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July 01, 2026
 

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Jimbocho, Tokyo’s book town, has gained popularity online and some travel companies are already selling book-centric tours for foreign visitors.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 20, 2026
Now on the multilingual margins, can Japanese bookstores be more than just a vibe?
While some travel companies are now offering book-centric tours around Jimbocho, foreign visitors are often leaving bookstores empty-handed, despite intentions to buy books.
The Japanese government is considering revising requirements for permanent residency, including mandatory language proficiency and other moves that could place foreign residents under continuous evaluation and uncertainty about their future.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 23, 2026
Japan’s residency debate risks turning integration into exclusion
What was once a predictable path toward long-term stability could become a precarious process subject to continuous state evaluation.
A woman was arrested for allegedly taking an English proficiency test posing as another person, adding to a series of proxy test-taking cases that have come to light since last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 27, 2026
Woman arrested in Tokyo on suspicion of proxy test-taking
Police suspect the woman took an English proficiency exam last year on behalf of a Chinese man and received about ¥1 million from the man as payment.
Yurika Lacy in Aisai, Aichi Prefecture, with her grandfather's book and the English version she translated
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Nov 24, 2025
Aichi Prefecture resident tells grandfather’s WWII story in English
Translating notes about being a student soldier took seven years to complete, in time for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Waseda University in Tokyo
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2025
More Japanese universities pushing toward teaching in English
Many university officials in Japan believe bringing an international environment onto campus is a cheaper, safer way to produce highly skilled graduates.
A screenshot of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's international schools portal site
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2025
Tokyo launches English-language international school database
The initiative is intended to further improve the living environment for residents whose first language is not Japanese.
"Animator Skill Test Textbook” was written in concert with a test created and administered by the Nippon Anime & Film Culture Association since 2024. The test was designed to help set a baseline for those studying animation, and so that animation studios can get a better idea of applicants' current skill level.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 4, 2025
English textbook targets a skills gap in Japan’s growing anime industry
From “dōga” to “lip flap,” the Nippon Anime & Film Culture Association’s “Animator Skill Test Textbook” teaches aspiring animators how to talk like the pros.
Shun Sasaki, 12, an elementary school student in Hiroshima, guides foreign visitors in English as a volunteer guide in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima on July 15.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 31, 2025
Hiroshima schoolboy keeps memories of war alive with guided tours​ in English
Shun Sasaki’s volunteer work has let to him being selected as one of two local children to speak at this year’s ceremony marking 80 years since the A-bomb was dropped.
Indian assistant language teachers pose for a photo with Japanese Ambassador Keiichi Ono (center) at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2025
Japan to regularly accept assistant language teachers from India
This marks the first regular dispatch of assistant language teachers from India under a government initiative to promote exchanges at the regional level.
A pendant-shaped relay device suspected to have been used to cheat on the TOEIC English proficiency test, in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Tuesday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 22, 2025
Rice grain-sized earphone may have been used to cheat on TOEIC English test
The earphone, which was several millimeters in size, was designed to be removed from the ear using a magnetic stick.
An English conversation test paper and bubble answer sheet. A Chinese graduate student from Kyoto University is suspected of having attempted to use a small microphone under a mask to tell other takers of a popular English-language proficiency test the correct answers.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 8, 2025
Over 800 people found to be involved in TOEIC cheating scheme
For those identified as having cheated, their scores have been nullified and their accounts for the exam have been suspended.
According to the education ministry survey for fiscal 2024, the English proficiency of public junior high school and senior high school students in Japan continues to improve.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2025
Japanese students’ English proficiency keeps improving
The city of Saitama marked the highest figure for junior high school third graders with Grade 3 or higher Eiken levels, at 89.2%.
President Donald Trump’s order making English the official language of the country is unnecessary, as nearly 80% of people in the U.S. already speak it at home.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2025
America doesn’t need an official language
After all, what is our shared culture if not the mix of cultures — including languages — that make and remake America every day?
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office in Washington on Tuesday. The U.S. president just signed another executive order on Saturday designating English as the official language of the United States.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 2, 2025
Trump designates English as official language of U.S.
The White House published an executive order by Trump which says it is “long past time” that English is declared as the nation’s official language.
One-third of elementary school students in Japan do not like learning English, according to a 2021 poll, an 8% rise since 2013. The pressure of taking proficiency tests is eroding children's engagement with studying English and its benefits.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 17, 2025
Japan’s English-language education doesn’t pass the test
An excessive focus on testing students’ English ability is turning language learning into a chore, depriving children of the joy and opportunities of intercultural communication.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange will soon require some companies to publish their financials in English in addition to Japanese.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 13, 2025
Japanese companies rush to up English-language disclosures in 2025
The Tokyo Stock Exchange requires Prime market companies to release financial statements and other key information simultaneously in English and Japanese from April.
Otono Kuboki, a Japanese Canadian hair stylist for salon chain Sozo, is a key figure in the company's mission to elevate the viability of Japan's hairdressing industry to foreign residents.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 11, 2025
Can an international makeover help Tokyo salons meet foreign demand?
Sozo Education aims to train Tokyo’s next crop of stylists not just in English vocabulary related to hairdressing but in the diverse needs of foreign hair types.
For language learners under 40 in Japan, AI tools such as ChatGPT are now preferred over in-person classes or radio language programs.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2024
AI services growing in popularity among younger language learners in Japan
The number of people using AI language tools grew by more than 80% in 2024, a recent survey showed.
Japanese companies lack the agility needed for the digital transformation, a new report says.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 15, 2024
Japan ranked 31st in digital competitiveness, 92nd for English skills
In the 2024 EF English Proficiency Index, Japan was ranked 92nd, down from 87 the previous year. It was its worst showing yet.
Yamakawa Shuppansha president Takeshi Nozawa holds the publisher's textbook on Japanese history — used in high schools across Japan — alongside the new English version in Tokyo on May 23.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 13, 2024
Publisher finds surprise audience after translating history textbooks
The English versions of Yamakawa Shuppansha’s iconic textbooks appear to be popular among Japanese businesspeople looking to discuss history with their overseas peers.
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.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
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.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.

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

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