2020– date –

Japanese school lunch (Kyushoku) is the biggest thing I want to be proud of in the Japanese social system. In most elementary and junior high schools in Japan, lunch is served fresh off each school kitchen. Of course, professional dietitians prepare the menu. It's good not only in taste and nourishment but also as a learning opportunity.

【Necessity is the mother of geographical characteristics】 As you can see it in the image below, Japan is a country of backward parking. Even speeding drivers follow the rule. Do you know why that is? Some people outside Japan may think...

【Can we free ourselves from other people's values?】 Martin Luther said "Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree." The words first reminded me of wall paintings in Lascaux Cave where ...

Japanese people are growing under strong peer pressure. It's like a dystopia created by George Orwell. Let's see the bright and dark sides of the Japanese society.

【Furniture making is an endangered business in Japan】 Last month, the Ministry of the Environment announced that a butterfly species (shown in the above image) endemic to Japan might have been extinct. The butterflies inhabited only in...

【The world becomes more economically rational】 Adam Smith is one of the 18th century's leading philosophers and also economists. He said that the market might appear chaotic but was actually guided by an invisible hand. People act or c...

Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, is well known for its rich history and culture. The language of Kyoto people is sometimes difficult to understand even for Japanese people living outside Kyoto. Let's see the points we have to be careful about in communication in Kyoto.

【Using a chainsaw to cut butter】 The above words are a wise saying by Barry Commoner, an American biologist, to express the inefficiency of nuclear power generation. By the way, the topic of this article is not about energy policies; N...

Horyuji temple in Nara prefecture is the world's oldest wooden building. It has the history of more than 1,400 years. How do you think that happens in this earthquake country? As you can imagine, it's a very harsh environment especially for wooden buildings. The average lifetime of current residential buildings is about 30 years in Japan.

The huge bubble burst in 1991, and the Japanese economy completely collapsed. The era after the bubble burst was once called "lost two decades" but now becomes "three decades". The long and severe domestic competitions force most of us to withdraw from the market. Remaining survivors are companies of real value where people continue to work diligently even at lower wages. Japanese products were thought to be "good but expensive" in the past but nowadays have changed to "good and cheap". There's no reason not to buy Japan (our products) now!