About JAPAN NOW

Textbooks teach you how to order coffee. We teach you what Japan is laughing about, arguing about and eating this week — and the Japanese words behind it.

How every story works

Each story explains a trend in clear English, then gives you the key words (with furigana, romaji and audio), real phrases people use, a culture note and a quick quiz. Stories are tagged by JLPT level so you can find ones that match you.

Editorial policy

• Facts are checked against at least two published sources, which are listed at the end of each story.
• Social media posts appear only through the platforms’ official embed features. We do not copy posts or images.
• We cover crime and accidents only when widely reported, never name private individuals, and never treat tragedy as entertainment.
• Our drafts are prepared with the help of AI and reviewed against our editorial checklist. If you spot an error, tell us and we will fix it.

Contact

hello@japan-now (address coming soon)