Swet Columns

March 24, 2019

2018 SWET Financial Report

The SWET treasurer has submitted a (PDF) financial report of Tokyo and Kansai activities for 2018.

February 19, 2019

Japan is particularly prone to disasters, and 2018 was no exception, to the point that 災 was chosen as the kanji of the year. The country tackles this perennial problem with 防災 practices aimed at reducing the harm that disasters cause. While the English-speaking world also has such measures, there is a range of terms that may be... more

December 29, 2018

Word Wise: Population Phrases

By Richard Medhurst

Japan’s declining birth rate and aging population affect its society in countless ways. The country is considering such issues as how to maintain enough workers to support its industries and social security expenses, while many of its smaller communities face potential extinction. Typically the changes Japan is going through are summed up in the phrase 少子高齢化, which may... more

December 7, 2018

The History of SWET

The late 1970s were years of growth and ferment in English-language book and periodical publishing in Japan. Book publishers Charles E. Tuttle, Inc., John Weatherhill, Kodansha International, and the University of Tokyo Press released dozens of new volumes in English annually. Japan Echo, the Japan Interpreter, and Japan Quarterly published high-quality Japanese journalism and writing in English translation. Four daily... more

December 2, 2018

SWET Kansai Event Report: Juliet Winters Carpenter—Reflections on the Translation of Ryōma!

By Susan E. Jones

In October, 17 SWET members and interested others eagerly gathered at Doshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts in Kyoto to hear illustrious translator Juliet Winters Carpenter talk about her latest work, a joint translation project with two other translators of Ryōma! The Life of Sakamoto Ryōma: Japanese Swordsman and Visionary by historical novelist Shiba Ryōtarō. The Japanese... more