Japanese language

Japan may add Japanese language proficiency, lifestyle classes to permanent foreign resident requirements

Required time spent living in Japan to apply for citizenship likely to double too.

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Why you shouldn’t call this food “Hiroshimayaki” if you’re talking to people from Hiroshima

There are two main types of okonomiyaki, but people in Hiroshima don’t like one of the names the rest of the country has for theirs.

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Japanese Cabinet to officially announce new romanization spelling recommendation next week

After 71 years, the Cabinet is ready to do something just about everyone else did several decades ago.

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Record number of foreign children in Japan need help understanding Japanese in school

As Japan’s foreign population grows, its foreign kid count is getting bigger too, and educational systems might not be keeping up with the country’s changing demographics.

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“Bear” voted Japan’s Kanji of the Year for 2025 in extremely close race

It bear-ly beat out the second-place kanji.

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This one delicious Japanese dessert has at least six different names

Survey creates map of what different parts of Japan call one of its favorite traditional desserts.

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Number of foreigners studying Japanese in Japan hits record high, but are there enough teachers?

Students studying Japanese as a second language in-country hits historic high, majority of teachers are unpaid volunteers.

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Japan’s buzzword of the year nominees: A great way to learn and be baffled by Japanese vocabulary

We need to tell you to take a look before the new slang of today outruns us all… eh ho eh ho…

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Top Japanese baby names for 2025 feature flowers, colors, and a first-time-ever favorite for girls

Annual survey finds the most popular names and kanji characters for new babies.

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Posthumous “Gwegh, I’m deadngo” tweet sparks nationwide cancer awareness movement in Japan

Rest in peace, Clemens.

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Reports that using -chan in Japan constitutes sexual harassment are at least a little exaggerated

Sound-bite version of legal ruling is an imbalanced substitute for a proper meal/understanding of the situation.

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Majority of surveyed Japanese teens don’t call parents by standard Japanese words for mom and dad

Survey finds loanwords getting more use than okaa-san and otou-san.

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Adorable Totoro lamp is here to make us ooh, aah, and learn what honnori means【Photos】

The littlest Totoro gives a lesson on a subtle point of Japanese vocabulary.

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YouTube’s AI Japanese translation calls for Jimmy Kimmel’s death on his own show【Video】

Another bang-up job from AI translation!

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Sega’s Like a Dragon yakuza teaches “useless” English, let’s use it to learn some useful Japanese

Kiryu seems like the kind of guy who should know that effort is never meaningless, and this time is no exception.

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New English textbook published for anime industry’s Animator Skill Test

NAFCA text covers the skills, both in drawing and speaking Japanese, that you’ll need to start an anime artist career in Japan.

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World’s most popular emoji ranking shows something missing from Japan’s top picks

Multi-country study has one element in every nation’s top five emoji, but not Japan’s.

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Hachiji juppun mae – A Japanese phrase that even Japanese people can’t agree on the meaning of

Survey results show big gap in how younger and older respondents interpreted this seemingly simple phrase.

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All you need to know about Japan’s unasked-for restaurant appetizers that you have to pay for

Otoshi is a unique part of Japan’s restaurant culture that can feel like a scam if you’re not ready for it.

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Why you should be worried if someone calls you “Uehara-san” in the Japanese workplace

You got a lot of nerve calling me Mr. Uehara!

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