Cultural Viewpoints
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Beyond the Paper Screen / Homemaking on the Go Never Really Stops
It was a typical day in Oregon in mid-May: drizzles, clouds, five minutes of sunshine, drizzles a...
March 25, 2024
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Cultural Conundrums / What Follows ‘Batter Up!Pqx: Cultural Accommodation in Baseball Risk-Taking
The great thing about culture is that it’s everywhere. I am not a fan of baseball, but my spouse ...
March 10, 2024
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Beyond the Paper Screen / Navigating the Future of Work: Change, Creativity and Human Resilience
In my class, which is for students who are just starting their major in sociology and anthropology, ...
February 18, 2024
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Cultural Conundrums / Getting to Friendships: The Challenges of Context-driven Social Relationships
Friendships sustain us in life, keeping loneliness at bay and providing us with a chance to grow thr...
February 4, 2024
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A Joyful Paradox: Rethinking Play in the Modern World
By Sawa Kurotani / Special to The Japan News [posttime] JST, [postdate] I think I was about 10 ...
January 21, 2024
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Happiness in Action: Probing the Parameters of Ikigai
Happy New Year! For many, myself included, the start of a new year is a time to take stock of our li...
January 7, 2024
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AI: a Powerful New Addition to Humanity’s Tool Kit
Just a couple of weeks ago, I had an opportunity to speak at a conference on educational technology ...
December 24, 2023
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Mode Shift Manifestations: Same Person, Different Language
Recently, a Japanese colleague, whom I’ll call Professor Y, communicated with me in English for the ...
December 10, 2023
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Reminders Abound of Lasting Social Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic
When the first floor of the library building on our campus was remodeled as a multiuse space almost ...
November 19, 2023
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Wishes for Children: Cultural Divergence in an Imagined Future Good Life
Many years ago, when our children were young, some other mothers and I would occasionally discuss th...
November 5, 2023
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Beyond the Paper Screen / Artificial Intelligence Can Open Up Novel Opportunities for Creative Expression
In some ways, the Japanese word kiyo is like “handy” or “crafty” in colloquial American English, con...
October 22, 2023
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Beyond the Paper Screen / Teaching first-year students reminds me of my own journey to college
It was a long journey indeed. I was starting a semester in the U.S., along with 14 other exchange st...
September 24, 2023
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Cultural Conundrums / Children’s Self-control and Culture: Practice Yields Divergent Results
By Kate Elwood / Special to The Japan News [posttime] JST, [postdate] The 19th-century playwrig...
September 10, 2023
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Cultural Conundrums / Communicating Togetherness Through Commerce in 2 Different Cultures
As a young child, I was the type of kid that friends’ mothers loved. “Kate is so polite!” they’d gus...
August 6, 2023
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Beyond the Paper Screen / Indiana Jones and the Meandering Thoughts of the Politically Lost
The light begins to dim. Various sounds fill the air as people set their bags of popcorn aside and g...
July 21, 2023
Top Articles in Editorial & Columns
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Riku-Ryu Pair Wins Gold Medal: Their Strong Bond Leads to Major Comeback Victory
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40 Million Foreign Visitors to Japan: Urgent Measures Should Be Implemented to Tackle Overtourism
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China Provoked Takaichi into Risky Move of Dissolving House of Representatives, But It’s a Gamble She Just Might Win
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University of Tokyo Professor Arrested: Serious Lack of Ethical Sense, Failure of Institutional Governance
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Policy Measures on Foreign Nationals: How Should Stricter Regulations and Coexistence Be Balanced?
JN TOP STORIES
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Business Hotels Expanding into Regional Areas in Japan, Aiming to Attract Tourists; Competition Likely to Intensify
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Milano Cortina 2026: Japan Sees Leap in Olympic Performance Through New Support System; Japan Double Winter Medal Tally in 3 Games
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Milano Cortina 2026: Japan’s Satoshi Furuno Places 4th in Men’s Ski Cross
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Milano Cortina 2026: Speed Skater Takagi Finishes 6th in the 1,500, in Which She Has World Record
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Japanese High School Student Aims to Share Kaiten History Through Inbound Tours in Shunan, Yamaguchi Prefecture
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Chronic Issues Erode Thailand’s Economy as Political Confusion Persists, Threatening Terminal Decline in Its Economy
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PM Takaichi Spells out Plans to Advance Bold Policy Shifts in Speech at Diet
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Japan to Monitor Trump Administration’s Response to U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on Tariffs