Transport authorities launched a full-fledged investigation Sunday into the derailment of a bullet train on the Akita Shinkansen Line in Daisen, Akita Prefecture, on Saturday afternoon.
It's a dangerous, unpredictable world. Twice in January Chinese warships in the East China Sea challenged Japan's Maritime Self Defense Forces patrols in a manner deemed threatening. And on Feb. 12 came North Korea's nuclear test.
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, ...
Kenta Maeda shook off worries about his form with five shutout innings as Japan beat China 5-2 in first-round Pool A of the World Baseball Classic on Sunday at Fukuoka Dome. Japan improved to 2-0 following a tough win over Brazil in Saturday evening’s ...
For more than a decade, Nintendo ruled handheld gaming. Challengers, such as the Atari Lynx and the Sega Game Gear appeared, but Nintendo batted them away one by one. Only Sony and its PlayStation Portable could withstand the Nintendo onslaught. And Sony isn’t going ...
Last year was a rough one for Japan. China overtook the country as the world’s second largest economy, yet another prime minister upped and resigned and the economy was stagnate as ever. Things weren’t much better for the game industry. Year after year, the ...
During the launch of Micosoft’s new controller-free motion peripheral, Kinect, on Nov. 20 in Akihabara, Tokyo, a pair of schoolgirl idols stood smiling before a line of about 150 eager gamers — the guy at the head of the line had camped out for ...
At a press conference last month, Fukuoka-based game studio Level-5 dropped an unexpected bombshell. Its upcoming “Professor Layton” puzzle game would have a very different feature from its previous games: the appearance of Capcom’s lawyer sleuth, Phoenix Wright. Fans of the series were reeling. ...
Nintendo has dubbed its new portable device the Nintendo 3DS, which is a nod to its 3-D capabilities. Unlike 3-D offerings from rival Sony, Nintendo’s hand-held does not require 3-D glasses, as the screen itself can reproduce the 3-D effect for users. It’s a ...
Gentlemen (and ladies, too), start your engines. Racing simulator “Gran Turismo 5,” has been given a release date. It will be roaring into Japanese retailers come Nov. 3 — a day behind its North American release date of Nov. 2. The game was first ...
The theme for the 2009 Tokyo Game Show is “Game, it’s so energetic!” Ironic, as the energy for this year’s show was less palpable than for previous ones. Organized by Japan’s Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association, Tokyo Game Show is the premier domestic industry event, ...
Actress Kristen Kreuk is upfront about not being a gamer. “I’ve only played ‘Street Fighter’ once,” she tells The Japan Times while visiting Tokyo to promote the movie “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.” “Growing up, I did watch my friends play it.” Chun-Li ...
Video games aren’t just for playing. More and more, they’re Hollywood’s attempt to lure folks off their sofas and into movie theaters. The box-office success of movie versions of controversial fighting game “Mortal Kombat” (1995), treasure- hunting adventure “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” (2001) and ...
The biggest announcement at the four-day Tokyo Game Show 2008 (Oct. 9-12) at Makuhari Messe convetion center in Chiba Prefecture was not for a Japanese title and not by a Japanese company. On the first of the two press days, Microsoft exec John Schappert ...
