It is hard for me to separate my discovery of the beauty and depth of Japanese literature and culture fro...

I went back to Kumamoto in early April to meet Governor Kabashima and Mayor Onishi, and to talk with peop...

It is not often that one can point to a single decision that seemed quite ordinary at the time but was tr...

At about five-thirty in the morning on January 17, 1995, I woke up in the dark for some reason and got ou...

There are so many touchstones of U.S.–Japan friendship throughout our common history, but I was especiall...

I love bonsai. They are such a quintessentially traditional art that was introduced to Japan from China a...

When I graduated from high school, I decided to buy a Greyhound bus pass and spend the summer before I st...

I spent a day this month in Tsukuba Science City to see the cutting edge research and development being d...

It was so much fun interviewing Dr. Agnes Chan about international education! She has had such a glorious...

I am fascinated by the latest NHK Morning Drama, “Toto-ne-chan.” I am especially intrigued by the saga of...

It had been wet and overcast all autumn, but this particular day a low-pressure front had swept over the ...

Learning a language always starts at zero. I remember starting Ukrainian language lessons before going to...

I was honored to be at the ceremony at the Memorial Peace Park for President Obama's historic visit to Hi...

I came to Shibamata to pay homage to that great character in Japanese cinema – Tora-san – and wander arou...

It is a long-established ritual for the American family to go on a road trip with their high school senio...

“Bikkuripon!” I tried this expression out during a dinner with my Japanese counterparts to see how far an...