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October 24, 2025
 

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James Hadfield
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 2, 2019
A musical pilgrimage to an adopted homeland with DYGL
Scroll through the comments under DYGL's videos on YouTube, and the same reaction comes up again and again: I could've sworn this lot were from England.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 26, 2019
'The Journalist': Uncovering the dark side of Japan
Before Donald Trump made "fake news" the buzzword of choice for dissemblers and autocrats, Japanese netizens were already starting to question the veracity of what they read in the papers, albeit for very different reasons.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 20, 2019
Japan's summer festivals plan for a final party before Olympic fever hits
As Yo La Tengo once sang, "summer's what you make it," and that's especially true in Japan this year. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are likely to throw a major wrench (or should that be hammer?) in the works for next summer's festival calendar, so it's worth enjoying things while the going...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 19, 2019
Pioneering singer-songwriter Sachiko Kanenobu finally gets her due
If she had to sum up the past couple of years, Sachiko Kanenobu would probably opt for a simple "OMG!"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 12, 2019
'We Are Little Zombies': Cynical tweens on an 8-bit escapade
The kids aren't quite alright. After watching his late parents go up in smoke at a crematorium, all Hikari (Keita Ninomiya) can think about is how their ashes look like the Parmesan cheese he sprinkles over his spaghetti.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 22, 2019
'Farewell Song': Guitars without rock 'n' roll excess
Of all the many breeds of musician out there, few are as stubbornly uncinematic as acoustic singer-songwriters. Forget flamboyance, creative excess, clashing egos and all the other qualities that tend to attract filmmakers to the music industry in the first place. The average singer-songwriter gig is...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 8, 2019
'Cheer Boys!!': Cheerleading, but not much to cheer for
Most athletes live in fear of the fateful injury that derails their career, but when university freshman Haruki (Ryusei Yokohama) damages his shoulder during judo training, he seems relieved. Despite growing up in a family of judoka, he's never taken to the sport with the passion of his older sister,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 1, 2019
'Pacific Breeze' collates the slick sound of Japanese city pop
Long overlooked by international labels, Japan's rich musical history has been undergoing thorough excavation over the past few years. Some of the most satisfying archival releases to date have come from Light in the Attic, the U.S. label behind last year's Haruomi Hosono reissues and the recent "Kankyo...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 17, 2019
'Just Only Love': Looking for romance in all the wrong places
If you believe everything you read in the news, Japanese romance movies should really belong in the science fiction category. Just last week, a new study estimated that a quarter of people aged 18 to 39 in Japan had never had heterosexual intercourse, feeding the popular stereotype of a listless generation,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 11, 2019
Connan Mockasin finds his Japan groove ahead of his debut gig in his adopted country
"Sorry?" splutters Connan Hosford, better known as Connan Mockasin, as his bandmates cackle in the background. "Excuse me ... What did you say before?"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 10, 2019
'A Gambler's Odyssey 2020': A lot of controversy about nothing
Given the timid, committee-driven nature of modern Japanese film production, it's rare for anything to make it into the cinemas with even the slightest whiff of controversy still clinging to it. "A Gambler's Odyssey 2020" is a pungent exception.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 27, 2019
Suchmos' 'The Anymal' aims high but misses the mark
Of all the acts to emerge during the recent city pop revival, when the funk-inflected AOR of early-1980s Japan seemed to be coming back in vogue, Suchmos has been by far the most successful. Last year saw the sextet graduate to playing arenas and providing NHK's theme song for the FIFA World Cup —...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 21, 2019
A new lease of life for Macoto Tezka's cult classic 'The Legend of the Stardust Brothers'
Like so many authors of cult movies, Macoto Tezka didn't set out to make a commercial bomb. His debut feature, "The Legend of the Stardust Brothers" ("Hoshikuzu Kyodai no Densetsu"), was widely lambasted upon its release in 1985, but over the years it has steadily acquired a reputation as a delightful...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 13, 2019
