Language | NEWS IN NIHONGO Sep 3, 2018
Five patients in their 80s passed away while staying in rooms with broken air conditioning at Y&M Fujikake Daiichi Hospital in Gifu.
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Sep 2, 2018
Japan according to Don Maloney: Still amusing and relevant, mostly, 40 years on
by Andreas Neuenkirchen
Irreverent accounts of an American businessman in the 1970s in Tokyo hold up surprisingly well today.
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Sep 2, 2018
Don Maloney's 'Never the Twain...?' Japan Times column: some choice cuts from the 1970s
Some excerpts from Don Maloney's "Japan: It's not all Raw Fish" (1975) and "Son of Raw Fish" (1977) collections of Japan Times columns.
Language | BILINGUAL Aug 27, 2018
Will society still need me, will it still feed me, when I'm 100?
by Kaori Shoji
Back in the 1960s when Paul McCartney wrote "When I'm 64," the average life expectancy worldwide was 52. Yet half a century on, Japan is already gearing up for the era of 人生百年 (jinsei hyakunen, 100-year life).
Language | WELL SAID Aug 27, 2018
Using 'zenzen' in Japanese is no problem at all
by Akemi Tanahashi and Hitomi Tashiro
Introducing some of the usages of the adverb 全然(ぜんぜん, never/not at all), which is often heard in conversation.
Language | NEWS IN NIHONGO Aug 27, 2018
Diary entry shows late Emperor's anguish over war responsibility
The diaries of the late Chamberlain Shinobu Kobayashi from 1987, when Emperor Showa was 85 years old, reveal how the Emperor was troubled by his war responsibilities.
Language | BILINGUAL Aug 20, 2018
Smile as you study:/ Sharp salaryman senryu/ satirize the slog
by Mark Schreiber
Highlights from the 31st Senryu for Salaried Workers Contest riff on the situations employees encounter at the office, home or both.
Language | WELL SAID Aug 20, 2018
A little Japanese primer on using 'chotto' in Japanese
by Akemi Tanahashi and Hitomi Tashiro
introducing some uses of the adverb ちょっと, which comes up in all kinds of situations.
Language | BILINGUAL Aug 13, 2018
Japanese surnames: Among the usual suspects, you're bound to find some curveballs
by Peter Backhaus
How many Japanese surnames are there anyway? It's a tricky question, because the total depends on how you decide to count them.
Language | WELL SAID Aug 13, 2018
The good, the bad and the 'by all means' of 'zehi' in Japanese
by Akemi Tanahashi and Hitomi Tashiro
A closer look at 是非(ぜひ), which means "good and/or bad" or "by all means."
Language | BILINGUAL Aug 6, 2018
Spooky Japanese tales will scare the summer's heat out of you
by Kaori Shoji
Until recently, summer nights involved turning off the AC and doing things like kurumaza ni natte kaidanbanashi (sitting in a circle and telling ghost stories).
Language Aug 6, 2018
Raise a glass, count your squid, say you're full but watch your tone with 'hai'
by Akemi Tanahashi and Hitomi Tashiro
Introduce the word 一杯 (いっぱい, one cup) and its related expressions. ...