http://www.seekjapan.jp/on-japan Late 30's, have lived in Asia for a lot of my life. GMT en-us http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1668/Japanese+pronunciation+pt.+III:++initial+consonants http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1668/Japanese+pronunciation+pt.+III:++initial+consonants Mon,2 Jun 2008 GMT Today, I'm going to look at Japanese initial consonants. There are a lot more of these than there are vowels, but the good news is that English speakers tend to have fewer overall problems with them. Some of these sounds differ from their closest English equivalents, but unlike the vowels, you don't have to be too precise to be understood. Still, like the vowels, it's definitely worth taking some time to get them right—you'll sound a lot better and more natural, and you won't have to ... http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1647/Japanese+Pronunciation+pt.+II:++deceptively+simple+vowels http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1647/Japanese+Pronunciation+pt.+II:++deceptively+simple+vowels Mon,26 May 2008 GMT Today, I'll focus on vowel sounds—I'll deal with other aspects of Japanese pronunciation in another installment. I should note that I'm using standard North American English as the basis for comparison of the vowel sounds here in this article.   The good news is that Japanese is an extremely simple language in terms of vowels: there are literally only 5 vowels in Japanese. If you're confused by the “only 5” statement—English has five vowel ... http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1646/Japanese+Pronunciation+pt.+I:++introduction http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1646/Japanese+Pronunciation+pt.+I:++introduction Mon,26 May 2008 GMT One of the biggest surprises I got when I first started studying Japanese was that my teachers spent very little time teaching pronunciation.  Before Japanese, I had studied Thai and Mandarin Chinese, two tonal languages that both contain a number of sounds that are not found in English or many other languages.  Basically, with Thai and Mandarin, if you don't get the pronunciation down, your whole speaking ability will be seriously crippled, because no-one will know what you're ... http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1638/Kanikosen:++a+proletarian+literature+classic+comes+back+to+life http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1638/Kanikosen:++a+proletarian+literature+classic+comes+back+to+life Tue,20 May 2008 GMT Go into a Japanese bookstore these days, and chances are you'll see a little book with a black ship silhouetted against a red sky on its cover, prominently displayed next to other recent bestsellers. The book in question is called “Kanikosen,” written by the left-wing author Takiji Kobayashi, and, oddly enough, it was first published way back in 1929. The book's title translates fairly literally as “Crab Factory Ship,” but I've also seen it translated as ... http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1602/J-myth+9:++Japanese+is+a+vague+language http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1602/J-myth+9:++Japanese+is+a+vague+language Mon,28 Apr 2008 GMT It's no secret that Japan is a society that, in many situations, values indirect communication. Because of this, it's common to hear Japanese people refusing to directly say no to requests, instead sucking in their teeth and saying things like vague things like “soo desu ne ... http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1586/Boneheaded+Nationalism+Backfires http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1586/Boneheaded+Nationalism+Backfires Thu,10 Apr 2008 GMT A few more thoughts on boneheaded nationalism: One of the few redeeming features of boneheaded nationalism is that it sometimes backfires. Take the “Yasukuni” controversy, for example: in the last week, the publicity caused by theaters canceling showings of the movie due to right-wing pressure has given the film a lot of publicity and made it somewhat of a cause célèbre, and now seems to be making Japanese people a lot more curious about the movie ... http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1577/Boneheaded+Nationalism+Marches+On http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1577/Boneheaded+Nationalism+Marches+On Sat,5 Apr 2008 GMT The other day, the front page of the Japan Times had a couple of stories that made an interesting juxtaposition. One of them was about an Osaka theater that is daring to show the documentary “Yasukuni,” (already despite the fact that many other theaters have dropped plans to show the movie due to right-wing threats and pressure. The other was about Chinese dissident Hu Jia getting 3½ years in prison for daring to criticize the PRC government on a number of issues ... http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1576/Afrirampo+and+the+Ainu+Dub+Band+in+April http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1576/Afrirampo+and+the+Ainu+Dub+Band+in+April Sat,5 Apr 2008 GMT OK, so what's on in April? Modest Mouse? Hmmm, pretty good, maybe not as interesting as they used to be. Rancid? Pretty decent poppy punk. Foo Fighters? Well, at least you know exactly what yer getting with that one. What else we got, now ... http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1549/Kansai:++Day-Trippin'+Paradise!++ http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1549/Kansai:++Day-Trippin'+Paradise!++ Mon,24 Mar 2008 GMT There are a lot of reasons why I think that Kansai is, overall, easily the best part of Japan to live in. But, if I had to choose just one reason, it would be this: Kansai is paradise for daytrippers. Simply put, if you live in any of the 4 major Kansai cities, you could take daytrips every week for years and never run out of interesting things to do. I live in Osaka, one of the most important cities in Japan, and contrary to certain popular stereotypes, actually has a huge amount to do or ... http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1542/Language+requirements:+OK+for+Western+countries,+not+Japan? http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1542/Language+requirements:+OK+for+Western+countries,+not+Japan? Wed,12 Mar 2008 GMT In this article, (http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/nb20080310ve.html), the German writer seems concerned about, among other things, the proposed language requirements for long-term foreign residents.  Directly after bringing up this issue, she writes:  "It is hard to imagine another world-leading nation engaging in such regressive and exclusionary behavior." I agree with several of the writer's points in this article.  However, the above statement ...