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- Still Shaken in Akita!
- April 18th, 2011Category: Arts & Entertainment, Culture
- This is the latest in the Malcolm Ernst series of cartoons. Hi everyone. It’s your favorite bijin up here in Akita. This month I’m coming to you from my very messy room! The recent spat of earthquakes gives me a great excuse for not keeping it tidy! I don’t know ... » Continue Reading
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- Should rumor spreading be a prosecutable offense?
- April 11th, 2011Category: Culture
- Since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, a number of publications have touched upon reports of wild rumors and fear mongering, circulated via the Internet, social networks and in some foreign media. The Sankei Shimbun (March 30) carried an article that attributed the ... » Continue Reading
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- Mystery solved in death of Hachiko
- March 4th, 2011Category: Culture, Uncategorized
- Scientists in Japan have settled a decades-old mystery by naming a cause of death for the country's most famous dog, Hachiko, whose legendary loyalty was immortalized not so long ago in a Hollywood movie starring Richard Gere. They say Hachiko died of cancer and worm ... » Continue Reading
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- Sumo in the Modern Age
- February 10th, 2011Category: Arts & Entertainment, Culture, Photography
- It was the summer of 2001 when I first came to Tokyo at the behest of a cute young Japanese girl named Nami I had met in a hostel in Rome while traveling around Europe the previous spring. I had not come to see her specifically, but she got in contact just as I had take ... » Continue Reading
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- Foreigners in Business: Conducting Japan
- January 31st, 2011Category: Culture, Starting a Business, Work Tips
- Many people often forget that orchestras are a business like any other, and are just as subject to the rules of the marketplace. When the Lehman Shock hit Japan in late 2008, many orchestras lost a lot of sponsors. Others, however, have weathered the hard times becaus ... » Continue Reading
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- How to Not Make a Fool of Yourself at a Japanese Wedding
- January 12th, 2011Category: Culture
- Not long after I'd moved to Japan, I received an invitation in the fall from a co-worker to attend her wedding, to be held that winter. It was exciting enough that she chose to invite me to something as significant as a wedding without really knowing me that well, so ... » Continue Reading
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- The Skype Song
- January 7th, 2011Category: Culture, Events
- Being connected and online is one of the things that makes life in Japan that much easier, allowing constant communication with friends and family back home. On top of that, you can go around boasting to folks who never made the move about how super-fast your internet ... » Continue Reading
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- View from the West: Prisons to Double as Retirement Homes?
- December 21st, 2010Category: Culture
- It’s quite well known that Japan’s rapidly aging population is taking its toll on many facets of polite society. But what is the toll on not-so-polite society? According to a recent AP article, Japan’s population of elderly inmates is also growing fast. And prison fa ... » Continue Reading
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- The Monster Movie Fan’s Guide To Japan
- December 16th, 2010Category: Culture
- Written by American Armand Vaquer, “The Monster Movie Fan’s Guide To Japan” is the world’s first and only Japan travel guide especially tailored to tourists who are also fans of Japanese science-fiction and fantasy movies. Most of the locations covered in the book ar ... » Continue Reading
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- Snapshots from Tokyo hell
- December 14th, 2010Category: Culture, Photography
- Tokyo's metro system is where Japanese manners go to die - as anyone who has spent any time living and working in the city can tell you. Though perhaps not as bad as stereotypes will have you believe, there are still plenty of examples where the behavior on commuter ... » Continue Reading
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From bears to birds, mountains to monkeys, raindrops, aliens, lightsaber wielding owls and poisonous fish, check out some of Japan's weird and wonderful police mascots.
- Why do Japanese people change their attitude when they communicate with foreigners?
- February 8, 2012
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- 10 things that you should know before coming to Japan
- February 6, 2012BY
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- Unique Japanese fashion styles
- March 10, 2012BY
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- Cats, Numbers and Other Japanese Superstitions
- June 12, 2012BY
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- Japan’s Police Mascots
- October 26, 2010BY
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