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August 25, 2025
 

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LANGUAGE

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.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2019
New law holds government responsible for teaching Japanese to all foreign residents
The legislation places the onus for providing learning opportunities on the state but does not contain any concrete measures to fund.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 15, 2019
Wall Street learns hard lesson on why not to say 'pig' in China
Wall Street is getting a costly language lesson.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jun 6, 2019
Japanese, Italian, Korean? I'm all of these
One question I have always found difficult is, "Where are you from?" While most people I meet are able to answer it with a single word — Japan, England, India — for me the answer is a lot more complicated.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 31, 2019
Moves are afoot to push media to switch Japanese name order in English, but will it work?
Some laugh it off as a First World problem. But others say the topic touches upon issues of identity, sovereignty and press freedom.
JAPAN
May 27, 2019
Changing monarchy on display as imperial couple greets Trump and first lady using English
The language barrier fell away Monday when Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako greeted U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump in English at the Imperial Palace, in what could be a taste of things to come for the most internationally minded imperial couple in Japan's history.
Japan to revise romanization rules for first time in 70 years
The Agency for Cultural Affairs is recommending replacing the government’s long-standing Kunrei system with more widely used Hepburn-style spellings.
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.
At meeting rich in symbolism, Ishiba and South Korea's Lee agree to steadily build ties
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shake hands at joint press announcement after summit talks in Tokyo on Saturday.
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.
Japan to boost support for joint ride-hailing services
Tatsuaki Igarashi, mayor of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, exits a ride-sharing vehicle at Tsukuba Station in January.
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.
As farm minister, Koizumi is held ‘hostage’ by Ishiba
Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi (center) attends a Lower House session on Aug. 1. Locking Koizumi into the Cabinet is Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s way of turning a potential rival into a team player, according to one expert.

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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