There are about 70 cases of American parents who are kept from seeing their children in Japan, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell met with several of them in a group earlier Tuesday. He called their situations “heart-breaking.”

In some cases, Japanese mothers living overseas have fled to Japan with their children and kept the fathers from having any contact with the kids, even if court rulings abroad ordered joint custody.

This season you can find sushi, beer, curry, green tea, shochu, and baseball in their chocolate incarnations.

A variety of Japan’s tastes and trends are made into “cho-co” versions for the Valentines Day boom.

Masatoshi Shimbo has always felt more than a bit paternal toward the changeling Roppongi district, the inner-city neighborhood where he grew up and his family made its real estate fortune. But Roppongi often breaks his heart, over the decades turning from a U.S. servicemen’s haunt into a respectable business district and then back to disrepute — the gentle women in kimonos giving way to mobsters and drug dealers. Good or bad, in this famously safe city, Roppongi stands out: elegant one block, seedy the next, a multicultural meeting spot known …

How does a symbol become a universal symbol?

Like the peace sign and the smiley face. How would one read a peace sign before having the knowledge that it is a peace sign.

If you don’t know Japanese what would this sign mean to you?

This year, one kakasenai (can’t do without) fashion item is sure to warm your ears and catch the eyes of fashion conscious passers-by.

Along with simple earmuffs in glorious plush winter whites and browns, you can find fashiony puffs in heart, smile and even hamburger shapes.

There are also ear warmers, attached to woven bands that fit snuggly like a headband to keep out the winter chill.
Keep warm this winter from ear to ear.
Only next winter will tell if the trend lives on from year to year.

JGY
Aikawarazu Life in …

There are two signs of fall where changing colors let you know you are entering into the colder seasons in Japan. One  is  Ko–yo (pronounced ko-u yo-u,紅葉), the glorious changing colors of the fall leaves; and the other is the changing of  the colors on the  Ji-do-han-bai-ki （自動販売機）, the ubiquitous vending machines which are now announcing the addition of hot drinks.
The former can be seen subtly as the famous leaf-peeping areas from Hokkaido to Kyushuu are anywhere from zero to 100 percent at their peak.  The latter are not tracked …

Beware Batman, Masked Marvels, and Spider Woman.
This year I am going to be
an Umbrella.
With the haunting and bewitching full moon shining down upon us this Halloween night, what are you going to be?
JGY
Found in Japan

Depending on where we are from, zen can be found in different ways.  If you are from the mountains, you may need to travel to the Himalayas.  If you grew up by a lake, it may be necessary for you to find a shimmering reflective body of water and take a solitary row.  But if you are from the suburbs, an on-sen in a shopping mall might just do the trick.
In Japan, there are on-sen complexes which are the the bathing equivalent of a multi-plex theater, where you can choose …

Here are a couple of great quizzes from Karanagai.com to help you learn or polish up your Hiragana and Katakana.
I find it really useful to do the quizzes every so often so I don’t forget. Good luck!

Hiragana and Katakana Quizzes
Quiz Instructions
Katakana Quiz
Hiragana Quiz

They say ‘a rose is just a rose’ but when it comes to morning glories, you can’t always assume the same.
In Japan, what you think is a morning glory is not always just a morning glory.
Especially this time of year, if you see one of these star-shaped beauties you might just be looking at an afternoon glory.
While morning glories and the afternoon varieties might both be planted in spring,  morning glories bloom in summer and afternoon glories bloom later into the fall, depending on the variety and climate.  There are …