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Before heading out to a public World Cup viewing, make sure you know the right words to support your team.

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL

Jun 11, 2026

The fighting words fueling support for Japan’s World Cup team

By Yuko Tamura

Learn how Japanese expresses support, perseverance and encouragement through World Cup vocabulary and everyday phrases.

Young Japanese soccer fans get ready to cheer on their team at a training center in Monterrey, Mexico, ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

LIFE / Language / Vocabulary Boost

Jun 11, 2026

Japanese sports terms you may hear on TV

By Yuko Tamura

Like in other countries, Japanese announcers are filled with colorful terms to describe what you’re seeing on air.

A mock poster uses the verb “hataraku” in its “tai” form to tell potential applicants “we want to work with you.”

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL

May 22, 2026

In Japanese, saying what you want can be complicated

By Peter Backhaus

From softening requests to reading others’ intentions, expressions of desire in Japanese are rarely straightforward.

Even a slight brush with the law can be enough to cause reputational damage for public figures.

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL

May 15, 2026

How Japanese grammar captures the gap between legal outcomes and public judgment

By Yaeko Kabe

Using “monono” and “ni mo kakawarazu” to explore contradictions between expectations and outcomes in Japanese.

Sun hats, hoodies with built-in UV protection and parasols are on the must-have lists of Japanese moms this summer.

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL

May 8, 2026

When it comes to their kids, Japanese mothers look beyond pink and blue

By Yuko Tamura

A look at how evolving vocabulary around fashion signals changing attitudes toward gender and function.

Under the new blue ticket system, cyclists will have one week in which to pay fines for minor traffic violations.

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL

Apr 24, 2026

The language around Japan’s new bike rules leaves no room for ‘maybe’

By Yuko Tamura

Blue tickets are now being issued for minor traffic offenses, but you have to watch you don’t get scammed.

Riku Miura (left) and Ryuichi Kihara celebrate in Milan after winning gold in the pair skating event.

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL

Apr 19, 2026

No one else will do: What a pair of figure skaters can teach us about familiarity in Japanese

By Brooke Lathram-Abe

An Olympic duo illustrates how honorifics and in-group dynamics can signal closeness across different contexts.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan’s landscape that they often go unnoticed.

Why Japan’s utility poles won’t be disappearing anytime soon

By Alex K.T. Martin

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