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Choice vintage articles on Japan 

EDITOR'S FOREWORD

David V. AppleyardJapan Perspectives was a regular feature on this website and its immediate predecessor between 2001 and 2019. It gradually evolved into an unlikely mix of humorous, serious, provocative and poignant pieces on everyday life in Japan. Some items were fairly recent, some beginning to show their age, others simply timeless — among them polished pearls that might have been lost forever. So I decided to bring back a good selection of them, and in the process repair a surprising number of broken links still out there on the World Wide Web.

Once again, heartfelt thanks to the knowledgeable and talented writers who supported this project and kindly contributed their thoughtful articles on a broad range of issues. I am sure you will agree that the sum of their combined efforts and considerable experience makes for an engaging and enjoyable read.

David V. Appleyard

David V. Appleyard

Can Japan still afford all those public holidays?

Junior high school English: '3 years to read 20 pages'

Keiretsu 'X' — a fictional Japanese conglomerate

Lafcadio Hearn, rolling stone who gathered moss in Japan

Amy Chavez

Don't let bad bicycle days run you down

J. Sean Curtin

International marriages in Japan

Living longer, divorcing later: The Japanese silver divorce phenomenon

Sarah Dale

Mama-san's babies

Boyé Lafayette De Mente

Branch of Tokyo Sky-Tree sprouts beer pubs

Experiencing other cultures in Japan

Fascinating story of inns in Japan

Selling sex in a glass

Weather...for better or worse

Why foreign men like Japan (It's the girls!)

Thomas Dillon

Remembering the ghost of a Christmas past

What not to do in Japan: die

When cultures clash — 'sizing' up the opposition

Spencer Fancutt

Educational reform in Japan [satire]

John Haffner

Japan in a post-American world

Noriko Hama

The importance of questioning fearlessly and answering honestly

Toby Harward

When in Rome, do as Romans do?

Juliet Hindell

The Meaning of Christmas

Sven Holm

The high-school student's workweek

Phillip Howe

Speaking a different language

Chyi Lee

Seiza — the traditional Japanese sitting posture

Matthew Maclachlan

All change in Japan

David McNeill

Hospital death exposes 'tip of malpractice iceberg'

McEnglish for the masses

Sherry Nakanishi

Having a baby in Shimane

Lance Olsen

Organized crime and the forest

Renata Piazza

Summer grass — A 'gaijin' among volunteers

Devin T. Stewart

Is Japan giving up?

Bill Stonehill

The cold and the kotatsu

Crime and the U.S. servicemen in Okinawa

Law in Japan

Like Japanese food? Try a spaghetti sandwich

Mountains and deserts

Masaru Tamamoto

Japan's crisis of the mind

Ronald E. Yates

Foreigners in Japan say openness all talk

In Japan, fast food is fast becoming a health hazard

Japan's rebels rare, but hard-core

Japan's 'returnees' face rejection, find that coming home isn't easy

Japan's Takarazuka Theater makes women, and men, of talented girls

Noisiest nation in the world?

 

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