10 Things You Need to Know Before Coming to Japan
By Ryoji Shimada, staff writer If you are a foreigner currently living in Japan, it may seem obvious, but there are many things that may surprise you when you first come to Japan as a non-Japanese. If you know what to expect in advance, you will not be surprised or confused. Here I would like […]
Why do Japanese people climb Mt. Fuji?
To Commemorate One’s Life As the Reason for Climbing Mt. Fuji Mt. Fuji was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. This summer, with the number of climbers on the mountain expected to exceed the average year, a survey was conducted to find out what people think about Japan’s highest mountain. JustSystems Corporation surveyed 1,100 people […]
One in Seven Children Is in Poverty in Japan
In September 2014, a single mother killed her junior high school daughter in a prefectural public housing complex in Choshi City, Chiba Prefecture, west of Tokyo. After killing her daughter, the mother intended to commit suicide herself. However, she was arrested before she could carry out her suicide. The mother, who was 43 years old […]
Characteristics of the Japanese: Strengths and Weaknesses
By Ryoji Shimada, staff writer It is said that Japanese people are diligent, and I think that has not changed. If you ask a Japanese person or perhaps a foreigner what the characteristics of the Japanese are, the answer will probably be the same :diligence. Diligence is a good characteristic, not a bad one. So […]
Understanding "Rongo to Soroban" in English by Eiichi Shibusawa
Not only as a business person but as the father of capitalism in Japan If I were to ask you who you know as a Japanese businessman, who would you name? You might name Masayoshi Son of Softbank, Kazuo Inamori of Kyocera, Konosuke Matsushita of Panasonic, or Tadashi Yanai of Uniqlo. But as of 2021, […]
How to use "Chotto" in Japanese?
It is quite natural for a word to have multiple meanings in a certain language. In Japanese, too, a single word can have many meanings. One of the representative words is "chotto" ちょっと. It is normally written in hiragana. Chotto has so many different meanings, some similar and some opposite. It may sound complicated, but […]