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August 26, 2025
 

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LANGUAGE

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...
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Jun 27, 2016
The generally positive influence of 'koso'
Today, we will introduce Xu304bu3089u3053u305dY and Xu3066u3053u305dY, two patterns that are used with the particle u3053u305d.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 20, 2016
Repetition and role-play are crucial for speaking success in Japanese
Applying repetition to speaking practice will help you sound more natural and bring phrases to your tongue more easily.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Jun 20, 2016
Divining the difference between 'tama ni' and 'tamatama'
Introducing two adverbs, u305fu307eu306b and u305fu307eu305fu307e, that sound similar but have rather different meanings.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jun 20, 2016
Japan to take 150 Syrians as students
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says that Japan will accept 150 Syrians over five years, treating them not as refugees but university students.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jun 20, 2016
Let's discuss what young Japanese want from work
Google, All Nippon Airways and Toyota have emerged as the ideal workplaces for Japanese millennial talent, according to a survey.
Character-crazed Japan has little appetite for Labubu
A pop-up advertisement for the newly opened Chiikawa Park in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood demonstrates how the country is chockful of cute characters — to the detriment of trends like Labubu.
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.
JICA to designate four Japanese cities as 'hometowns' for African nations
The Japanese flag (left) with the flag of the African Union
Man arrested in Kobe stabbing had been staying at hotel near victim’s home
Masashi Tanimoto arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of a woman in Kobe, is sent to prosecutors on Sunday.
Tokyo releases AI-generated video of Mount Fuji erupting
A screenshot from an AI-generated video showing what could happen to Tokyo if Mount Fuji erupted
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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy
Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

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