Politicial life after Koizumi, being at peace with taking your shoes off, and why Taro can’t code
The post-Koizumi era will soon be on us, now that Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe has officially been elected leader ...
Tag: manga
A new social problem for Japanese, famous English phrases including “Boys, Be Ambitious,” and the Japanese obsession with design
Among the many problems modern Japan faces is katsuji-banare (ka-TSU-jee bah-NAH-ray), or a growing detachment from printed characters. Japan publishes ...
A happy day in Japan, forgetting which kind of English you speak, and feeling “natsukashii” with my old Japanese textbook
It's a boy! All Japan is currently cheering the news that Princess Kiko has given birth to a boy. The ...
Japan’s most famous businessmen, when not to laugh at your students, and all about our prefecture
Japan's fascination with businessman Takafumi Horie (whose nickname is "Horiemon" because someone thought he looks like the character Doraemon) continues ...
The hierarchy of language in Japan, trouble for “unhurried education” and, is my wife a Desperate Housewife?
Hello again from Japan, where, when two people say the same thing at the same time, they're then supposed to ...
Understanding Japan through job resumes, reflections on the word “otaku” and Obi-Wan on our “point of view”
One way to compare Japan's more structured society with the U.S. and Europe is to look at the standardized Japanese ...
My Narita Reconsideration, a very useful Japanese mantra, and an important virtue for Japanese to have
Like Tokyo Disneyland, the New Tokyo International Airport is not located in Tokyo, being situated in Narita City, Chiba Prefecture, ...
The end of Anime Expo 2006, North Korea and their damn missles, and views on my ESL teaching days
Once again, Anime Expo has come to a close, and we're all going home, tired but feeling very energized. The ...
Nostalgia and the Showa Era, a serious definition of “coincidence” and World Cup bad news
Like most people, the Japanese have a tendency to look back with fondness on bygone eras, which they often sum ...
Japan’s relationship to China and “Kampo” medicine, skills a foreigner in Japan needs, and all about tipping
Roughly speaking, Japan's historical relationship to China is similar to that of the West and ancient Rome and Greece: the ...
Japan’s education and going to school on Saturdays, the Protestant Work Ethic in Japan, and all about Japanese dentists
I've always been impressed with Japan's dedication to education, the great amount of national resources that are put into teaching ...
Ways to save the Japanese from extinction, the darling of figure skating, and cell phones for kids?
With Japan's population having already peaked, the country is undergoing a national debate about how to raise its brith rate. ...
Experiments with Japanese literature, my impressions on positives and negatives education in Japan, and squid ink pizza
Coming to Japan brought many surprises for me, and not just the usual things like beer vending machines and ikasumi ...
Golden Week in Japan, “indoctronating” my bilingual kids, and all about the otaku
We're right in the middle of Golden Week, a cluster of Japanese holidays that usually fall near each other. One ...
Traffic safety week, things you have to get used to in Japan, and all about the Yakuza
Japan has one of the lowest birthrates of any modern nation, with just 1.38 children born per couple, which will ...
Language reflects on culture, fun with kanji and English words, and the mysteries of April 1 in Japan
I've always thought that language both reflects culture and influences it, and part of the reason the French are so ...
The new Tokyo Tower, an experiment in conformity, and classics of Japanese literature
There's a perception that the Japanese are more conformist than people in Europe or the States. Leaving aside the question ...
The mathematical aspects of Japanese grammar, Japan and its environment, and ways to fluster a Japanese person
A show I like a lot is NHK's Eigo de Shaberanaito ("I must say it in English"), which helps motivate ...
This year’s Meat Day celebration in Japan, my lust for American cell phones, and the meaning of “recycle” in Japan
The Japanese often play with numbers in interesting ways, converting the numerals into sounds to make messages. Through a phonetic ...
Japan and its paper doors, young people who imitate James Dean, and bilingualism tricks with kids
Japan's come a long way from the classic image of "paper houses," but paper is still commonly used in modern ...
Japanese Buddhist attitudes about land, and ruminations on when I first arrived in Japan
One big difference between Japan and America is the attitude people have towards land and personal mobility. In the U.S. ...
The music scene in Japan, ways to stay cheaply in Japan, and all about Valentine’s Day
The music scene in Japan is rich and varied, with its own unique ebbs and flows of visual rock, hip ...
Japanese aesthetics not found in Vegas, how computers display Japanese, and bilingualism
We're on our way back from Las Vegas, tired but sated from our time here. The AVN show was good ...
On the Japanese concept of “normal,” ideas that Japanese can’t come up with, and how to be rude to the Emperor
Hello again from J-List. We're still enjoying our vacation in the U.S., this time in beautiful San Luis Obispo, where ...
