author

 
 

Meta

Mads Berthelsen
For Mads Berthelsen's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 16, 2012
People-watching on a ferry in the fog
Rust streaked down from the anchor hole in the ferry's bow. The only noticeable color in the harbor — a bright-red sun rising out of the gray water — was painted on the side of the white ship. There was no sound except the soft clanging of tools from the crew preparing to cast off.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 5, 2012
Danish Tiger to pounce on Japan's ¥100 market
Following the success in Japan of the Swedish home furnishings giant IKEA comes another popular Scandinavian home-ware store that hopes to profit from the nation's love of Nordic style. This July, the Danish low-price retail chain Tiger plans to pounce on the Japanese consumer market by opening its first store in Osaka. Tiger will offer a range of colorful and low-priced household products, but unlike IKEA, its competition is more specific — Japan's numerous, and popular, ¥100 stores.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
May 27, 2012
Nuke documentary experiments with online fundraising
At one point or another, every filmmaker, producer or journalist has dreamed about freeing themselves from the financial restraints of media production. The team behind "We Are All Radioactive" — a documentary about a community of surfers and fishermen in the small tsunami-stricken town of Motoyoshi in Miyagi Prefecture — have tried a new way to achieve that dream. Lisa Katayama, a journalist and the producer and director of "We Are All Radioactive," initially went to Motoyoshi with the idea of writing a feature article about the small community trying to get back on its feet, but she and her partners ended up taking a completely different approach in terms of storytelling and funding.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 25, 2012
Fest focuses on European film
In Manchester, England, a hallucinating suicidal postman receives philosophical advice from a football legend. Meanwhile, in Sweden, a 12-year-old boy falls in love with the spooky girl next door, only to find out she is a vampire. And then there's the struggling interracial couple in war-stricken Netherlands, the mythical goat in Bulgaria and the girl in Austria, who is speaking with God through her walkie-talkie. These unusual characters are all part of the EU Film Days festival, which kicks off Friday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
May 24, 2012
This Japanese Life
Scholars of Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher best known for his controversial statement "God is dead," have for years talked about a gaping hole in his works: Where are Nietzsche's writings about teaching English to Japanese high schoolers? What has he got to say about the paranoia of being judged in a supermarket? Eryk Salvaggio is trying to mend that hole with his blog This Japanese Life. The 33-year-old left his job as an online editor for a newspaper in Maine two years ago to teach English on the JET program in Japan. He ended up in a small suburb of Fukuoka, and here he writes about his experiences and development as an expat. The Japan Times spent an hour with him talking about the anxiety that comes from being an outsider, the thoughts of an Norwegian terrorist and, of course, Nietzsche.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
May 16, 2012
Tokyo Green Space
What do you see when you look at Tokyo? Hypermodern constructions of steel and concrete? Cubic, characterless office buildings? Jared Braiterman sees green ... in the back streets, in the small cracks of dirt on the sidewalks and on his balcony. He finds patches, slivers and swaths of nature that tourists and even long-time Tokyo residents seldom see. He shares his findings on Tokyo Green Space (tokyogreenspace.com/), a blog he started after moving to Tokyo with his Japanese common-law husband three and a half years ago.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 11, 2012
Global photo organization to open Tokyo chapter with 3/11 event
Originally started in San Francisco in 2008, the photography event organization Open Show has spread to Cairo, Paris and more than 30 other cities around the world. On May 15 it will hold its first event in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 11, 2012
Filmmaker says don't worry, be happy
"Wow, the weather turned bad quickly, huh?"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 4, 2012
Sintok festival brings Singapore's growing movie scene to Tokyo
How long does it take to develop a unique national culture? Perhaps the answer can be found in Singapore. The "Lion City" has been independent for just half a century and maybe, judging from the splash the country has made at international film festivals in the last couple of years, its film directors have found out just what makes the culture of Singapore special. From May 12 to 20, you can get a shot of Singaporean cinema at the Sintok Film Festival in Roppongi, Tokyo.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 4, 2012
Babies set to tear up the ring
While the grown-up sumo wrestlers prepare for the upcoming grand sumo tournament in Tokyo (starting May 6), a somewhat younger field of competitors will face off in Hiroshima. Dressed in colorful kimono, the contestants will compete in speed and stamina in the noble sport of crying.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 3, 2012
Kyte promise new songs, special treat for fans at upcoming gig
The music of indie-pop group Kyte may be created in a bedroom in Leicester, England, but the band says its spacious and electronic sound seems to resonate best with audiences in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 19, 2012
"Beat Takeshi Kitano, Gosse de peintre"
It's not often you get to step into someone else's imagination the way you can at "Gosse de peintre" (translated to either "Kid of Painting" or "Painter's Kid").
CULTURE / Art
Apr 19, 2012
"Beat Takeshi Kitano, Gosse de peintre"
It's not often you get to step into someone else's imagination the way you can at "Gosse de peintre" (translated to either "Kid of Painting" or "Painter's Kid").
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 19, 2012
"Masterpieces of Chinese Ceramic Art Exhibition"
Even though the quality of Hikonobu Ise's collection of Chinese ceramics has been highly acclaimed internationally, the majority of his acquisitions have never before been shown to the public.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 19, 2012
"Masterpieces of Chinese Ceramic Art Exhibition"
Even though the quality of Hikonobu Ise's collection of Chinese ceramics has been highly acclaimed internationally, the majority of his acquisitions have never before been shown to the public.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 12, 2012
Fluterscooter brings a new shine to the flute
Without knowing it, you may have already seen a concert featuring Andrea Fisher. The Juilliard School of Music graduate has performed with John Legend and Herbie Hancock, and has spent time in the studio with hip-hop mainstays such as 50 Cent and Wiz Khalifa.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Apr 12, 2012
Tokyo Times
When not working as a high school English teacher, photoblogger Lee Chapman walks the streets of Tokyo in search of stories and sights that tourists, and even long-term residents, seldom see. Chapman, a U.K. native, has been running the photoblog Tokyo Times for almost 10 years. While his posts do sometimes focus on the quirky elements of the city, a large number of them capture the more poignant sides of urban living, such as day laborers in Sanya or abandoned buildings that stand as eerie reminders of a not-so-distant past. In this interview with The Japan Times, Lee Chapman talks of the forgotten homeless, taking the risk of violating privacy and the sport of trespassing.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 6, 2012
Catch a glimpse of geisha at annual spring dance event in Kyoto
The way of the geisha is slowly disappearing, but there are still small pockets where you can find them around Japan. The biggest one of these areas is the Kyoto neighborhood of Gion. All through April, Gion will host the Miyako Odori — the spring dance of the geisha.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 29, 2012
Lenny Kravitz
When Barack Obama campaigned for the presidency of the United States in 2008, the topic of race often came up in discussions about him. Obama was born to a black father and a white mother, and questions such as "Is America ready for a black president" and "Is Obama black enough" seemed to follow him on the campaign trail.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 23, 2012
African artists join culture fest
Thanks to the Internet, African musicians have been getting a growing amount of attention from outside their own borders. Blogs such as Awesome Tapes from Africa have been working to get artists known overseas, while some bands, such as Pasichigare Mbiras, continue to rely on cultural organizations for help.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world