Monthly Archives: April 2016
If you get lost in Japan
One of the many things that are great about Japan is how Japanese people are helpful. Every foreigner in Japan has experienced having had to ask their way and then have the Japanese person literally take them to the place. Whether you
On Japan’s future
Once upon a time, Harvard Professor Ezra Vogel wrote a best-seller about Japan. It was the end of the 70’s. Japan had impressively overcome World War II’s cruel consequences and achieved excellence. To such an extent that Japan had become a model,
Japanese thoughts on international marriages
We have the opportunity to say that quite often in this space: Japan is opening to the world. Ineluctable globalization. Demographic issues (aging society and extremely low birth rate). With more and more gaikokujin (i.e. foreigners) in Japan, there are more
Can you eat with chopsticks? ;-)
One comment that all gaikokujin have heard in Japan is: “Wow, you can use chopsticks! Sugoi! (すごい)! ” (here “Sugoi” means “Terrific”). Is this the expression of Japanese kindness or is it second degree humor? We tend to think it is the