SoraNews24 —Japan News—

Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.

RocketNews24 Japanese

• Japan
• China
• Korea
• North Korea
• Taiwan
• USA
• Internet

Featured

• Weird
• Studio Ghibli
• Jobs

linguistics (Page 2)

Japan’s EF English Proficiency Index rank drops for 11th straight year, hits lowest ever

• Casey Baseel
  Dec 4, 2025
• Tweet

What’s behind Japan’s continuing slide down the list?

Read More

• Japan
• (education • Education First • EF Education Eirst • English Proficency Index • linguistics • society)

This one delicious Japanese dessert has at least six different names

• Casey Baseel
  Dec 2, 2025

Survey creates map of what different parts of Japan call one of its favorite traditional desserts.

Read More

• Japan
• (food • imagawayaki • Japanese language • linguistics • obanyaki • survey • sweets)

Number of foreigners studying Japanese in Japan hits record high, but are there enough teachers?

• Casey Baseel
  Nov 29, 2025

Students studying Japanese as a second language in-country hits historic high, majority of teachers are unpaid volunteers.

Read More

• Japan
• (COK • foreigners in Japan • internationalism • Japanese language • learning japanese • linguistics • society • studying in Japan • studying Japanese)

Japan’s buzzword of the year nominees: A great way to learn and be baffled by Japanese vocabulary

• Elliot Hale
  Nov 28, 2025

We need to tell you to take a look before the new slang of today outruns us all… eh ho eh ho…

Read More

• Japan
• (2025 Buzzwords Awards • awards • Buzzwords Awards • Japanese language • japanese slang • Jiyukokuminsha • learning japanese • linguistics • neologism • otetsutabi • slang)

Duolingo to open first pop-up store Duomart in Japan for a very limited time next month

• Krista Rogers
  Nov 27, 2025

The store will be stylized after a typical Japanese convenience store and will feature goods of the beloved green owl mascot character and more.

Read More

• Japan
• (COK • convenience stores • Duolingo • Duomart • goods • konbini • language learning • linguistics • merchandise • Shibuya • Tokyo)

Top Japanese baby names for 2025 feature flowers, colors, and a first-time-ever favorite for girls

• Casey Baseel
  Nov 2, 2025

Annual survey finds the most popular names and kanji characters for new babies.

Read More

• Japan
• (baby names • culture • Japanese language • kanji • linguistics • society)

Reports that using -chan in Japan constitutes sexual harassment are at least a little exaggerated

• Casey Baseel
  Oct 27, 2025

Sound-bite version of legal ruling is an imbalanced substitute for a proper meal/understanding of the situation.

Read More

• Japan
• (COK • culture • harassment • Japanese language • linguistics • sexual harassment • society)

Majority of surveyed Japanese teens don’t call parents by standard Japanese words for mom and dad

• Casey Baseel
  Oct 23, 2025

Survey finds loanwords getting more use than okaa-san and otou-san.

Read More

• Japan
• (families • Japanese language • linguistics • society • survey • teens • youth)

Adorable Totoro lamp is here to make us ooh, aah, and learn what honnori means【Photos】

• Casey Baseel
  Oct 19, 2025

The littlest Totoro gives a lesson on a subtle point of Japanese vocabulary.

Read More

• Japan
• (anime • cute • Dongur Kyowakoku • interior • Japanese language • lamp • learning japanese • linguistics • manga • My Neighbor Totoro • Totoro)

YouTube’s AI Japanese translation calls for Jimmy Kimmel’s death on his own show【Video】

• Casey Baseel
  Sep 26, 2025

Another bang-up job from AI translation!

Read More

• Internet, Japan, USA
• (A.I. • AI • AI translation • artificial intelligence • auto translation • crazy • funny • Japanese language • Jimmy Kimmel • Jimmy Kimmel Live • linguistics • translation • video • weird • YouTube)

Sega’s Like a Dragon yakuza teaches “useless” English, let’s use it to learn some useful Japanese

• Casey Baseel
  Sep 24, 2025

Kiryu seems like the kind of guy who should know that effort is never meaningless, and this time is no exception.

Read More

• Japan
• (crazy • funny • Japanese language • Kazuma Kiryu • learning japanese • Like a Dragon • linguistics • Sega • SNO • video games • weird • yakuza)

New English textbook published for anime industry’s Animator Skill Test

• Casey Baseel
  Aug 15, 2025

NAFCA text covers the skills, both in drawing and speaking Japanese, that you’ll need to start an anime artist career in Japan.

