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 ...
Twisting white poles. Wooden tree sculptures. Metal cages. Giant insects. And yes, an elephant. This may not sound like the standard decor of a fashion shop, particularly in the upmarket Ginza district of Tokyo. But Dover Street Market, the concept store created by Comme ...
Last summer, a farmers market called Sukanagosso opened up in my village in western Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, and the timing could not have been better. A few months after the reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant, and with uncertainty and cesium ...
Once an activity for the nobility of the Imperial court in Japan, hanami (cherry-blossom viewing) became a popular tradition among the elite ruling class during the Heian Period (794-1185), and then later, with the encouragement of Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684-1751), among commoners. Today, Japanese people ...
To many Japanese, the name “Tsutaya” will bring to mind one very clear image: neon lights, blue-and-yellow signage, bestselling J-pop albums and late-night DVD rentals. So it may come as a surprise to some to learn that Japan’s biggest music, book and video outlet ...
Reeling off our names and nationalities between East Halls 1 and 2 of convention center Tokyo Big Sight, our group introduces itself: “I’m from Thailand,” “Vietnam, hi,” “We’re Taiwanese”, “Singapore”, “Korea”. Our leader, Joe Simonsen, is about to whisk us around Eco-Products 2011, a ...
Yes, the Christmas season is supposed to be about intangibles like gratitude, giving, and joyful time shared with family and friends. But one must eat, too. Foreigners in Japan who aren’t used to feasting on fast-food fried chicken and fancy cakes as key parts ...
Squeezed between the two central Tokyo hubs of Shinjuku and Harajuku, Yoyogi is rarely a destination for tourists — more of a two-minute halt that breaks up the journey to somewhere else. But this month, ecological troubadour Takeshi Kobayashi, producer of multi-million-selling rock-band Mr. ...
Reflecting on Okinawa’s natural pigmentations, one thinks instinctively of the red of its hibiscus, the pinks and mauves of bougainvillea, the green of ripening shikuwasa limes and fukugi trees. The strongest association, though, is blue. At greater depths, the sun-lit ocean surfaces turn to ...
Next time you have a chance to visit the Tokyo National Museum (TNM) in Tokyo’s Ueno district, before walking around that home to a vast and impressive collection of traditional Japanese paintings, sculptures and crafts, remember to make a quick stop in the room ...
If you are diagnosed with a chronic disease, the shocking news can often lead to confusion and depression. Just the thought of the illness indefinitely affecting various aspects of your life can be overwhelming. And yet at the same time, you’ll find there is ...
On May 21, Tokyo’s third annual TEDx event was held at Miraikan (the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation) in Odaiba. Though officially closed until June 11 due to the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake, Miraikan hosted 300 guests to this year’s event: TEDxTokyo ...
Four days after the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake on March 11, Japan Fashion Week, scheduled to take place March 18-25, was unceremoniously canceled with an announcement on its official website. It sent a small wave of panic through the industry as it became increasingly ...
