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June 30, 2026
 

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Lifestyle
Summer in Japan: The language and flavors of staying cool
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
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.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Predicting the future, one Japanese grammar point at a time
From fortune tellers to weather forecasts and prediction markets, learn how Japanese expresses uncertainty.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
The fighting words fueling support for Japan’s 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
By Yuko Tamura
Like in other countries, Japanese announcers are filled with colorful terms to describe what you’re seeing on air.
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
By Peter Backhaus
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
By Yaeko Kabe
Using “monono” and “ni mo kakawarazu” to explore contradictions between expectations and outcomes in Japanese.
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
By Yuko Tamura
A look at how evolving vocabulary around fashion signals changing attitudes toward gender and function.
Under the new blue ticket system, cyclists will have one week in which to pay fines for minor traffic violations.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 24, 2026
The language around Japan’s new bike rules leaves no room for ‘maybe’
By Yuko Tamura
Blue tickets are now being issued for minor traffic offenses, but you have to watch you don’t get scammed.
Riku Miura (left) and Ryuichi Kihara celebrate in Milan after winning gold in the pair skating event.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 19, 2026
No one else will do: What a pair of figure skaters can teach us about familiarity in Japanese
By Brooke Lathram-Abe
An Olympic duo illustrates how honorifics and in-group dynamics can signal closeness across different contexts.
People admire the Kajimoto Family wisteria trellis during the Shindachijuku Wisteria Festival in Sennan, Osaka.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 16, 2026
After Japan’s cherry blossoms fade, spring keeps blooming
By Eric Margolis
The fleeting beauty of cherry blossoms gives way to a rolling season of color, vocabulary and new ways to describe change.

Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

New Logistics Consortium baton to accelerate trucking efficiency
New Logistics Consortium baton to accelerate trucking efficiency

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