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Japanese language

Japanese Army officers confer with a British Army officer after the Japanese surrender of Singapore, 1945.

Learning the language of your enemy

Conflict

In the early 1940s, virtually no one in the UK spoke Japanese. The British War Office tried to change that after Japan invaded British-held Malaya and Singapore. The results were mixed.

This Is Their Youth

The World

Fukushima: To Eat, or Not To Eat?

Japanese-American Musician Emi Meyer’s “Suitcase of Stones”

Arts, Culture & Media

Fukushima Cleanup Plan in Question

Business, Economics and Jobs
The World

Japan tightens evacuation zone

Development & Education

The World’s Environment editor Peter Thomson speaks with anchor Lisa Mullins about the significance of the Japanese government’s expansion of the evacuation zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Fukushima vs. Chernobyl—Comparison less useful than ever

Nowhere near Chernobyl. Except sort of. But really, much, much less bad. Or… maybe worse. If your head’s hurting right now trying to keep track of official evaluations of the scale of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, well, get in line for the aspirin. If not yet the iodine pills […]

Voice from Tokyo

Brett Larner and his wife Mika Tokariarin live in central Tokyo, however Mika’s parents live near the Fukushima power plant. Brett and his wife are hoping that his in-laws will come stay with them in Tokyo. But with the current evacuation zone at 20 kilometers away from the plant, his in-laws have opted to stay […]

The World

This Is Their Youth

Business, Economics and Jobs

Young adults in Japan are unemployed, disenchanted, and depressed. Roland Kelts talks to poet Misumi Mizuki, novelist Ryu Murakami, and other artists to understand why. And he finds that Japan’s troubled youth might be changing the country for the better.

The World

Renewed interest in learning Japanese

Global Politics

As a global power, Japan is fading, but increasing numbers of people outside the country are opting to learn Japanese. What’s fueling the new interest is a growing obsession with Japanese Manga comics and Japanese animation.