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 ...
TRE chic and very sturdy We’ve long been fans of Keiji Ashizawa, both as a product designer and architect, and we are particularly taken by his TRE sofa side-table for Duende. On the compact side (42 x 42 x 47.5 cm), it has an ...
Note pads that snap into action We revisit Postalco for yet another piece of stationery we’ve fallen in love with. This time it’s the brand’s new environmentally friendly Snap Pad. This clipboard-like folder allows you to make a note pad by recycling the reverse ...
Good design in focus Nendo’s design-conscious goods for Elecom were featured earlier this year, and it’s keeping up the good work with its latest batch of digital accessories to spruce up your desktop. First up is the Kandenshi, a PC mouse that looks like ...
Spread a little light Idea International’s new multipurpose LED interior lamp shows that just a little light goes a long way. The Hotaru, which means “firefly,” is a portable lamp that gives off soft, natural lighting. It’s also wireless and rechargable via USB, with ...
Back to basics Ki no Kami paper — the result of a collaboration between the Shiodome Innovation Studio (a creative unit that teams Japan’s leading advertising agency, Dentsu, and Keio University’s Shonan Fujisawa Campus with various creators) and the PaPaCo Yoshino wooden-toy maker — ...
Ice-cool statements Here’s a fun example of the power of design: Turning something as simple as ice cubes into a political/environmental statement. Monos’ Polar Ice are two cups that act like ice-trays to produce blocks of ice in the shape of a polar bear ...
Milestones for cyclists There’s a bicycle craze currently sweeping the nation — or so the media would have you believe — and in the midst of it, we’re starting to see designers pay particular attention to cycling accessories. Design trio Mile has introduced a ...
The hair dryer stylist Since its launch, the Plus Minus Zero brand, well-known for its series of minimalist electric fans, has been expanding its lineup, adding new items in new product categories. The Hair Dryer is an extra notch on its belt for its ...
Ready for the summer buzz There’s one summer discomfort that has yet to kick in: the dreaded mosquito attacks. To help us win the battle over insects, household goods brand Vitantonio has teamed up with Kincho, an insect-repellent manufacturer, to create the Mosquito Buster. ...
Nendo taps into nature’s secrets Since the start of this column more than five years ago, we’ve been strong supporters of Oki Sato — better known as Nendo — and have closely followed his development as a creator into the design superstar he is ...
