23
P/CLOUDY
The consumption tax increase next April will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people's financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the impact of the hike, experts say.
Every parent is all too familiar with The Tantrum. The screaming, the flailing arms, the angry head butting — and the timing (normally in the most inconvenient public place possible).
International events undermine Japan's democracy. Shame on the International Olympic Committee for being a party to it.
Tucked away behind the main museums in Ueno, the Tokyo University Art Museum may not be on most people’s radar, but it is definitely one of the city’s top museums in terms of curatorial quality. Whenever I go there, I am always delighted by ...
Francisco Liriano showed up at PNC Park on Tuesday afternoon in a suit with his suitcase packed for a trip St. Louis. The message reverberated through the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse. After 21 years away from the playoffs, it was time for the best story ...
On seeing the lineup ahead of this year’s Tokyo Jazz Festival, my initial feeling was the organizers had maybe cast their net a bit too wide with the acts booked, but those fears were completely unfounded. With the festival being held on three main ...
A few weeks ago I was preparing to do a guest slot on InterFM’s “The Selector” program, which features music mavens sharing their favorite tracks. While I had a few tunes from the not-so-recent past in mind, I needed some newer stuff to round ...
So is this your first trip to Japan? Bassist Nikolai Eilertsen: For me, yes, but the other guys in the band have been before with different outfits. You had a real Hammond B3 on stage. You didn’t ship that over, did you? No, no. ...
This is your first time at Tokyo Jazz Festival, but not your first visit to Japan. What’s your overall impression? Trumpeter Eric Vloeimans: The audience is really enthusiastic and they’re very polite, and you see that jazz music is very popular here. It seems ...
Tres-men are made up of percussionist Takahiro “Matzz” Matsuoka, DJ Yoshijiro Sakurai and keyboardist Yusuke Nakamura. Your debut album came out in April, and here we are, five months later at Tokyo Jazz Festival. How did that come about? TM: We got the offer ...
Recording their 12th and last studio album was nothing short of “torture” for The Beatles, said John Lennon in a tape-recorded interview coming up for auction this month. The Fab Four had just completed “Let It Be” in 1969, but had yet to break ...
Pianist Ai Kuwabara is waxing nostalgic at the offices of her record label, East Works Entertainment, in Tokyo’s Minato Ward. “I first went to Tokyo Jazz Festival at the International Forum when I was in the fifth or sixth grade of elementary school, and ...
This month marks the 20th anniversary of Tokyo rock ‘n’ roll act Zoobombs. It also marks their demise as the group has announced they will part ways at the end of September. Things went well for Zoobombs and their brand of jam-laden garage rock ...
Vocalist Kenta Koie looks at me square in the eye and says, “We want to be the biggest band in the world.” That band is Crossfaith, a metalcore band who will release its new album, “Apocalyze,” in Japan on Sept. 4. At a time ...
The song “The Sun is My Enemy,” released 20 years ago on Sept. 1, 1993, may have only reached No. 15 on the Japanese singles charts, but its importance lingers. This was the first single released by musician Keigo Oyamada under his nom de ...
Students are heading back to school, the fireworks displays are pretty much done and the gyaru (gals) are a lot more tanned. It’s too early to declare an end to summer yet, though. There are still plenty of music festivals and concerts in September ...
Okinawa is known for its climate, beaches and distinct culture, but its real hidden treasures are its female vocalists. Keiko Kinjo is one such treasure. It’s hard to stand out in such a crowded field, but she has been active for many years, performing ...