It is a scientifically proven fact that regular exercise improves your immune system, stimulates the formation of new brain cells, reduces the likelihood of depression, conditions your heart and circulatory system, and endows you with general strength and stamina. Recently scientific journals have even discussed the possibility that regular exercise may slow down the progression of aging and prevalence to cancer, by altering levels of certain hormones, including sex hormones, and growth factors which can feed tumors and infections.

I typically work around 60-70 hours a week, but there have been occasions where a deadline has loomed and I’ve had to pull more than 100 hours (yes, that means having worked every day). Now, quite apart from whether or not this is good for one’s mental health and social life, there are nonetheless times when we need to rise to the challenge and perform. These times call for high energy, and it helps if you’re getting that energy from healthy sources rather than candies and nicotine drinks.

There are not many people who live in Tokyo for the purpose of relaxation, and therefore staying at the top of our game in our busy lives, whether at work or play, is very important. By staying healthy you can get a lot more done and therefore, quite literally outpace the competition. Put another way, staying healthy gives you measurable financial benefits, because while your counterparts are off sick, you’re busy forging ahead in peak shape.

Something that many of us as foreign parents in Japan are surprised at is the amount of candy Japanese mothers feed their kids - especially in public, such as on the trains and in supermarkets. It seems that the need to keep the kids orderly and quiet supersedes any health concerns and so at the first whine from the stroller, out comes the candy. We can only assume that what goes on in public is probably continued to some degree at home and so you have to wonder if this is setting an extremely negative diet pattern for these kids later on in life.

The Japanese take their work seriously, and thus most jobs available are “full on”. This means that your working hours and your stress levels are likely to be high, and of course this takes a toll on your body in general and your eyes in particular. Some of the most common eye conditions that you can come down with are also the most embarrassing, namely styes and conjunctivitis (“pink eye”).

There have been three key things that document the passage of time that I thought I’d share with you on: failing eyesight, dental work, and staying fit. The chances are that you are not 50 yet, since most of us come to Japan when we’re young and footloose, so I’ll try to keep things generic.

For many people in the IT sector, life is a flurry of activity from morning to evening. There is an acknowledged shortage of IT engineers in Japan, and an even bigger shortage of bilingual ones. So it’s not that unusual for bilingual IT people in Japan to have to work long hours and get few holidays. Today’s reader letter is from just such an engineer.

Apart from money, the main reason people join a company is because of an emotional resonance they feel after reading or hearing about some particular aspect of that company which indicates that it would be a good place to work. This aspect of recruiting is very important, because it causes good candidates to choose companies that otherwise aren’t sufficiently mainstream or famous enough to normally attract them.

Maybe it’s that time of year, or perhaps the worsening financial situation overseas, but recently I have been getting a lot of email from foreign spouses (typically men) whose Japanese partner wants to move back to Japan. The reasons for moving are many, but several frequent ones are for the kids to get to know their Japanese grandparents, and to look after the spouse’s aging parents.

The role of a bilingual assistant is probably one of the most challenging, and yet rewarding, positions that someone seeking a quick path to more experience can have. In effect, it is the ultimate form of apprenticeship in that you get to work side-by-side on a daily basis with an expert in the field. Over time, you become knowledgeable and trusted, taking on greater responsibilities. In other words, being a bilingual assistant is a great training role.