Social Media Posts – Japanoscope

Is There Anyone In Japan That Actually Wants The Olympics?

Culture, Graded Japanese Reading & Listening Practice, JLPT2

https://youtu.be/JQAGixo7ibwVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Is There Actually Anyone In Japan That Wants The Olympics To Happen? 日本には五輪をやってほしい人っているの？ (https://youtu.be/JQAGixo7ibw) I spent some time trawling and translating Tweets from Japan to see if I could find anyone who was pro the Tokyo Olympics. I didn’t find any. Here we read through the tweets …

Is There Anyone In Japan That Actually Wants The Olympics? Read More »

Naomi Osaka Japanese Tweets

Graded Japanese Reading & Listening Practice, JLPT1

https://youtu.be/uFVLWHbCOmkVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Translating Japanese Tweets About Naomi Osaka 大坂なおみ選手についての日本語ツイートを英語に訳す (https://youtu.be/uFVLWHbCOmk) Translating Japanese Tweets About Naomi Osaka 大坂なおみ選手についての日本語ツイートを英語に訳す Today I’m going to read through and translate some of the Japanese Twitter commentary about Naomi Osaka pulling out of the French Open. This caused a stir when it was reported …

Naomi Osaka Japanese Tweets Read More »

Hana Kimura, Her Mother’s Petition and The Rigging of Terrace House

Culture, Graded Japanese Reading & Listening Practice, JLPT1, JLPT2, Level 11

we translate an article from the Shukan Bunshun that outlines how Hana Kimura’s mother, Kyoko Kimura, is petitioning Japan’s broadcasting watchdog to examine how the show Terrace House was set up in a way that ultimately led to Hana’s demise.

Along with the text, we read the article in Japanese, then in English, then sentence by sentence in both languages.

Black Lives Matter In Japan – A Look At The Language

Culture, Graded Japanese Reading & Listening Practice, JLPT1, JLPT2, Language, Level 10, Level 7, Race, Street Culture

How have people been talking about Black Lives Matter in Japan? We translate language from various discussions on social media and other areas from Japanese into English, with a special focus on the amazing, brave work of Cocoa Lizzy and other Black Japanese commentators.

What does it mean to be “Ugly” In Japan

Culture, Gender, Graded Japanese Reading & Listening Practice, JLPT2, Language, Level 9, Text Translations

What does it mean to be “busu” 「ブス」or “minikui” in Japan?

In a world that worships at the altar of kawaii 「可愛い」, at saucer sized eyes and at double skinned eyelids. What is it like to feel like you don’t live up? And how can you live a life so that it doesn’t overwhelm you.

Twitter writer and Youtuber “Todoron” painfully, graphically and courageously lays bear her experiences of this situation for all to see on Twitter, and later Youtube. Her first tweet was a single Hiragana character. Her third tweet got 150,000 likes and 30,000 retweets.

She seems to having something that resonates with contemporary online Japanese society. She mixes simple-truth observations of the state of the world, and her own inner state. Topics she tackles include her history of cosmetic surgery, concepts of beauty and mental health.

Today I want to have a look at the language she uses around the issues.

Japanoscope Translations Podcast #2: Being An Artist In Covid-19 Japan – Getting Back To Nature With Live Painter Kohei Kondo

Art, Graded Japanese Reading & Listening Practice, Language, Level 5

Article in Japanese and English about Live Painting artist Kohei Kondo and his experience of Covid-19 in Japan.