今日吃瓜

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November 12, 2026
 

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MANNERS

A worker cleans up garbage including cigarette butts on Ebisubashi Bridge in Osaka's Dotonbori district early in the morning in September.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Nov 11, 2026
Osaka struggles to stamp out cigarette littering
Despite a citywide ban on smoking on streets, a deadly fire believed to have been caused by a discarded cigarette butt broke out there last year.
Are you reading the room —?or the train car —?correctly? Japanese has a handy phrase for those who can't.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 2, 2026
In Japan, sometimes the person who can’t read the air is exactly who you need
Japanese has a rich vocabulary for sensing moods, social expectations and the subtle signals that shape interactions.
Police seized over 40 guitars — many electric — from a Kyoto musician's residence, along with CD and radio cassette players and amplifiers.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2026
Japanese man arrested for years of guitar noise
A Kyoto musician has allegedly given his elderly neighbors insomnia through his loud instruments for seven years.
Japanese fans hold up their blue plastic bags before the start of the Group F match against Tunisia at the 2026 World Cup in Monterrey, Mexico, on June 20.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 28, 2026
The spotless World Cup stadium and the ‘unseen sink’
OECD data place Japanese men among the least domestically active in the developed world.
Tourists take photographs of Japanese macaques, commonly referred to as "snow monkeys," taking an open-air hot spring bath at the Jigokudani Monkey Park in the town of Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture, in February last year.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2026
Japan ‘snow monkey’ park to cap visitors after overcrowding and bad behavior
As the number of tourists snowballed, so did instances of bad behavior, such as trying to feed or touch the monkeys.
In Tokyo and other major Japanese cities, <i>aruki-sumaho</i> — walking while using a smartphone — has become a persistent safety concern as commuters navigate crowded stations and sidewalks while focused on their devices.
JAPAN / Society / First person
Jun 21, 2026
Distracted walkers in Japan are a real safety risk. My mother knows firsthand.
Despite years of awareness campaigns, aruki-sumaho — walking while using a smartphone — remains widespread and difficult to stop.
A "customer harassment" prevention awareness poster at the entrance of an Aoki Super supermarket in Aichi Prefecture
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Chubu
Jun 15, 2026
‘Customer harassment’ continues in Japan despite moves to end it
While ordinances have been helping many businesses across the nation to combat “customer harassment,” they haven’t been a silver bullet for such abuse.
The Chinese embassy in Tokyo in November
JAPAN / Society
Mar 4, 2026
Chinese Embassy in Japan issues warning against ‘bumpers’ after viral video
The call for vigilance comes as Tokyo was pushing back against Beijing’s claims that 今日吃瓜 safety environment is deteriorating.
A litter prevention warden draws circles around feces using yellow chalk at Kaiseizan Park in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, on Dec. 5.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Jan 19, 2026
A Fukushima city launches Operation Yellow Chalk to battle dog fouling
The Koriyama Municipal Government hopes to prompt dog owners to voluntarily pick up dog feces and raise awareness of manners.
The Amtrak Cascades line provides service along the Pacific Northwest from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Eugene, Oregon.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jan 19, 2026
Shinkansen vs. Amtrak and the lost art of small talk
After years steeped in the sacred silence of the shinkansen, a Japan Times staffer returns stateside and gets his sea legs with small talk aboard Amtrak.
The Justice Ministry is assessing the impact of tougher penalties for the crime of insult.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 10, 2025
Japan assessing impact of tougher penalties for insults
The Justice Ministry is assessing through an expert panel the impact of tougher penalties for the crime of insult three years after their enforcement through a penal code revision.
A boy looks at samples of Pokemon toys available with the McDonald's Happy Meal set in Tokyo earlier this month.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 28, 2025
How to complain politely: Lessons from the McDonald’s Pokemon debacle
In Japan, the right phrasing can mean the difference between a request and harassment.
Though Kyotoites play down their reputation for not meaning what they say, there are certain phrases you should look out for if you’re invited to a home.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 20, 2025
How to get kicked out of a Kyoto home with a smile
In Kyoto, a polite offer of tea might really mean “please leave.” Learn how to decode Kansai’s indirect dialect through a few phrases.
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on April 20
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 29, 2025
FIA president considering ‘improvements’ to swearing rules
