“Business is war without bullets”, they say. This is especially true in Japan. In this ancient country, the deep-rooted nature of its culture may oftentimes be alienating. Especially for those who are not familiar with Japanese values and traditions. But, what are the particularities of Japanese culture in business contexts? On the surface, Japan may(…)

Japan is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Asia for a number of reasons. Boasting centuries-old architecture, amazing cuisine, and enchanting cherry blossoms that seem to have popped out of a fairy tale book, this fascinating country holds surprises for the whole family. However, if you want to have a truly immersive experience(…)

Every year, hundreds of young people travel to countries as distant as Canada, Denmark and Japan for an open-ended trip known as a working holiday. These ‘work and travel’ experiences, which are just starting to catch on in the UK, allow students to visit a country for longer than the average tourist while they gain(…)

A Spanish man who travels to Portugal, though he might be a bit anxious about communicating in a new language at first, will surely find that there are more similarities between Spanish and Portuguese than he might have expected. This is because, as a result of geographical proximity and a history of close contact between(…)

Japanese is notorious for being a difficult language to learn, especially for English speakers. While some aspects of Japanese, such as its writing system, are admittedly challenging, there are plenty of other features of the language that are surprisingly simple! In fact, in many ways, Japanese is less grammatically complex than English. Here are some(…)

Due to Japan’s influence in international business and culture, there are plenty of native English speakers who have learned to speak Japanese with proficiency. If you ask them if their journey to fluency was easy, however, they’ll likely respond with a resounding “no”. Indeed, for a variety of reasons, Japanese is challenging for English speakers.(…)