Tim Odagiri
Two Sailing Ships that are Transforming Japan
Japan’s identity as a culture and a society is unique in this world, thanks in part to its remote island location. When combined with the...
top of page
Tim Odagiri
Dec 5, 20233 min read
Toward a Cheese-in Japanese Immigration Policy
Cheese tastes great in a wide variety of foods. But did you know it also works with immigration policies? Well, it does, thanks to that m...
Tim Odagiri
Nov 14, 20233 min read
Has Japan Forgotten About Hiroshima?
A few weeks ago, I had a chance to visit Hiroshima, my first trip to that sprawling port city in Western Japan. As I gazed at a cloudbank...
Tim Odagiri
Sep 12, 20233 min read
Japan is the Adult in the Room
The nations of the world recently have been behaving like a bunch of cranky kids, refusing to play well together despite having ample toy...
Tim Odagiri
Aug 1, 20233 min read
Increasing Japan’s Birthrate Through Better English
There is a very amusing skit by the late Japanese comedian Shimura Ken where he plays a befuddled high school English teacher assigned to...
Tim Odagiri
Jul 19, 20233 min read
Why Isn’t Japan Political?
I moved to Japan in part to get away from all the politics. America, in its modern incarnation, is politics on steroids. The old adage, “...
Tim Odagiri
Jun 27, 20234 min read
The Burger Kingification of Japan
Japan is great at standardizing things. Whether it is Just-In-Time manufacturing processes in an automobile factory or the shuffling of p...
Tim Odagiri
Jun 6, 20233 min read
That Time Some Guy Said, “You’re Not Japan’s Emperor, I Am!”
You history buffs out there might recall that the mid-1940s was a busy time for Japan. With the empire’s defeat at the end of World War I...
Tim Odagiri
May 23, 20235 min read
Making Japanese Babies Great Again
Back in March, I posted an article about Japan’s declining birthrate, identifying the nation’s key demographic concern and offering the k...
Harold Archer
May 16, 20232 min read
To Understand the Japanese Business Environment, Visit a Parking Lot
When parking an automobile, most drivers in western countries go headfirst, driving forward into their parking spaces. However, drivers i...
Tim Odagiri
Mar 2, 20235 min read
How Can Japan Solve its Birthrate Problem?
Japan is shrinking. Although dutiful Japan Rail employees may still cram passengers into rush-hour trains from time to time, it’s all an ...
Tim Odagiri
Dec 15, 20224 min read
Is Japan Too Innocent?
Earlier this month, my wife and I decided to watch “Best Artist 2022,” a music special broadcast on Nippon TV (日テレ). It was presumably a...
Tim Odagiri
Dec 6, 20223 min read
Tonkatsu, Katana Swords, and the Roots of Japanese Culture
Consider the humble katana sword. If you are a fan of jidai geki historical dramas, you understand the kind of damage these weapons can i...
Tim Odagiri
Jun 16, 20223 min read
World History is Different in Japan
This past Sunday, I visited an English-language church in Tokyo. After the main service, they had an adult Sunday school class where the ...
Tim Odagiri
Mar 11, 20212 min read
Remembering the Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami
Ten years ago, on March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake off the northeast coast of Japan triggered a tsunami that devastated a large...
Tim Odagiri
Feb 3, 20217 min read
Senkaku: The Tiny Islands Japan and China Keep Fighting Over
When it comes to world affairs, even small things can cause significant conflicts. And “small things” is the perfect description for a re...
Tim Odagiri
Dec 4, 20203 min read
That Time When a Novelist Tried to Take Over Japan
On November 25, 1970, world-famous Japanese author, actor, and model Mishima Yukio (三島由紀夫) attempted a military coup d’état with the goal...
bottom of page