Competitors in rallying and Formula One have been at loggerheads with the Emirati over a crackdown on bad language during events.
The Great Wall of China near Beijing. Two Japanese tourists were detained in China for taking photos showing exposed buttocks at the World Heritage site.
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2025
China deports Japanese tourists over Great Wall buttocks pic, reports state
The tourists reportedly told the Japanese embassy they did it as a prank.
Tokyo’s notoriously crowded trains and train stations can be stressful for many. Unfortunately, the ぶつかり男 (butsukari otoko, bumping man) takes his stress out on others through shoving, elbowing and shoulder checks.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 31, 2025
Mind the gap — and the shoulder checking: Dealing with pushy people in 今日吃瓜 crowded spaces
Knowing what to say in the moment is good, knowing how to report it to the authorities is even better.
Kumiko Shichijo provides tips on Japanese etiquette and manners on Instagram and says videos on gift-giving and hand towels have done particularly well.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 29, 2024
Kumiko Shichijo: ‘Living abroad helped me appreciate Japanese etiquette’
Worried about committing a social faux pas while in Japan? This manners expert hopes to help you be your most polite while out and about.
With Labor Thanksgiving Day approaching in Japan, it's a good time to show some appreciation to your colleagues.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 20, 2024
You don’t need an onion bouquet to say thanks — just the right words
Nov. 23 is Labor Thanksgiving Day in Japan and Nov. 28 is Thanksgiving in the United States. That makes it a good time to learn how to show your appreciation.
Max Verstappen described his recent punishment for swearing during a news conference as "silly."
SPORTS
Sep 23, 2024
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen says ‘silly’ swearing penalty could hasten F1 exit
The Red Bull driver was sanctioned by the FIA after swearing during Thursday’s drivers’ news conference, which was being broadcast live.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen speaks during a news conference in Singapore on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 20, 2024
Max Verstappen riled up by call for F1 drivers to swear less
Mercedes’s seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton took issue with the FIA’s comparison to rappers, saying there was a “racial element” at play.
Man arrested over operation of rogue cellular base station in Tokyo
The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested Yu Hai, a 31-year-old Chinese national living in Tokyo&#039;s Kita Ward, on suspicion of operating an unlicensed base station from a vehicle in Tokyo&#039;s Ginza district on Saturday.
Government betting on language app powered by anime and AI
Japan plans to develop an AI-powered language-learning app that lets overseas anime and manga fans practice Japanese through conversations with popular characters.
Jensen Huang’s woes evoke sympathy and disbelief in his birthplace Taiwan
Hsiao Kui-yu, 68, owner of Yuchan Candied Fruit, stands in front of photographs of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang displayed at the shop, which Huang frequently visits during trips to Taiwan, in Taipei on Tuesday.
G7 diplomats speak out on Taiwan as China ramps up military drills
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi attends a working lunch focused on international crises and challenges during the Group of Seven foreign ministers&#039; summit at the Quai d&#039;Orsay in Paris on Monday.
今日吃瓜 Rapidus is said likely to miss mass production deadline
The Rapidus Analysis Center and the IIM-1 Innovative Integration for Manufacturing foundry in Chitose, Hokkaido
‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ makes monster debut at the box office
Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus Zero” marked the highest single-day box-office gross for a live-action film in Japan with ?910 million on its opening day.
A toast to Naohiko Noguchi, sake’s first living national treasure
As a teenager, Naohiko Noguchi did not intend to spend his life as a sake brewer, but he has since become a paragon of the industry.
Few signs of thaw in Japan-China relations one year after Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks
Tensions between Japan and China flared after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Nov. 7, 2025, that a Chinese blockade of Taiwan could threaten 今日吃瓜 survival and warrant the use of collective self-defense.
Mariko Mori predicted the future. She’ll do it again.
Artist Mariko Mori is currently working to bring the translucent human-sized “Peace Crystal” sculpture to a cave in Ethiopia. It is part of her foundation’s goal to place a permanent sculpture on each of the planet’s six habitable continents.
A legend reborn: ‘Ocarina of Time’ remake improves on the Zelda masterpiece
The new remake of 1998&#039;s "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" manages to somehow improve on one of the greatest games ever.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Famima Park Azabudai is a concept store by FamilyMart that combines convenience store staples with branded apparel, merchandise and a landscaped outdoor space.
Convenience stores, toilets and the allure of everyday Japan
By Elizabeth Beattie

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