Read More

• Japan
• (Animator Skill Test • anime • art • books • foreigners in Japan • Japanese language • learning japanese • linguistics • manga • NAFCA • Nippon Anime & Film Culture Association)

World’s most popular emoji ranking shows something missing from Japan’s top picks

• Casey Baseel
  Jul 20, 2025

Multi-country study has one element in every nation’s top five emoji, but not Japan’s.

Read More

• Japan
• (COK • emoji • Japanese language • linguistics • society • World Emoji Day)

Hachiji juppun mae – A Japanese phrase that even Japanese people can’t agree on the meaning of

• Casey Baseel
  Jul 2, 2025

Survey results show big gap in how younger and older respondents interpreted this seemingly simple phrase.

Read More

• Japan
• (COK • Japanese language • language • learning japanese • linguistics • society • weird)

All you need to know about Japan’s unasked-for restaurant appetizers that you have to pay for

• Casey Baseel
  Jun 21, 2025

Otoshi is a unique part of Japan’s restaurant culture that can feel like a scam if you’re not ready for it.

Read More

• Japan
• (appetizers • COK • culture • food • izakaya • Japanese language • linguistics • otoshi • pubs • restaurants • SNO • society)

With arrests of foreigners in Japan increasing, police no longer guarantee in-person translators

• Casey Baseel
  Jun 6, 2025

Getting arrested in Japan is never a good idea, but it’s about to become even more inadvisable for foreigners.

Read More

• Japan
• (COK • crime • foreigners in Japan • linguistics • society)

Smash Bros. creator learns he can’t tweet carelessly, fans learn they can’t trust AI translations

• Casey Baseel
  Mar 29, 2025

Masahiro Sakurai’s quick comment turns into a hurdle for automated translation tools.

Read More

• Japan
• (AI • AI translation • COK • Japanese language • linguistics • Masahiro Sakurai • nintendo • video games)

American tourist arrested in Japan on charges of pushing sexual services worker down stairs

• Casey Baseel
  Feb 14, 2025

Senior citizen arrested at ski resort three hours away from fuzoku establishment where incident allegedly took place.

Read More

• Japan
• (COK • crime • fuzoku • Japanese language • Japanese linguistics • linguistics • society)

Tokyo’s Sakeice O’Choco alcoholic hot chocolate both does and doesn’t contain “sake”

• Casey Baseel
  Feb 14, 2025

A lot of linguistics, and a lot of flavor, goes into each and every cup of this dessert drink (and there’s room for debate about the cup too).

Read More

• Japan
• (alcohol • chocolate • drinks • hot chocolate • Japanese language • linguistics • sake • Sakeice • shochu • sweets)

One of Japan’s biggest restaurant chains calls three different sauces all just “sauce” in English

• Casey Baseel
  Jan 31, 2025

Would you like Yakiniku Sauce, Yakiniku Sauce, or Yakiniku Sauce today?

Read More

• Japan
• (beef bowls • COK • crazy • food • gyudon • Japanese language • linguistics • Matsuya • restaurants • sauce • weird • yakiniku • yakiniku sauce)

1. « Prev
2. 1
3. 2
4. 3
5. 4
6. 5
7. 6
8. 7
9. ...
10. 15
11. Next »

• Recent Posts

  • Move aside, Asahi Super Dry – Asahi Spice Beer is in town, and it’s hotter than you think
  • “Sweet sake” with yuzu is coming to Japan’s wonderful world of hot canned drinks this winter
  • KFC now sells takikomi gohan rice boxes in Japan, if you know where to look for them [Taste test]
  • Japan’s upcoming Romancecar train seeks to end intimacy with its super-wide seats
  • Yakuza boss sues expressway owners for discrimination against criminals

