My very first earthquake happened in Los Angeles back in the late 1980s, a rather frightening affair. I mean, the while house was moving, despite it being attached to California and the rest of the contiguous...
February 23 is the emperor’s birthday, a national holiday in Japan. Well, at least that’s the case this time around. As a holiday, it keeps jumping all over the calendar. Something to do with the 126 Japanese emperors...
The Jōmon, the hunter-gatherer civilization that populated parts of the main Japanese islands for most of its prehistory, had by 300BC almost completely disappeared from the archipelago. Life was always difficult in the...
I have always found it strange that the Japanese term for “dollar” is ドル, Romanized as doru. As a transliteration, it makes a good initial effort, getting the “do” part right. But then it meanders off, as if the...
Episode 16 of the AmaoJapan podcast is now available. As with other episodes, this one reviews recent news stories as found on the Yahoo! Japan ニュース web site and other sources.
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Have you recently been welcomed at your local supermarket by a scowling but harmless-looking blue-faced ogre, perhaps with a red-faced one by its side? Have you been noticing an unusual abundance of such horned, fanged...
Today I am going to introduce you to the major political parties in Japan. Don’t get too excited; as is the case with other countries, there is little to party about in Japanese politics. Also, politicians here seem...
Your kitchen is the most selfish room in your home. It exists solely to meet your personal needs. Naturally, some effort is required on your part; you need to wash the dishes instead of just throwing them out every time...
You can’t avoid death or taxes, and if you are an American citizen or recognized alien, you can’t avoid reporting your Japanese bank accounts to the American government. Under the United States tax system, your...
On January 7, 2021, Japan issued its second major State of Emergency Declaration (緊急事態宣言) since the Coronavirus pandemic began. Initially covering only the jurisdictions in the Tōkyō metropolitan area, the declaration...
Tim Patrick
Jeanette May Fukao
