Japan has proven time and again that some of the biggest, world-transforming products and ideas can come from a landmass that is somewhat smallish. And since the advent of the transistor radio, they keep reusing this...
Author - Tim Patrick
Tim Patrick
Japan Stops Using Masks (in Theory)
This Monday, March 13, was a bright day in Japan, not just from the increasingly springlike weather, but also because of a newfound facial freedom. For it was on this day that various jurisdictions across the country...
How Can Japan Solve its Birthrate Problem?
Japan is shrinking. Although dutiful Japan Rail employees may still cram passengers into rush-hour trains from time to time, it’s all an illusion. From a population high of 128 million souls in 2008, Japan has already...
What’s in Prime Minister Kishida’s 2023 Policy Speech – Part 2
Last week, I reviewed the international security and diplomacy elements of Prime Minister Kishida’s 2023 policy speech before the Japanese legislature. This time around, I will finish up a review of the speech by...
What’s in Prime Minister Kishida’s 2023 Policy Speech – Part 1
A few weeks ago, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio summarized his administration’s policy goals at the opening of the 211th session of the Diet. Although this speech happens around the same time of year as the American State...
How Many Foreign Residents Live in Japan?
When you wander around Japan, be it the countryside or in urban areas, you notice right away that there are a lot of Japanese people here. But every once in a while, you will see a foreign face. Sometimes when I come...
What You Need to Know about this Powerful Japanese Diet
Under Japan’s original 1889 constitution, all sovereign power rested in the person of the Emperor. He was the head of the Japanese Empire, “combining in Himself the rights of sovereignty,” an authority inherited through...
Japan’s Big News Stories for 2022
As we roll into 2023, let’s look at some of the news stories from last year that residents in Japan are still talking about.
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What is Christmas Like in Japan?
This year, I celebrated my fourth Christmas since moving to Japan. For a country that has a Buddhist and Shinto rather than a Christian core, I have to admit that they do a fairly good job with the trappings of the...
Is Japan Too Innocent?
Earlier this month, my wife and I decided to watch “Best Artist 2022,” a music special broadcast on Nippon TV (日テレ). It was presumably a compilation of the year’s best songs, but you know kids these days and their music...