• MOST POPULAR

  • Today
  • Weekly
  • Monthly
  • Yearly

  Today

  1. Tokyo cracks down on Airbnb-style rentals with new laws limiting operator days and more
  2. KFC now sells takikomi gohan rice boxes in Japan, if you know where to look for them [Taste test]
  3. Japan’s upcoming Romancecar train seeks to end intimacy with its super-wide seats
  4. Starbucks Japan reveals new Joyful Capsule gacha toy release date
  5. Historical-themed illumination display returns to Osaka Castle this winter
  6. Tokyo neighborhood adds new “smart trash cans” to deal with increasing amounts of tourist litter
  7. Yakuza boss sues expressway owners for discrimination against criminals
  8. America’s first-ever permanent One Piece store is now open [Photos]
  9. “Sweet sake” with yuzu is coming to Japan’s wonderful world of hot canned drinks this winter
  10. KFC Japan starts selling soft-serve ice cream at select locations, and they’ve even put it in a biscuit

  Weekly

  1. Tokyo cracks down on Airbnb-style rentals with new laws limiting operator days and more
  2. Starbucks Japan unveils new winter drinkware collection with limited-edition Stanley cups
  3. Pachinko parlor operator arrested for not obscuring the act of gambling well enough
  4. America’s first-ever permanent One Piece store is now open [Photos]
  5. Two Tokyo neighborhoods to gather on bridge and shift their recognized border through tug-of-war
  6. Tokyo neighborhood adds new “smart trash cans” to deal with increasing amounts of tourist litter
  7. New Era celebrates three decades of Pokémon with new 30th anniversary cap line [Photos]
  8. Pokémon card game’s expansion features art from Fist of the North Star creator
  9. Pokémon doughnuts pop up at Mister Donut, with a new gathering that’s bigger than ever
  10. Japan’s new matcha vending machines serve freshly prepared matcha in five different strengths

  Monthly

  1. Pokémon Company announces first-ever permanent Pokémon store to open outside Asia
  2. Japan ends tax-free shopping system for foreign tourists, new refund request system now in effect
  3. Japan’s TeamLab digital art group is opening a permanent museum in America
  4. Beautiful Ghibli diorama kits lets you build anime characters’ homes inside yours [Photos]
  5. Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
  6. Chainsaw robots helping keep trains running safely in east Japan [Video]
  7. New Studio Ghibli anime gets extended run at the only cinema in Japan where it’s being shown
  8. Osaka’s famous Glico Running Man will be removed and replaced with a new-look sign
  9. Studio Ghibli creates illustrated Kyoto sightseeing map, available at any 7-Eleven Japan store
  10. Starbucks Japan unveils new Christmas goods for 2026, with exclusive holiday surprises

  Yearly

  1. Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
  2. Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
  3. Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
  4. Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
  5. Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
  6. Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
  7. Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
  8. Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
  9. Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
  10. Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa

• RECOMMENDED STORIES

  • Tokyo neighborhood adds new “smart trash cans” to deal with increasing amounts of tourist litter
  • Yakuza boss sues expressway owners for discrimination against criminals
  • America’s first-ever permanent One Piece store is now open [Photos]
  • “Sweet sake” with yuzu is coming to Japan’s wonderful world of hot canned drinks this winter
  • KFC Japan starts selling soft-serve ice cream at select locations, and they’ve even put it in a biscuit
  • Pachinko parlor operator arrested for not obscuring the act of gambling well enough
  • Is hamburger patty ramen a case of too many good things in one bowl? Let’s find out! [Taste test]
  • Japanese viewers of Godzilla Minus Zero angered by unusual number of restroom goers
  • Why people in Japan hardly ever say “sayonara,” and what they say instead
  • Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
  • Move aside, Asahi Super Dry – Asahi Spice Beer is in town, and it’s hotter than you think
  • Japanese drivers reminded to look out for drunk people passed out on the road this holiday season
  • Starbucks Japan unveils new winter drinkware collection with limited-edition Stanley cups
  • Amazing Japanese yogurt spoon scoops up every last drop of dairy effortlessly

• • Categories

    Categories Select Category Africa  (33) Anime & Manga  (193) Art  (64) Australia  (42) C America  (9) C Asia  (17) Canada  (59) Cats  (72) China  (847) Culture  (180) Cute  (187) Entertainment  (248) Europe  (345) FN24  (1) Food & Drink  (314) Games & Tech  (167) Global  (1,073) India  (11) Internet  (2,198) Italy  (13) Japan  (34,589) Korea  (375) Lifestyle  (76) Mexico  (6) Music  (12) N Asia  (4) New Zealand  (11) News  (61) North Korea  (72) Oceania  (10) Russia  (56) S America  (33) S Asia  (66) SE Asia  (378) Space  (2) Taiwan  (203) UK  (18) Uncategorized  (19) USA  (979) W Asia  (25)

