Tag - english

 
Menu
Search
 
July 12, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

ENGLISH

JAPAN
Oct 23, 2013
Required English from third grade eyed
The education ministry is considering moving up the starting year of obligatory English-language education in elementary schools to the third grade from the current fifth grade by around 2020.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 16, 2013
TEAP stresses pragmatic approach
As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party forges ahead with its strategy of nurturing “internationally minded” talent to aid economic growth, the prospect that students’ scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) will be used as criteria for entering university looms increasingly...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2013
Firm floats alternative to TOEFL
While Japan looks to make a passing score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language mandatory for university entrance, it should also consider alternative exams that might work better, said John de Jong, senior vice president at Pearson English, a division of Pearson PLC.
JAPAN
May 29, 2013
Education panel touts more global approach
A government education panel submitted a report Tuesday to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urging the nation’s universities to be outward-looking in order to foster global talent among Japanese.
EDITORIALS
May 26, 2013
Super global English schools
One recent proposal likely to have a good effect on English education in Japan is allowing certain high schools to teach subjects such as science or math in English.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
May 21, 2013
Ambivalent Japan turns on its ‘insular’ youth
Japan’s decision to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade negotiations shows that at least some in government have accepted the fact that ‘opening up’ Japan is in the nation’s best long-term interests.
WORLD
May 20, 2013
English-language education proposal has French up in arms
There was a time, not so long ago, when anyone with a proper education spoke French. Diplomacy and business were conducted in French. Knowledge was spread in French. Travelers made their way in French and, of course, lovers traded sweet nothings in French.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2013
Abe wants TOEFL to be key exam
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is not satisfied with revising monetary policy — he also appears bent on reviving another failing field: the public’s ability to speak English.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2013
Higher English test hurdle awaits ministry applicants from fiscal ‘15
Would-be bureaucrats may soon have to take an English-language proficiency test before getting a shot at a ministry job.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2013
William Zinsser and the art of good writing
Careful writers will not want to skip anything in William Zinsser’s essays for brains whose circuitry has not been shaped by 140-character tweets.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2002
Yamanote adds English and standing room
Come April, Tokyo’s Yamanote Line will be kinder to English-speaking foreign passengers.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

Podcast

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

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Sompo looks beyond insurance to focus on well-being
Sompo looks beyond insurance to focus on well-being

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER