HIGHTECH
Hello, Yoshimasa here. Japan’s IT business is adopting Python, along with artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, and network infrastructure. Those fields are clearly going to continue spreading in Japan, and as each of them started to break here right around the same time, they have contributed to Python’s current boom.
COVID-19 completely changes the working environment of Japanese companies
Railways running in Japan’s urban areas are extremely busy during the morning and evening commuting hours. For corporate employees work at the office is the accepted norm, and although this has recently decreased, previously employees were required to come in to work even during typhoons and other terrible weather.
Even in Japan with its well-developed sanitary facilities this public toilet and hand-washing device are surprising
Japan receives much rainfall and has lush forests, so water is abundantly available. For that reason, as previously introduced, technology related to sanitary facilities such as toilets has also developed in its own distinctive way.
Current roads are inefficient for self-driving cars
With the practical application of autonomous driving technology as the ultimate goal, test drives of self-driving cars are being held on public roadways around the world. The actual technology has reached a high level of completion and examples of its use for taxis or package delivery vehicles have increased.
WORK
Online interviews, whether by Skype, Zoom, Google Hangouts or other platforms, are becoming more common, especially in these days of Covid-19. Here are 12 tips to help you excel in an online video interview and get that dream job in Japan.
In this article we will look at Japanese honorific language, called keigo (敬語), and suggest how you might use it in the course of an interview.
We have come to perhaps the most challenging part of becoming a freelancer in Japan: how to find freelance clients. So far we have looked at straightforward logistical problems that include universals.
LIFE & RESIDENCE
Among engineers, there are probably many people who haven’t really left home in a few months. Particularly in US IT work, there have been moves to reduce the amount of required in-person attendance, shrink offices, and focus on remote work.
STUDY
There seems to be a general idea that learning the Japanese language is quite difficult. It’s backed up by official sources, too, like the US Government’s Foreign Service Institute’s School of Language studies. The SLS ranks languages by the length of time typically required for native English speaking students to reach “Professional Working Proficiency” in a large number of languages.
In this article we introduce some of the best smartphone apps for studying Japanese vocabulary, grammar, reading, and kanji.
CULTURE
Japanese gardens take many forms. There are large, meandering stroll gardens, hilly landscape gardens that can best be enjoyed from a single vantage point, smaller gardens attached to teahouses, tiny interior courtyard gardens, and stony dry landscapes.
The tranquil gardens of Japan are famous for offering their visitors a sheltered landscape in which to stroll, sit and reflect. In this article we will introduce some of the most beautiful and fascinating gardens from across the country.
"I am a Cat" was the famed Japanese author Natsume Soseki’s first novel — written and published in the early 20th century. The main character is a house cat who, with humor and satire, describes the lives of the upper middle-class humans around it in all their pomposity.
TRAVEL
Mountains cover around 70% of Japan and as hiking is a popular pastime in this country, its hiking trails are well-maintained, clearly sign-posted, and very easy to access. Even if you are based in one of Japan’s major metropolitan centers you are never more than a short train ride from a scenic mountain trek.
Japan has a reputation for high tech products and futuristic convenience, but much of the country has also maintained a historic flavor. You might not believe it as you walk through the glittering scene of Shinjuku, but it is not at all hard to find neighborhoods, and sometimes whole towns, that still look much like they did during the feudal Edo period (1603-1886).
If you are traveling on a budget in Japan and wondering how to find cheap hotels, then business hotels are an excellent option. Japanese business hotels occupy an inexpensive but comfortable middle ground between pricey accommodation options such as tourist hotels and luxury ryokan inns, and extremely cheap but basic options such as pods in capsule hotels, booths in internet cafés, and bunks in hostel dormitories.
