Richard Smart - The Japan Times

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Richard Smart

For Richard Smart's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

Jun 15, 2010

A light of hope for abused children

In the dock, Katsuyuki Okuno cut a strange figure as he listened baby-faced, chubby, graying, frightened and seemingly unable to understand what he had done.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

May 25, 2010

Looking East as British system goes south

In the months preceding the Lower House election last year, an ambitious Ichiro Ozawa, destined to become Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) secretary general, headed to Britain to study the "Westminster system." His aim was to bring Japan's politics closer to that of Britain, to weaken the power of the bureaucrats and strengthen the position of politicians, particularly those in the DPJ, which looked increasingly likely to wrest power from the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the August poll.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Apr 23, 2010

Stratos Hermes Konstantinos Kyriakopoulos, better (and more easily) known as Polaroidfades, arrived in Japan in 2006 to a very different nightlife scene than exists today. Back then, vinyl was still popular, and his DJ equipment, Ableton Live, set him apart.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Apr 20, 2010

Who would you like to see start a new political party?

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Apr 9, 2010

Up from the underground: Womb turns 10

Since opening its doors in April 2000 with a live set from New York house legend Junior Vasquez, Tokyo's club Womb has been credited with doing more than other local venues to bring dance-music culture into the mainstream.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Mar 2, 2010

What will you remember about the Vancouver Olympics?

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Feb 19, 2010

On Saturday June 21, 2008, a tearful Francois K was joined behind the turntables by Laurent Garnier, Theo Parrish and Danny Krivit for a final set at Club Yellow that went on into the late hours of Sunday. The formidable lineup of DJs and sell-out crowd were there for one reason, to say goodbye to a club that had dominated Tokyo's dance-music scene for more than 15 years.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Feb 9, 2010

What do you make of yokozuna Asashoryu's shock announcement that he will retire?

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Feb 5, 2010

Brodinski brings French beats to dancefloors

With a big boost from Daft Punk, French producers have shifted the focus of dance music away from house and toward electro, and young DJ Brodinski could surpass his peers in commanding the evolving French scene.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Jan 26, 2010

Should Democratic Party of Japan kingpin Ichiro Ozawa stay or go?

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jan 15, 2010

Dexpistols and Diplo

Over the last few years a new genre has come to dominate dance floors across the globe that combines house music and electro with mash-ups and hip-hop, and on Dec. 22 a global ambassador for the sound, Diplo, will join local DJ duo Dexpistols at Womb. Promoting the party are Dexpistols, who will be celebrating the release of "Lesson.06 'Roctrax Jam.' " The two-CD album will feature music produced by Roc Trax artists, including Dexpistols, and a mix by the duo. Undoubtedly, the Japanese act are heading for bigger things having already supported acts such as Daft Punk, and their move into production will likely see their records appearing in sets by DJs the world over.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Jan 12, 2010

What's the funniest thing on Japanese TV?

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Dec 25, 2009

The decade's most influential

Last week, The Japan Times picked Hikaru Utada as the most influential artist of the past decade. This week, our writers ask various figures in Japan's music scene who they thought were the most influential artists of the noughties. We asked them to choose one Japanese artist and one non-Japanese artist, a task that proved to be difficult for some. Meanwhile, other musicians thought movements such as the Internet were the star of the decade rather than an actual performer. Here's what they said: CRYSTAL KAY Singer

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Dec 22, 2009

What is the perfect way to spend Christmas?

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Dec 18, 2009

New Year's Countdown lineup

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; the Afghanistan and Iraq wars; the Boxing Day tsunami; the "Lehman Shock" — yes, a look back at the last decade is not so great. It's the kind of downer that could drive you to a night of nihilistic hedonism and luckily this year's New Year's Eve parties can facilitate that desire.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Dec 1, 2009

What should the new government do to improve life for foreign residents?

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Nov 27, 2009

A revolution off the record

As the clock struck midnight on Dec. 31, 1999, hundreds of thousands worldwide were reveling in clubs and arenas to the sounds of records played by their favorite DJs. Little were they to know that in the space of 10 years the record was to become an endangered species.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Oct 20, 2009

What do you think of U.S. President Barack Obama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize?

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Oct 16, 2009

Dizzee Rascal "Tongue N' Cheek"

Rascal is back with a new album that sees him move into the mainstream with an effortlessness that nobody would have predicted back in 2003. What we have instead of the old gritty rapper persona is a little, well, surreal. "See me on the telly with Jeremy Paxman on the news" boasts Rascal on "Money Money." Earlier in the same song the MC worries that his willy will be stinging in the morning after a night with girls he has had at the "playa pad."

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Oct 9, 2009

Keeping true to form, the latest edition of Ganban Night sees the event bring across an overseas DJ who is both genre defying and currently favored by the hipster crowd. London-based Graeme Sinden is a DJ known for sets that fly through genres ranging from house to techno to hip-hop to dubstep and beyond, and for mixing an enormous number of tracks in a short space of time (often he fits 25 or so tracks into an hour — compare that to the usual 12 for most house DJs.)

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.

Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Spotlighting a Niigata castle town through sushi

Spotlighting a Niigata castle town through sushi

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