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October 30, 2025
 

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LANGUAGE

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 8, 2016
安: a peaceful character for these turbulent times
One kanji character that learners encounter at a fairly early stage is u5b89, pronounced 'an' or 'yasuraka' and meaning 'peaceful' and, by extension, 'safe.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Aug 8, 2016
Living it large with 'oki' and 'hiroi'
Introducing the meaning and uses of the adjectives u5927(u304au304a)u304du3044 (big/large/great) and u5e83u3044 (spacious/wide) and their related expressions.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Aug 8, 2016
Japanese fans flock to 'Pokemon Go'
Nintendo's smartphone game 'Pokemon Go' has finally launched in Japan, the birthplace of the little virtual monsters.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 1, 2016
A Japanese guide to dealing with gentlemen callers and unruly dogs
Bookworms often have a rare jewel in their collection that they are unable to throw out — despite efforts to こんまり (Konmari, tidy in the method of Marie Kondo by getting rid of clutter) around the house. For me, this book is the 1965 エチケット事典 (Echiketto Jiten, Etiquette Dictionary)....
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Aug 1, 2016
It'll be all good once you learn how to use 'ii desu' the correct way
Ima-wa ii-desu. (I'm fine for now.)
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Aug 1, 2016
Talking about Harajuku Station's new look
Harajuku Station is getting a makeover, let's describe how we think it should go.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 25, 2016
Better to holiday at home than endure a resort during the Japanese summer
In the late-capitalist scheme of things, the Japanese resort probably makes sense. But speaking as a reformed resort junkie, I believe we can do better.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Jul 25, 2016
Going from A to Z with 'no ho ga' and 'made'
Tōkyō-kara Fukuoka-made iku-niwa, hikōki-to shinkansen, dochira-ga ii-deshō-ka. (Is it better to go from Tokyo to Fukuoka by plane or shinkansen?)
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jul 25, 2016
Sashihara wins AKB48 general election
About 30,000 people packed a baseball stadium in Niigata for the annual event to announce the most popular members of the AKB48 family of all-female idol groups.
LIFE / Language
Jul 25, 2016
Looking at vocabulary in the runup to 'Pokemon Go'
'Pokemon Go' fans in Japan are vexed by the wait for the popular game.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jul 20, 2016
Eiken broadens language tests to address criticisms
As the Eiken Foundation tries to meet the demands of a growing number of test-takers, what do students, parents and teachers make of the tests?
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jul 20, 2016
Readers' letters: Rote learning, vocab and Eiken's aims
Some readers' responses to last month's article by Hans Karlsson, 'Is the Eiken doing Japan's English learners more harm than good?'
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 11, 2016
For a salaryman in summertime, the living ain't easy
As any male over a certain age will tell anyone who'll listen, it's tough being a middle-aged salaryman.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Jul 11, 2016
Getting things just right in Japanese with 'kagen'
Introduce the meaning and usage of the noun u52a0u6e1b (u304bu3052u3093).
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jul 11, 2016
No charges for Hokkaido parents who left son in forest
Police have said they will not file neglect charges against the parents of a 7-year-old boy who was found safe after going missing for six days in a mountain forest in Hokkaido.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jul 11, 2016
Let's discuss the chances of a drought in Kanto
The Kanto region may experience a serious drought this summer due to an 'unprecedented' shortage of water in lakes and reservoirs supplying the area.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 4, 2016
Free Japanese lessons await those who keep their eyes and ears open
To glean new vocabulary and useful insights, you have to make sure your mental switch remains in the 'on' position.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Jul 4, 2016
Adding that little bit more with conjunctions 'sore ni' and 'sore de'
Introducing the meaning and uses of the conjunction particles u305du308cu306b (and, on top of that) and u305du308cu3067 (therefore, and then).
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jun 29, 2016
How to address the foreign elephant in the room — in Japanese?
For some long-term residents, how they are referred to in Japanese is a bone of contention.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 27, 2016
In Japanese, you can find the inner child in everything
It's not news that Japan is running out of children. Though the country's total fertility rate has recently shown some slight signs of recovery, this is unlikely to halt the overall trend of 少子化 (shōshika), which is the common term used to describe the dwindling number of kids. But no worries...
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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