GlossaryNext >

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

BBC Japan came and went on 'wrong' first-choice satellite

Can Japan afford all its public holidays?

Conglomerate X

English OS PCs once a challenge in Japan

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

Lafcadio Hearn, rolling stone who gathered moss in Japan

Barry Brophy

Scales of justice

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

The extraordinary merits of modern-day karate

The return of Japan's castle culture

Weather...for better or worse

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

Duco Delgorge

Plethora of barriers narrows food choices for Japanese

Thomas Dillon

Longtime expatriates all play 'Survivor'

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

Immigration as a source of renewal in Japan

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?

Stephen Hesse

Alex Kerr's view: Japan — a land gone to the dogs?

Sven Holm

A high-school student's workweek

Phillip Howe

Speaking a different language

Mindy Kotler

Our beef with Japan

Chyi Lee

Seiza — the traditional Japanese sitting posture

Jean-Pierre Lehmann

English-language deficit handicaps Japan

Matthew Maclachlan

All change in Japan

Mark Magnier

Home buyers in Japan up against a stacked deck

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

Peter Osborne

Japanese system stifles foreign scientific talent New!

Renata Piazza

Summer grass — A 'gaijin' among volunteers

Devin T. Stewart

Is Japan giving up?

Bill Stonehill

The cold and the kotatsu

Classified ads? Forget about them

Crime and the U.S. servicemen in Okinawa

Kidnapped

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

In one remote corner of Japan, Emperor still considered a god New!

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?

 

GlossaryPage Top ^Next >