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 ...
As part of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo, Dr. Joyce F. Brown, president of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City, and Dr. Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of The Museum at FIT — and curator of the groundbreaking “Japan Fashion ...
Never before has the creative schism at the heart of Japanese menswear been more evident than during the recent Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo. The official opening of the week may have been marked by the futuristically utopian Mercedes-Benz Presents show from Yuima Nakazato, whose ...
What exactly is Tokyo fashion? Is it a pastiche of color and gobs of shapes so outrageous it’s like we’re being punked? Or is it the modern, conservative look that is an actual mainstay on the streets? That was the million-dollar question again at ...
Since 1983, Karl Lagerfeld has steered Parisian brand Chanel as the world’s reigning barometer of chic. Now he’s about to bring a little bit of that haute charm to Tokyo with a series of events beginning on March 21. First up is an exhibition ...
TRE chic and very sturdy We’ve long been fans of Keiji Ashizawa, both as a product designer and architect, and we are particularly taken by his TRE sofa side-table for Duende. On the compact side (42 x 42 x 47.5 cm), it has an ...
The Medusa is back In 2009, Italian fashion house Versace closed its four Japan stores and left the Japanese market, citing a need for the luxury brand to reinvent its image and restrategize its business operations. Now, its famous Medusa logo is making an ...
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 ...