Haruomi Hosono reworks a modern classic with 'Hochono House'
As he enters his 50th year in the music business, Haruomi Hosono hasn't lost his talent for making you wonder what the devil he's up to. After using modern studio technology to recreate the sounds of mid-20th century pop on "Vu Ja De" in 2017, his latest effort looks to his early career for inspiration....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 6, 2019
'Siblings of the Cape': Uncomfortable, yet compelling
There are films that take you places you rather wish they wouldn't. Within the first 10 minutes of "Siblings of the Cape," I was ready to stop watching, but something about Shinzo Katayama's scruffy, transgressive debut kept me hooked.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 27, 2019
'Samurai Marathon': A sprint through Japanese history
The arrival of U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's infamous "black ships" in 1850s Japan prompted some unusual reactions from a country that had spent the past few centuries shut off from the outside world. Few were as offbeat as that of the feudal lord Itakura Katsuakira, who decided that the best way to...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2019
'Another World': An uneasy reunion for old friends
While the jury at last year's Tokyo International Film Festival made some unimpeachable selections, it was left to viewers to supply the biggest surprise of the event. "Another World" was an unexpected choice for the Audience Award, which typically goes to more comedic fare in the vein of 2017 winner...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 13, 2019
Twenty years after frontman Shinji Sato's death, Fishmans is still walking in the rhythm
In the eternal present of modern listening, when the entire history of recorded sound is just a few clicks away, some music reverberates for longer. That's been the case with Fishmans, a cult Japanese act from the 1990s whose blend of dub rhythms and dream-pop reverie continues to lure new fans 20 years...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 13, 2019
Chai's 'Punk' is an irrepressibly upbeat victory lap
For a band that made its name by bucking kawaii conventions, Chai can be awfully cute. On its second album, misleadingly titled "Punk," the quartet takes the giddy sugar-rush of 2017's "Pink" and distills it into a mixture so potent, it should probably come with a health warning attached. They ought...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 16, 2019
'The Nikaidos' Fall': What's in a name? Everything.
The weight of tradition threatens to crush a once-great family in "The Nikaidos' Fall," a contemporary drama about people with an unhealthy fixation on the past. Iranian director Ida Panahandeh's film starts in a cemetery and never really leaves the realm of the dead. Its characters are so haunted by...
For three key Cabinet posts, Takaichi turns to an eclectic trio
Shinjiro Koizumi — son of a former prime minister and rival to the current one — was appointed defense chief after falling short in his bid for the Liberal Democratic Party presidency earlier this month.
Rare female yakuza walks path to redemption in Japan
Retired yakuza Mako Nishimura sorts fallen leaves during a clean-up activity at the Gifu Gokoku shrine in Gifu Prefecture on Sept. 28.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.
The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
New ‘immigration minister’ post signals Takaichi Cabinet’s priorities
Kimi Onoda, economic security minister and minister for harmonious coexistence with foreign nationals, arrives at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japan's first female PM promised more women in her Cabinet. She picked two.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi poses with members of the newly formed Cabinet on Tuesday night.
The newly formed LDP-JIP coalition may not be as solid as it seems
Ruling Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi and Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura sign a policy agreement between the two parties at the Diet in Tokyo on Monday.
AI-optimized cybercrime increasingly targeting Japan
A recent cyberattack on brewer Asahi Group Holdings resulted in the company suspending shipments.
K-pop idol Chanyeol does J-pop his own way on ‘Hibi’
South Korean singer Chanyeol made his Japanese-language solo debut with the EP “Hibi,” which features six tracks inspired by his love of Japanese music.
In pictures: The day Japan’s glass ceiling finally cracked
Takaichi, surrounded by LDP influencers
London exhibition perhaps sumo's most successful trip abroad
With the recent sumo jaunt to London being essentially a goodwill exercise, <i>rikishi</i> were far more outgoing and relaxed than normal.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.
By Thu-Huong Ha and Mike Fu

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo
Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo

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