Japanese Culture

Why Japanese Consider Using a Bike Bell Extremely Rude?

Like many things in Japan, cycling habits also differ from what we are used to in the Western World. In any area of conduction, Japanese are well-known for being extremely considerate due to the combination of law and traditional customs. Cycling is no exception. Even though traffic is habitually busy and in majority of the

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‘Grocerant’ store-restaurant hybrids gaining ground in Japan

Shoppers in Japan are increasingly eating at “grocerants,” the in-store supermarket eateries that first appeared in the United States, which sell freshly cooked meals made with ingredients sold on the premises. The fusion concept provides economies of scale by sharing food items among the grocery section and restaurant divisions of the same shops, while dishes

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Why Does Japan Have Blue Traffic Lights Instead of Green?

In Japan, a game of Red Light, Green Light might be more like Red Light, Blue Light. Because of a linguistic quirk of Japanese, some of the country’s street lights feature “go” signals that are distinctly more blue than green, as Atlas Obscura alerts us, making the country an outlier in international road design. Different languages refer to colors very

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Business cards in Japan: So many rules, so easily and often broken

Many people will have heard that in Japan, exchanging business cards is very important. Business card etiquette — something I doubt very much even exists in my home country — is still strong in Japan, and one gets a chance to practice this protocol almost daily here. If you’re being introduced to someone, even outside

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Why do Japanese have trouble learning English?

As globalization makes headway, calls for increased ability in an international language like English become louder and louder. Although English is a compulsory subject in junior high and high school in this country, Japanese still have a hard time achieving even daily conversation levels. According to the most recent EF English Proficiency Index, the English

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Japan and the industrial boom of 1917

From Mitsubishi Motors to Kikkoman – over a thousand Japanese firms are celebrating their hundredth birthday in 2017. The development reveals much about Japan’s history and economic base. Martin Fritz reports from Tokyo. What do Japanese companies such as camera maker Nikon, auto manufacturers Mitsubishi Motors and Subaru, sports equipment maker Mikasa and dairy product

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