Resources for Teaching Japanese Current Events

Compiled August 2002

Japanese Newspapers (English language)

The Asahi Shimbun
http://www.asahi.com/english/english.html

The Daily Yomiuri
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/index-e.htm

The Japan Times
http://www.japantimes.com
One of Japan's exclusively English language dailies.

The Mainichi Daily News
http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/
The Mainichi Daily News' section titled "Wai Wai" provides headlines from Japan's weekly tabloids, which are similar to their American counterparts in some ways and often include inappropriate material for students.

Japanese News Web Sites (English language)

Japan Today
http://www.japantoday.com
This site provides the opportunity for readers to comment on posted articles. The comments are unmoderated (though you do have to be a registered user of Japan Today) and are often inappropriate for students.

Trends in Japan (JIN)
http://web-japan.org/trends/index.html
"Short, engaging dispatches on the latest trends in Japanese business, science, sports, fashion, arts, and more."

News Roundups: Japan and Asia

News on Japan
http://www.newsonjapan.com/
This site offers a daily round-up of headlines about Japan from major media sources with links to the full-text of each article. Articles are from Reuters, the AP, CNN, The Japan Times, Mainichi Daily News, The Daily Yomiuri, The Asahi Shimbun, BBC, and many other sources.

AsiaToday - AsiaSource
http://www.asiasource.org/news/at_mp_01.cfm
A comprehensive new web resource from the Asia Society, features news updates, Special Reports on pressing topics of the day, country profiles, and much more.

U.S. News on Japan/Asia

CNN.com Asia
http://asia.cnn.com/

Asia Times: Japan
http://www.atimes.com/japan-econ/japan-econ.html

New York Times: Asia Pacific
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/asia/index.html

Journals from Asia (English language)

News/Academic
Far Eastern Economic Review
http://www.feer.com/index.html

Japan in the World
http://www.iwanami.co.jp/jpworld/top.html

Japan Echo
http://www.japanecho.co.jp/
Japan Echo translates and adapts the most important articles from Japanese news sources and journals into English.

Informative

IPPONIA (JIN)
http://web-jpn.org/nipponia/index.html
"NIPPONIA is a quarterly magazine introducing contemporary Japanese culture and society to people all over the world."

Japan Access (JIN)
http://web-japan.org/factsheet/index.html
"A detailed factsheet on Japan's economy, society, and culture."

Web Japan: Statistics
http://web-jpn.org/stat/index.html
Updated monthly to deliver the most up-to-date statistics on all aspects of Japan in English.

Teaching Resources (not specifically related to Japan)

CNN Student News
http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/fyi/index.html
News for students, resources for teachers.

The New York Times Learning Network http://www.nytimes.com/learning/
Past lessons on Japan have included: Bringing up Baby: Exploring Government Attempts to Influence Childbirth Rates; Japan's Textbook Case: Exploring How Perspective Impacts the Telling of History; and Prisoner in One's Own Home: An Examination of the Internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.