President Barack Obama, now facing the consequences of automatic spending cuts and the complications they raise for his broader domestic agenda, is taking the most specific steps of his administration in an attempt to ensure the election of a Democratic-controlled Congress in two years. ...
It’s a dangerous, unpredictable world. Twice in January Chugoku no gunkan (中国の軍艦, Chinese warships) in the Higashi Shina Kai (東シナ海, East China Sea) challenged Japan’s Kaijo Jieitai (海上自衛隊, Maritime Self Defense Forces, MSDF) patrols in a manner deemed kyōiteki (脅威的, threatening). And on Feb. ...
Here's an open secret: Japanese men have a bad international reputation on the romance front.
SELLING WOMEN: Prostitution, Markets and the Household in Early Modern Japan, by Amy Stanley. University of California Press, 2012, 282 pp., $49.95 (hardcover) In the vast cultural landscape, Japan fascinates the mainstream with manga and anime, the martial arts, Zen and kimono. Of course, ...
Highlighting the top nine finishers from the J. League last season in the second part of this two-day preview.
Brian Ashcraft is a senior contributing editor at Kotaku and has been writing about video games for The Japan Times since 2007. He is also the author of two books, “Arcade Mania!” and “Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential.” A graduate of Cornell University, Ashcraft has called Osaka home for over a decade.
For Brian Ashcraft's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
There is an option for budding game-developers, however — a less expensive one that allows for more freedom and, if they’re lucky, more exposure than they could ever imagine.
Late last month, Nintendo issued a press release, regarding its smash hit “Animal Crossing: New Leaf.” The game, a simulator in which cute characters do things like collect items and decorate their houses, hit No. 1 on the game charts thanks to its dedicated ...
This is a tale of controllers: the Wii U GamePad and the Wii U Pro Controller. For years, Nintendo gamers have wanted a hardcore game controller like those that come with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PS3 consoles — instead they have the Wii ...
Call it a twist of fate or delicious irony, but game designer Keiji Inafune, a harbinger of the Japanese gaming industry’s death, returned to Tokyo Game Show this year with one of the biggest games (as well as the biggest surprise) of the show. ...
Each year, the crowds at the Tokyo Game Show (TGS) get bigger and bigger. This year, there were 223,753 attendees over the four days (two press days and two public days), which is the largest turnout ever. Traditional video games for handheld and home ...
It’s hot. Though this summer, Japanese gamers have been piling into arcades across the country not only to take refuge from the heat, but to also check out one of the most interesting games released this year — and it may surprise you to ...
For many gamers, “Dragon Quest” is shorthand for Japanese role-playing games. The series is iconic. It’s loved by players young and old. No wonder then that the latest entry, “Dragon Quest X,” is easily this year’s most anticipated title in Japan. Released this week, ...
The United States was easy. Europe was slightly harder. But Japan has always seemed nearly impenetrable for Microsoft’s Xbox gaming platform. The U.S offered the Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft a home field advantage and it was able to use popular sci-fi shooting game “Halo” and ...
This week, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) roars through Los Angeles. Game companies from North America, Europe and Japan flock to the Convention Center downtown to show off their latest wares. E3 is the world’s leading video-game show, populated with multimillion-dollar games, big-name game ...
When most people in the know look at Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong, they picture them in action in the video games that made them famous. But not Jed Henry. Instead, the 28 year-old American artist imagines how these game characters would have looked ...
