many, many years ago, I found a rail pass someone left behind next to a public pay phone in Hamamatsucho Station in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Apr 30, 2018
It's a relief knowing the difference between '安心' and '安全'
Introducing two words that distinguish between feelings of relief and safety.
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Apr 30, 2018
They found what in the Great Buddha?!
Kamakura's famed Great Buddha statue undergoes a 'physical examination' that reveals a lot of chewing gum inside it.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Apr 30, 2018
Let's discuss that Seven-Eleven that was forced to stay open in a blizzard
The owner of a Seven-Eleven convenience store in Fukui Prefecture was allegedly forced to work for about 50 hours without sleep in February after the chain rejected his requests to suspend business amid the heaviest snowfall in decades, a labor union has said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 23, 2018
What would you pay to live in Minato Ward?
It was in 2001 when my friend, Chikako Sakamoto, paid ¥9.8 million for a six-tatami-mat apartment in Tokyo's central Minato Ward. The apartment was inside a 長期滞在者用 (chōki taizaisha-yō, long term resident's) wing of an old hotel in Roppongi, with a very low ceiling and no kitchen. Chikako...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Apr 23, 2018
You should get the hang of 'そのうち' and '今に' soon enough
Introducing two adverbs that show the near future, u305du306eu3046u3061 and u4ecau306b.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 16, 2018
OK Google, auto-fill the gaps in my Japanese
If you are stuck for what to say in Japanese, Google search — and in particular, its auto-fill function — can be your friend.
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
At Japan Mobility Show, BYD gears up to conquer Japan's EV market
BYD Auto Japan President Atsuki Tofukuji unveils the Racco at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Wednesday.
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.

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

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