What We Do
The Nippon Communications Foundation’s primary purpose is the creation of Nippon.com, our website presenting a complete picture of Japan to a global readership. We publish in Japanese, along with the six official languages of the United Nations—English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, and Chinese (both simplified and traditional characters).
Nippon.com features diverse content, including in-depth looks at political, economic, social, and other facets of the country written by top experts in their fields, interviews with the movers and makers who shape Japan today, our own original takes on all things Japanese, and photo and video features that take you there. Native speakers of each of our languages with deep knowledge of Japan and its language work alongside Japanese writers and editors to produce accurate, reliable articles on the country.
Through Nippon.com, our goal is to share Japan with the world. By bringing you Japanese society, culture, and more in your own language, we aim to inform, entertain, and spark global conversations about the issues the world faces and what Japan has to offer in facing them.
Editorial Policy
The content published on Nippon.com is decided by the Nippon Communications Foundation editorial staff, with guidance and input from an editorial planning committee consisting of prominent intellectuals and journalists. Additional content and thematic direction is provided by external writers and translators who work with us on the website.
In planning, producing, and editing content for Nippon.com, we seek:
• To present accurate, fair information to our readers
• To maintain an independent stance, giving ourselves full freedom in and responsibility for producing our website
• To respect the human rights, dignity, and privacy of the people we cover
• To avoid giving favor to particular individuals or organizations
• To share information on Japan with a global readership in multiple languages, thereby contributing to mutual understanding worldwide
Editorial Planning
Committee
Committee chair
Takenaka Harukata, professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies
Committee members
Hosoya Yuichi, professor, Keiō University
Kambayashi Ryō, professor, Musashi University
Kawashima Shin, professor, University of Tokyo
Masuzawa Sadamasa (Rick Masuzawa), chief zukai officer, Zukai Inc.
Tsuchiya Hideo, former deputy chief editorial writer, Nikkei
Translation Policy
Most of our content is originally produced in Japanese and translated into the other languages. While we try to share as much as possible with all of our readers, unfortunately we cannot produce translations of everything in all languages. You can use the links at the top of each piece to jump to the versions available in other tongues.
Our translated articles are faithful to the information and intent of the original texts, but they are not exact, one-for-one translations. We give our translators and editors a flexible hand in adding information that would benefit readers outside Japan and in removing or shortening passages that may not be so helpful to a non-Japanese audience.
Japanese names and terms are written according to a slightly modified Hepburn romanization scheme; we use macrons to indicate long vowels, with the exception of certain globally known geographic and corporate names. Japanese personal names are given in their original order, surname first, and follow the same Hepburn system unless the individual named prefers a different spelling.