  • Archives

    Archives Select Month November 2026  (58) October 2026  (144) September 2026  (156) August 2026  (174) July 2026  (197) June 2026  (174) May 2026  (138) April 2026  (142) March 2026  (150) February 2026  (124) January 2026  (138) December 2025  (136) November 2025  (136) October 2025  (151) September 2025  (154) August 2025  (143) July 2025  (158) June 2025  (165) May 2025  (162) April 2025  (181) March 2025  (157) February 2025  (127) January 2025  (139) December 2024  (148) November 2024  (149) October 2024  (153) September 2024  (154) August 2024  (158) July 2024  (156) June 2024  (150) May 2024  (166) April 2024  (150) March 2024  (157) February 2024  (169) January 2024  (159) December 2023  (165) November 2023  (166) October 2023  (166) September 2023  (173) August 2023  (183) July 2023  (171) June 2023  (180) May 2023  (158) April 2023  (152) March 2023  (167) February 2023  (160) January 2023  (171) December 2022  (175) November 2022  (176) October 2022  (179) September 2022  (191) August 2022  (202) July 2022  (193) June 2022  (178) May 2022  (178) April 2022  (181) March 2022  (212) February 2022  (199) January 2022  (224) December 2021  (230) November 2021  (214) October 2021  (215) September 2021  (238) August 2021  (225) July 2021  (207) June 2021  (218) May 2021  (209) April 2021  (206) March 2021  (225) February 2021  (209) January 2021  (224) December 2020  (225) November 2020  (224) October 2020  (231) September 2020  (238) August 2020  (227) July 2020  (220) June 2020  (209) May 2020  (215) April 2020  (238) March 2020  (235) February 2020  (222) January 2020  (233) December 2019  (187) November 2019  (214) October 2019  (237) September 2019  (195) August 2019  (205) July 2019  (183) June 2019  (201) May 2019  (231) April 2019  (192) March 2019  (242) February 2019  (211) January 2019  (238) December 2018  (212) November 2018  (217) October 2018  (214) September 2018  (203) August 2018  (217) July 2018  (218) June 2018  (208) May 2018  (204) April 2018  (193) March 2018  (216) February 2018  (192) January 2018  (223) December 2017  (204) November 2017  (209) October 2017  (218) September 2017  (209) August 2017  (228) July 2017  (222) June 2017  (245) May 2017  (229) April 2017  (197) March 2017  (165) February 2017  (151) January 2017  (180) December 2016  (260) November 2016  (267) October 2016  (302) September 2016  (387) August 2016  (351) July 2016  (379) June 2016  (379) May 2016  (312) April 2016  (347) March 2016  (414) February 2016  (379) January 2016  (359) December 2015  (359) November 2015  (378) October 2015  (435) September 2015  (419) August 2015  (152) July 2015  (218) June 2015  (179) May 2015  (237) April 2015  (223) March 2015  (119) February 2015  (121) January 2015  (394) December 2014  (376) November 2014  (376) October 2014  (414) September 2014  (349) August 2014  (379) July 2014  (316) June 2014  (375) May 2014  (384) April 2014  (354) March 2014  (318) February 2014  (284) January 2014  (270) December 2013  (224) November 2013  (242) October 2013  (244) September 2013  (226) August 2013  (241) July 2013  (214) June 2013  (222) May 2013  (191) April 2013  (173) March 2013  (149) February 2013  (85) January 2013  (106) December 2012  (111) November 2012  (149) October 2012  (151) September 2012  (118) August 2012  (99) July 2012  (56) June 2012  (57) May 2012  (54) April 2012  (62) March 2012  (40) February 2012  (27) January 2012  (24) December 2011  (18) November 2011  (12) October 2011  (1) September 2011  (9) August 2011  (11) March 2011  (1)

• 訪日外国人向けインバウンド広告メディア「SoraNews24」とは？

• • Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
  • KFC Japan starts selling soft-serve ice cream at select locations, and they’ve even put it in a biscuit
• About Us | Jobs | Contact | Contribution | Partner with Us

© SoraNews24 —Japan News— / SOCIO CORPORATION

• Advertise |
• About Us |
• Work with us |
• Contact |
• Contribution |