Japanese Writing After Murakami
At public readings, either in Japanese or English, the novelist Hideo Furukawa performs like a banshee. He voices his characters’ personae, tenor shifting from stentorian to hushed, growling, trillin…
The archive
banzaitokyo's articles — page 48
Browse banzaitokyo's articles in the Akihabara archive.
Japanese Clean-Up Manners Are Spreading To Other Soccer Fans
After yesterday’s Japan vs. Colombia World Cup game, it wasn’t only Japanese soccer fans who were cleaning up after themselves. Colombian fans were, too.
What’s so good about Japan’s demography?
Pessimists obsess about Japan’s debt, deflation and demographics. The last on the list, they argue, acts as a drag on growth. Labor scarcity, aggravated by rapid technological change, makes it diffic…
Katakana: Studying Japan’s Second Script
Katakana is a part of the written Japanese language used for foreign terms and names. Learn this script to recognize many familiar words from other languages.
Japan’s World Cup Starts With Big Win Over Colombia
Japan wore down a Colombian team reduced to 10 men and won, 2-1, on Tuesday in Saransk. The game started terribly for Colombia, which had lined up without its star, James Rodriguez, who is …
A brilliant Instagram about Japanese restrooms shows that public toilets don't have to be awful
There’s no shortage of wonders to photograph in Japan. But while most snap images of vibrant urban street life and colorful fashion, or cherry blossoms and snow-capped mountains, Tokyo-base…
Fujifilm sues Xerox for over $1 bil. after canceled merger
Japan's Fujifilm Holdings Corp. said Tuesday it has sued Xerox Corp. for canceling a merger contract between the two companies, with damages expected to top $1 billion, in a move further complic…
Visa Basics: Instructor Versus Specialist in Humanities and International Services
The differences between the Instructor and the Specialist in Humanities/International Services visas aren’t readily apparent. After all, it is possible for two friends with almost identical jobs to b…
Japanese Cosplayer Doesn't Want To Hide Her Plastic Surgery
Cosplayer Meiji will be the first one to say she used to look very different. It’s not something she wants to hide. “If you make a [side-by-side] comparison like this, I became a total…
At current birth rates, the Japanese population will disappear by 2500
The Japanese population is shrinking faster than any other country. The United Nations estimates that it will go from 127 million people today down to 85 million people by the year 2100, while the Ja…