Japan has a complicated relationship with the concept of overtime work. On the one hand, pride in your profession and going above and beyond the bare minimum for the sake of the group are cornerstones ...

Learning a few basic Japanese words and expressions can make communication easier, help you engage with people, and enhance ...

“Shou ga nai” is a Japanese phrase that can be depressingly fatalistic on one hand. But could it — and the many phrases like it — be weirdly freeing on the other? Sometimes in life, bad stuff happens ...

Emoji, karaoke, futon, ramen: Words we wouldn't have if it weren't for the Japanese language. The complex language that incorporates elements of Chinese, English, German and Portuguese is on full ...

An expert panel from the Cultural Affairs Agency has publicized a conversation phrase reference for Japanese-language teachers of nonnative learners that details the minimum necessary expressions in ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront new words and phrases related to efforts to contain it and deal with its effects. As a skilled linguist, Koike is attuned to the power of words. With ...

Japan Airlines has announced that, as of October 1, it will discontinue addressing its passengers as "ladies and gentlemen" during in-flight announcements made in English. The idea is to move toward ...

Each spring, Japan is consumed by a contest for style of poetry called Senryu. The poems are just three spare lines about the trials and tribulations of daily life. April is National Poetry Month here ...

In March 2022, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Moscow was ceasing peace treaty negotiations with Tokyo due to Japan's imposition of unilateral restrictions on Russia in connection with the ...