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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, resolved to end nearly two decades of deflation and revive the economy, explains his economic and fiscal policies to his fellow G-8 chiefs, turning "Abenomics" into an international commitment in the process.
About 45 minutes from Tokyo’s skyscrapers, resting in the hinterlands of Tachikawa there is a land of mist and dragons. It’s a place where rolling hills tumble toward an Aztec pyramid, and children bounce on clouds. The place is called Showa Kinen Koen, and ...
Edward Snowden, the fugitive former CIA employee and NSA contractor who leaked secrets about America’s spying operations, often hung out online with foreigners in Japan who shared his interests in anime, video games, martial arts, the stock market and the expat lifestyle. Snowden, who ...
Across the colorful show floor at last week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, there were games on display where players could become all manner of things, like a throat-slashing 18th-century pirate, zombie killer, a guardian of the last city on Earth, music-making sorcerer, ruthless Roman general, ...
Manu Ginobili ran onto the floor as fans stood and screamed. He went to the bench, and they chanted his name. The sights and sounds of so many San Antonio spring nights were back Sunday — and the real party might be just a ...
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 ...
Opening ceremony for Kenzo Kenzo is one of Japan’s most long-standing fashion houses, so it is understandable that it has undergone quite a few changes in its 41-year history — especially since Kenzo Takada himself retired in 1999. This year it is embracing another ...
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 ...
Cavalli makes first trip to Japan When it comes to animal prints, skins and other wild bona-fide “Italian” fashion, Roberto Cavalli is the master. On Nov. 1, Cavalli made his first visit to Japan to celebrate the opening of his new flagship boutique in ...
If ever proof was needed of the efficacy of Tokyo Designers Week, the annual designers’ trade show currently under way at Tokyo’s Meiji Jingu Gaien park, then it is apparent at booth D14, where designer Atsuhiro Hayashi is showing his wares. In 2009, just ...
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 — ...
Tokyo’s MBFW festivities It’s mid-Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Tokyo (MBFW Tokyo) and there’s still an array of snazzy events to carry you through to the end while keeping you fashionable. So roll up your best, pressed sleeves and read on. The first event you ...
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 ...
Is our food really safe? Six months into the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No.1 power plant, this is a question many consumers have been asking — particularly those in eastern Japan who get most of their daily foods from Tohoku, the nation’s agricultural ...
MISHA JANETTE and PAUL McINNES ‘Irving Penn and Issey Miyake’ For 13 years, celebrated fashion photographer Irving Penn took inspiring images of every Issey Miyake collection, without the designer himself ever stepping foot into the studio to guide him. The late Penn was one ...
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 ...