Social Media Ideas for Hiroko Yoda

Reading the air on being Japanese

As birth rates fall and countries turn to immigration to address their labor shortages, a lot of countries around the world are struggling with crises of national identity. Japan i...

Japanese Announcer Uses Common-Law Marriage to Dodge Country’s Surname Law

TBS announcer Yamamoto Erika kept her name by choosing common-law marriage over a legal one - but she'll get married if the law changes.

Award-Winning Author Yu Miri Harassed Online After Criticizing Japanese Government

Yu Miri is one of Japan's most celebrated authors. Yet some feel that, due to her background, she has no right to criticize the country.

「若者、女性らの可能性に寄り添っていく街に」 広島県知事・横田美香 [PR]

コロナ禍の終盤から転出超過が続く広島県で、「若者や女性に選ばれる広島」を掲げる横田美香知事が動いている。10年間でユニコーン企業10社の創出を目指し、「失敗してもいい」文化の醸成に本腰...

Beyond the native speaker myth: Who ‘owns’ the Japanese language?

As Japan considers adding language requirements to permanent residency and other visa categories, it must also reconsider what "proficiency" means.

接戦のペルー大統領選、フジモリ氏長女が「ケイコ地区」に残した言葉

Comment on Depreciating yen – look beyond the obvious for the explanation by Kazuhiro Goshima

Professor Bill seems to hold Prime Minister Takaichi in high regard as a politician, but to me, she appears to be cut from the same cloth as President Trump. I am deeply concerne...

[Insider] Why Gender Equality is Stalling Under Japan’s First Female Prime Minister

Japan finally has its first female Prime Minister. But that isn't translating into victories for ordinary Japanese women.

Yokohama, Hiroshima log first population losses of postwar era

Mayor’s maternity leave stirs debate

YAWATA, Japan >> The news traveled fast in Yawata, a spiritual oasis of 68,000 people in western Japan known for its traditional tea culture and cherry blossoms. Shoko Kawata...

Japan’s Shifting Center: How the Left Got Left Behind 

A new political center is taking shape in Japan, one that is pushing the old center-left to the margins of the political spectrum. 

Japan eyes language, manners training as factor in residency permits

「バイリンガルへの道は、ひとつじゃない」帰国子女アカデミー創設者による新刊『Pathways』刊行

「バイリンガルへの道は、ひとつじゃない」帰国子女アカデミー創設者による新刊『Pathways』刊行

Notes from Central Taiwan: Okinawa, Cheng Li-wun, and PRC propaganda

Meet the Japanese mayor seeking to normalize maternity leave in public office

Shoko Kawata discusses balancing pregnancy with her duties — and the reaction that followed her announcing she would take leave before and after childbirth.