AP A car bomb exploded outside a mosque Sunday, killing at least 37 people and wounding another 141 in a mostly Shiite Muslim neighborhood in the southern Pakistan city of Karachi — the third mass-casualty attack on the minority sect in the country this ...
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 ...
Dear rockers, music festivals in the summer are not the only major events of the year. There’s unfortunately — or fortunately — no time to waste sitting at home next to the heater. Seek out the warmth of a mosh pit instead, because a ...
Two up-and-coming electronic musicians, Matthewdavid and Anenon, are in Japan to support the local branch of Los Angeles-based, nonprofit Internet radio station Dublab and they’ll tour five cities with some of this country’s next big dance acts. Having released the album “Outmind” via the ...
Who guitarist and composer Pete Townshend originally wanted to call his memoir, “Pete Townshend: Who He?” His publisher, HarperCollins, settled on the less cheeky, more digestible, “Who I Am” — though a better title might be: “Who I Was.” Townshend has long been rock ...
A crowd much smaller than solo-guitarist Miyavi is accustomed to has gathered to hear an intimate set at the 2.5D studio in Shibuya’s Parco Part 1 building. About a third of the 80 or so people have gathered around the stage so close that ...
When an internationally-acclaimed Polish violinist performed at a Japanese music festival in early November, the instrument played was not a Stradivarius or other prized violin. It was assembled from driftwood. After his performance at the Ikoma International Music Festival in Nara Prefecture, violinist Nicolas ...
Much has been made in the media over the problem of Japan’s aging population and shrinking workforce. But there is another demographic time bomb, at the heart of Japan’s most militantly youthful sector of society, just waiting to explode. I’m talking, of course, about ...
Among the many billboards looming over Shibuya Station crossing, one of the busiest and most famous intersections in Tokyo, is one for Tower Records that features musician Shugo Tokumaru. The picture looks slightly awkward. The artist sits on a spiral staircase and clutches a ...
Turning 80 this year hasn’t interrupted Isao Tomita in his search for new musical possibilities. Known to many as the father of Japanese electronic music, the artist is about to turn his latest dream into a (virtual) reality, by collaborating with computer-generated diva Hatsune ...
The Red Bull Music Academy studios in South London are the venue for my interview with Ross Birchard (26) and Lunice Fermin Pierre II (24) — better known as Hudson Mohawke and Lunice — about their new project TNGHT. As graduates of the classes ...
DJ Ken-ske (real name Kensuke Sato) is a DJ’s DJ — he eschews celebrity club culture in favor of a purists’ approach to the medium, which allows him to play more than 100 gigs a year. Although primarily mixing hip-hop in a B-boy style, ...
Karaoke venues across the country are reaching out to customers beyond those who love belting out a tune in a bid to bolster their bottom lines amid a tough business environment. With the waning popularity of karaoke, arguably the king of entertainment in Japan ...
The boys of Ulala Session originally came together because of their love of dance. As young men, however, they are now regarded for their music, live performances and backstory. After winning South Korean TV talent show “Super Star K3″ last year, the group comprising ...
