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July 03, 2026
 

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LANGUAGE

The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 2, 2026
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
Once volunteer-based, the system is shifting toward shared responsibility between local governments and trained professionals.
Transcarpathia is a western Ukrainian region and one of the country's most ethnically diverse areas, populated by groups including Hutsuls, seen here in Yasynya, as well as Hungarians, Romanians, Slovaks and Ukrainians.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 2026
Language, power and the price of entry
The same logic that protects Hungarians in Ukraine leaves Russian in the cold. Language policy, it turns out, has a foreign policy.
The number of public school students requiring special Japanese-language instruction reached a record high of 84,759 in fiscal 2025.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2026
Japan to launch language support project for foreign children
The number of public school students requiring special Japanese-language instruction reached a record high of 84,759 in fiscal 2025.
How Japanese-language instruction is provided currently varies widely according to region.
JAPAN / Society
May 26, 2026
Record number of students in Japan need help learning Japanese
As of May 2025, a total of 84,759 students at public elementary, junior high, high and special needs schools required support, a government survey shows.
A Vietnamese migrant worker who lost her job amid the COVID-19 outbreak studies Japanese language at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo in July 2020.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 22, 2026
Beyond the native speaker myth: Who ‘owns’ the Japanese language?
As Japan considers adding language requirements to permanent residency and other visa categories, it must also reconsider what “proficiency” means.
The government is considering creating a Japanese language program for foreign people that would be a factor in residency screenings.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2026
Japan considers making language programs a factor in residency screenings
This comes in response to calls from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for measures to address problems between Japanese and foreign residents.
A shift is occurring in the translation industry both in Japan and across the globe, where using artificial intelligence in place of humans is increasingly becoming standard practice.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Apr 16, 2026
As AI advances, translators forced to adapt to industry changes
Translators are having to grapple with lower pay and higher expectations, all while the future of the industry itself is in doubt.
Starting Wednesday, Japan will require certain foreign nationals applying for its most common white-collar work visa to prove language proficiency.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 15, 2026
Japan implements language proficiency requirements for certain visa applicants
The requirement applies to jobs in which language skills are central, such as translation, interpretation and customer-facing roles.
The Japanese government is considering revising requirements for permanent residency, including mandatory language proficiency and other moves that could place foreign residents under continuous evaluation and uncertainty about their future.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 23, 2026
Japan’s residency debate risks turning integration into exclusion
What was once a predictable path toward long-term stability could become a precarious process subject to continuous state evaluation.
Vietnamese students attend a Japanese language class at a job placement company in Hanoi in October 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2026
The limits of Japan’s immigration charade
Until now, the quality and training of Japanese-language teachers were largely left to the private sector, including academia.
Famed Meiji-era novelist Natsume Soseki’s belief that true expression transcends literal wording supports the argument that AI handling translation frees people to create rather than convert language.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 25, 2026
Sorry Soseki, I wish we had AI translation aeons ago
It should come as little surprise then that one of the jobs at risk of complete replacement by AI is that of translators.
From 2026, applicants in Japan without residence cards will generally be barred from taking the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) in the country.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2026
Tourists no longer allowed to take JLPT in Japan from 2026
The change was driven by problems linked to overseas applicants using Japanese addresses without permission or submitting invalid phone numbers.
Leonardo Doin, head of engineering and research for DeepL Voice, in Berlin on Jan. 23
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 4, 2026
DeepL to release AI-powered interpretation software in Japan this year
The software will integrate speech recognition and machine translation technologies as well as speech synthesis that mimics the tone of speakers’ voices, a company official said.
Students originally from overseas attend entrance exam preparation classes for high school advancement at YSC Global School in the city of Fussa, Tokyo, on Jan. 22.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 3, 2026
Calls grow to improve Japanese language education
According to the education ministry, the number of students requiring Japanese language education reached a record high of 69,123 in fiscal 2023.
Known as <i>kikokushijo</i>, Japanese children or teens who go abroad with their families and later return to Japan often struggle with stereotypes and suspicions throughout the course of their lives.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 2, 2026
‘Returnees’ reckon with a Japan that sets them apart
“Kikokushijo” — Japanese youth who live abroad as children or teens and then return to Japan — and the struggles they face reflect a country unsure of what it means to be global.
Seihan Mori, chief priest of Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, writes the kanji "kuma," which was chosen by the public as the character that best represents 2025, at the temple on Friday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 12, 2025
‘Kuma’ selected as kanji of the year after surge in bear sightings and attacks
The character for bear, or “kuma,” has been selected as kanji of the year for 2025, after a surge in bear sightings and attacks.
Artificial intelligence holds promise for preserving endangered languages, but without meaningful community involvement, speakers of indigenous and regional dialects risk further marginalization as their languages vanish from the digital world.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2025
Can AI save dying languages?
A report from Stanford’s Institute for Human Centered Artificial Intelligence earlier this year found that most major large-language models, or LLMs, underperform in non-English.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a ceremony Monday in Tokyo after her comment referring to her determination to work hard as president of the Liberal Democratic Party was awarded buzzword of the year for 2025.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 1, 2025
Takaichi’s work ethic sound bite wins Japan’s buzzword of the year
“Work, work, work, work and work” was named 2025’s buzzword of the year.
While older generations in Japan view dad jokes with disdain, Gen Z has embraced a new style of intentionally lame wordplay as a way to spice up text-based communication.
LIFE / Language
Nov 19, 2025
Old-man puns are getting a Gen Z glow-up as ‘neo-dajare’
Japan’s youngest generation raised on texting is embracing wordplay — and pushing old dad jokes further than ever before.
Women hold toys depicting Myaku-Myaku, the official character for the 2025 Osaka Expo, during a media day ahead of the event's public opening day in Osaka in April.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 5, 2025
ChatGPT nickname and Trump tariffs nominated for Japan’s buzzword of 2025
Words and phrases related to the election of Japan’s first female prime minister and the country’s bear problem also made the list of nominations.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men&#039;s restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Why is the yen so weak and what can Japan do about it?
Japan spent ¥11.7 trillion ($73 billion) between late April and late May to prop up the weak yen.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

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