Tag: Japan

I read an article on BBC's news site about a study of facial expressions around the world, which essentially found ...

Japan currently stands at the brink, staring down at an abyss so hellish I can scarcely contemplate it. I'm talking, ...

Well, singer Noriko Sakai has turned herself in to the authorities, admitting to using stimulant drugs with her husband for ...

There comes a time in every Japan-loving gaijin's life when he or she must take the plunge and climb Mt. ...

The other day my wife was writing my name and address on a box she was going to send to ...

Japan's entertainment world has been turned upside-down by a perfect storm of scandals this week. First, actor Manabu Oshio was ...

In the summer the Japanese love matsuri, or festivals, which are a fun time to wear traditional clothes and carry ...

Everyone knows sake (SAH-kay), the famous rice-brewed beverage that's one of the most famous images of Japan. But another popular ...

Japan is a country that believes in getting along harmoniously -- a good idea, considering that they have half the ...

For whatever reason, one of the themes of Japanese society is that its citizens don't show much in the way ...

One of the invisible pillars of Japanese society is tatemae (tah-tay-MAH-eh), literally meaning façade but in actual use, "the way ...

When I first got to Japan, I was determined to get out and see the country, but it was difficult ...

Bowing is an important form of social communication in Japan. Whether it's a short sumimasen accompanied by a brief lowering ...

Japan has two health insurance systems: shakai hoken (best translatable as "society-person insurance") which covers employees in larger companies, and ...

Sometimes there are some interesting differences between East and West that can surprise you. I wrote recently that you're actually ...

Last night my son needed a hand with an English essay he was writing about the different kinds of engineering ...

There's a wacky trick that Japanese sometimes do with money: fold a 1000 yen bill so that Hideyo Noguchi, the ...

Japanese TV never fails to entertain, although some shows might seem a little mundane on the surface. The Japanese care ...

Like all things, Japanese society is constantly moving in new directions, and it's interesting to see the terms that are ...

One of the themes I write about a lot is how people in Japan are sensitive to how they're viewed ...

Japan's judicial world is undergoing big changes as the country prepares to introduce a "citizen juror" system in which guilt ...

For some reason, the Japanese love rankingu (ranking), and there are TV shows that go out of their way to ...

Tokyo is the sprawling capital of Japan, so large that it's more like a prefecture than a unified entity, made ...

J-List's plan to re-populate Japan is going well, and J-List employee Jun (the guy who brings you such great toys, ...