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August 13, 2026
 

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NIHONGO

Potential health care workers hoping to find work in Japan take Japanese language instruction in Jakarta. Not all applicants for permanent residency should be expected to reach this level of proficiency.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 11, 2026
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
The main question is how Japanese language ability will be assessed. Japan must avoid turning the Japanese Language Proficiency Test into a de facto national filter.
A "Chiikawa The Movie" poster is seen at Toho Cinemas in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 7, 2026
Speaking Japanese at the movies with ¡®Chiikawa¡¯
Explore the vocabulary behind horror, spoilers, happy endings and the surprising reactions to this summer¡¯s biggest anime.
Students in Tokyo participate in a Work In Japan job fair. The country needs to support both academic Japanese studies and children¡¯s family languages to promote educational success.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 31, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ overlooked language crisis
Conversational fluency is different from the language needed to follow classroom lessons, understand abstract concepts and produce sustained academic writing.
Social media, streaming platforms and online communities have become major drivers of how Japanese slang spreads among young people.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 27, 2026
J-pop idols are behind much of Â鶹´«Ã½ Gen Z slang
Â鶹´«Ã½ newest slang isn¡¯t new at all ¡ª it¡¯s a remix fueled by TikTok, fandoms and boy bands.
Retirement can bring unexpected changes to long-established relationships, prompting some Japanese couples to adjust to new routines and a shared daily life.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 17, 2026
Japanese has a word for when your husband makes you sick
Explore Â鶹´«Ã½ ¡°husband-origin illness¡± while learning vocabulary and grammar about marriage, retirement and relationships.
Students take part in a tournament leading up to last year's Ogura Hyakunin Isshu Competitive Karuta All-Japan High School Championship.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 10, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ top high school ¡®karuta¡¯ players head to their own Koshien
Classical poetry meets lightning-fast reflexes in one of Â鶹´«Ã½ most unique competitions for teenagers.
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population.?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 2, 2026
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
Once volunteer-based, the system is shifting toward shared responsibility between local governments and trained professionals.
Watermelon is a favorite choice for beating the heat during a Japanese summer.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 26, 2026
Summer in Japan: The language and flavors of staying cool
From watermelon and shaved ice to riverside barbecues, discover how Japan stays cool while temperatures soar.
Visitors at a park in Budapest watch a traditional Japanese fencing demonstration by a classical samurai sword school during Japanese Cultural Program Day in July 2021.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 22, 2026
Is Cool Japan really the secret to soft-power success?
The part of Europe where Japanese culture is growing fastest is also where Japan has invested least.
A fortune teller in Tokyo's Yanaka district reads a client's palms.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 18, 2026
Predicting the future, one Japanese grammar point at a time
From fortune tellers to weather forecasts and prediction markets, learn how Japanese expresses uncertainty.
Before heading out to a public World Cup viewing, make sure you know the right words to support your team.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 11, 2026
The fighting words fueling support for Â鶹´«Ã½ World Cup team
Learn how Japanese expresses support, perseverance and encouragement through World Cup vocabulary and everyday phrases.
Young Japanese soccer fans get ready to cheer on their team at a training center in Monterrey, Mexico, ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
LIFE / Language / Vocabulary Boost
Jun 11, 2026
Japanese sports terms you may hear on TV
Like in other countries, Japanese announcers are filled with colorful terms to describe what you¡¯re seeing on air.
The number of public school students requiring special Japanese-language instruction reached a record high of 84,759 in fiscal 2025.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2026
Japan to launch language support project for foreign children
The number of public school students requiring special Japanese-language instruction reached a record high of 84,759 in fiscal 2025.
How Japanese-language instruction is provided currently varies widely according to region.
JAPAN / Society
May 26, 2026
Record number of students in Japan need help learning Japanese
As of May 2025, a total of 84,759 students at public elementary, junior high, high and special needs schools required support, a government survey shows.
A Vietnamese migrant worker who lost her job amid the COVID-19 outbreak studies Japanese language at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo in July 2020.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 22, 2026
Beyond the native speaker myth: Who ¡®owns¡¯ the Japanese language?
As Japan considers adding language requirements to permanent residency and other visa categories, it must also reconsider what ¡°proficiency¡± means.
A mock poster uses the verb ¡°hataraku¡± in its ¡°tai¡± form to tell potential applicants ¡°we want to work with you.¡±
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 22, 2026
In Japanese, saying what you want can be complicated
From softening requests to reading others¡¯ intentions, expressions of desire in Japanese are rarely straightforward.
Even a slight brush with the law can be enough to cause reputational damage for public figures.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 15, 2026
How Japanese grammar captures the gap between legal outcomes and public judgment
Using ¡°monono¡± and ¡°ni mo kakawarazu¡± to explore contradictions between expectations and outcomes in Japanese.
Masako Suzuki (right) and Sosuke Seki, members of the plaintiff's legal team, speak to reporters Tuesday at the Tokyo District Court's press club.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 12, 2026
Tokyo court rejects refugee¡¯s bid for naturalization over limited Japanese skills
The case highlighted the unclear criteria foreign residents face when wanting to become a naturalized citizen in Japan, with the plaintiff¡¯s lawyers calling it a ¡°black box.¡±
Sun hats, hoodies with built-in UV protection and parasols are on the must-have lists of Japanese moms this summer.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 8, 2026
When it comes to their kids, Japanese mothers look beyond pink and blue
A look at how evolving vocabulary around fashion signals changing attitudes toward gender and function.
The government is considering creating a Japanese language program for foreign people that would be a factor in residency screenings.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2026
Japan considers making language programs a factor in residency screenings
This comes in response to calls from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for measures to address problems between Japanese and foreign residents.
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
Potential health care workers hoping to find work in Japan take Japanese language instruction in Jakarta. Not all applicants for permanent residency should be expected to reach this level of proficiency.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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