U.S. same-sex marriage advocate urges Japan to go beyond municipal certificates
In recent decades, same-sex marriage has become legal in many countries, including the United States, Canada and parts of Europe. In Japan — starting with Tokyo's Shibuya and Setagaya wards in November 2015 — municipal governments have begun issuing certificates that recognize same-sex unions as ...
The delicate Japanese art of rom-com title translation
With so much at stake, it's no wonder distribution companies pour so much thought into coming up with workable, attractive Japanese titles for their films.
The Japanese and love — more complicated than you think
The Japanese suck at this thing called love, and no amount of Valentine's Day chocolate is going to fix that.
Care burden prompting more widows to cut off in-laws via little known procedure
An increasing number of Japanese, especially women, are choosing to terminate legal relations with in-laws after the death of a spouse. With Japan's graying society leaving more and more elderly requiring nursing care, the decision to break ties is becoming more prevalent as surviving spouses ...
Family debate: same-sex parents?
With LGBT relationships starting to be recognized by authorities, questions are now being asked about whether such couples should have children.
Marriage-shy Japanese turning to temple priests for help with matchmaking
Although traditionally seen as conductors of funerals or memorial services, some Buddhist monks in Japan are carving out a new niche as matchmakers for singles looking to marry. In a country where an increasing number of people are marrying relatively late in life or not ...
In sexless Japan, almost half of single young men and women are virgins: survey
In a survey of young people, around 42 percent of the men and 44.2 percent of the women who responded said they’d never had sex.
When it really means a lot, say it with 'sekkaku'
Introducing the adverb せっかく, which is used in a variety of ways to express the speaker's feelings about things.
Abuse victim fined ¥50,000 for not registering daughter's birth for 33 years
A court fines a mother on the run from an abusive husband for not registering her daughter's birth for more than 30 years, illustrating the struggle facing people without a koseki family registration.
Ain't no cure for the salaryman blues
This is an excerpt from an interview with a salaryman who wishes to remain anonymous.
Dating in Japan never used to be this difficult — or creepy
It's spring and love should be in the air. But it's a bad, bad time to be out there in the dating scene.
Beau pops the question by spelling it out with world’s largest GPS drawing
In July 2008, company employee Yasushi Takahashi decided to ask his girlfriend of eight years to marry him and was determined to make it "the world's biggest proposal." So he quit his job and went off on a six-month journey across Japan — on ...
