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July 04, 2025
 

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James Hadfield
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 31, 2017
Miho Hazama will celebrate 100 years of jazz at Tokyo Jazz Festival performance
Japanese audiences are renowned as some of the world's most respectful listeners, but for musicians accustomed to getting more raucous receptions elsewhere, the experience can be a little unnerving.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 31, 2017
Drum prodigy Senri Kawaguchi doesn't put limits on her music
In 2010, the online encyclopedia Drummerworld added a 13-year-old Japanese schoolgirl to its list of the world's greatest players. Senri Kawaguchi had rocketed to fame after posting YouTube videos of herself drumming along to songs from the "K-On!" anime series, wearing the same sailor-suit school uniform...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 25, 2017
Netflix's 'Death Note' may be dumber, but is it really evil?
After the furor over the recent "Ghost in the Shell" adaptation, moviegoers should be familiar with the concept of "whitewashing," the insidious Hollywood practice of casting Caucasian actors in roles that originated as non-white characters. But when Lakeith Stanfield, who is African-American, was picked...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 1, 2017
Fuji Rock Festival: It may not make sense on paper, but the end results are glorious
This year's Fuji Rock Festival was a damp and turbulent affair, albeit only in the most literal sense. Whatever the formula is for convincing people to blow their entire summer vacation budget on a few days in the Japan Alps — much of which will likely be spent lining up for the toilet, getting drenched...
CULTURE / Music
Jul 27, 2017
Quruli has noticed a change in the way young people listen to music
Many musicians will admit to having a special affection for Fuji Rock Festival, which unfurls at Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata Prefecture this weekend. Few, however, have a history as tightly intertwined with the event as Quruli, the affable guitar-rock outfit from Kyoto.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 18, 2017
Keiji Haino at 65: 'I want to be a bad boy, right until the end'
"I don't want people to treat me like a god," says Keiji Haino, chuckling. "I want to be a bad boy, right until the end."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 5, 2017
Cornelius opens up a little more on his latest album, 'Mellow Waves'
Though it has been 11 years since his last album, Keigo Oyamada never really went away. The studio wizard known as Cornelius has spent the past decade diversifying his portfolio: creating soundtracks for anime and educational TV; playing in electro super-group Metafive and collaborating with J-pop singer...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 20, 2017
Honoring Hideo Ikeezumi, a hero to the Japanese underground
Few figures have played as pivotal a role in the recent history of Japanese avant-garde music as Hideo Ikeezumi, founder of P.S.F. Records, who passed away on Feb. 27 at the age of 67.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 15, 2017
A new generation of jazz comes to the fore at Tokyo Lab
Pinning an exact birth date on any genre is a tricky business, but 2017 has been deemed the 100th anniversary of jazz, in recognition of the first recordings released back in 1917. A century after the earliest jazz, "jass" and "jazbo" groups entered the studios, though, where does the music stand today?...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 24, 2017
On 'Kiseki,' rappers bring out the true grit in resurgent DJ Krush
On 'Es.U.Es Corporation,' DJ Krush's collaborators bring an undeniable energy to the proceedings, and the veteran turntablist responds with some of his grittiest productions since the 1990s.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
May 18, 2017
Taicoclub's role in Japan's electronic music scene will be missed, so catch it while you can
When I interviewed Taro Yasuzawa this time last year, he didn't let on that he was about to pull the plug on the event he'd been organizing for the past decade. A few weeks later, it was official: Taicoclub, the plucky all-night music festival that debuted in 2006, will be marking its penultimate edition...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 6, 2017
'Mouthfeel: How Texture Makes Taste': Exploring the science behind how food feels
Few people are likely to forget the first time they try shirako. The thought of eating cod sperm sacs may sound downright nauseating to the average Western diner, but those who pluck up the courage to try some are rewarded with an explosion of silkiness, more typical of a dessert than a savory dish....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 26, 2017
Ryuichi Sakamoto resists the prettier path on 'async' and comes out stronger
In the liner notes for "async," his first solo album in eight years, Ryuichi Sakamoto lists some of the strategies he employed during the recording process: capturing elusive melodies at early-morning synthesizer sessions, compiling field recordings of rain and ruins, rearranging Bach chorales until...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 12, 2017
Hollywood's 'Ghost in the Shell' remake misses the mark
After the online petitions, the countless think pieces and Twitter tirades, Hollywood's "Ghost in the Shell" was never going to have an easy passage. Rupert Sanders' film — a $110 million live-action movie based on a beloved manga and anime property — was ill-fated from the start, tarnished by the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KNOWING KISSATEN
Mar 24, 2017
Tokyo's classical music cafes are time capsules for audiophiles
In this age of musical abundance, it's hard to fathom that an LP once cost the equivalent of a few days' wages in Japan. In the 1950s, audiophiles who couldn't afford to buy their own music did their listening at coffee shops known as meikyoku kissaten ("musical masterpiece cafes"), which boasted high-end...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 15, 2017
'Kong: Skull Island': King Kong swats away the story line
From the bizarrely "localized" titles to the media events featuring random TV personalities who aren't even in the film, Japanese distributors use some peculiar strategies to promote Hollywood movies to an increasingly indifferent public.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 8, 2017
'The Wailing': Spine-chilling in every possible way
When village cop Jong-gu (Kwak Do-won) gets woken before dawn and summoned to the scene of a suspected murder, his wife persuades him to stay at home and have a proper breakfast first. This paunchy put-upon sergeant clearly isn't cut out for serious police work, which may prove to be his undoing. As...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 1, 2017
'The Handmaiden': A sinfully silly gothic psychodrama
Korean genre stylist Park Chan-wook is best known to Western audiences for his "Vengeance" trilogy: a trio of malevolent, blackly comic thrillers that included his 2003 breakout hit, "Oldboy." But his recent films have coalesced into an informal trilogy of their own, linked by a shared enthusiasm for...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KNOWING KISSATEN
Feb 24, 2017
Tokyo's retro coffee palaces are in a class entirely their own
The archetypical kissaten (traditional coffee shop) would probably be a cozy neighborhood joint with faded '60s decor, one of those vintage pink pay phones that only take ¥10 coins and a couple of elderly customers smoking furiously as they squint over their newspapers.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Feb 15, 2017
It'll get released in Japan — come 'Hell or High Water'
Among the snubs and surprise inclusions in this year's Oscar nominations, one might have stood out for Japanese movie fans — and I'm not talking about "Your Name." In what's surely a first, a Best Picture nominee has bypassed cinemas here and gone straight to Netflix.
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Onosato's yokozuna promotion causes rare quirk in new sumo rankings
Newly promoted yokozuna Onosato holds a copy of the latest banzuke ranking in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, on Monday.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Over 900 earthquakes strike Tokara islands in space of two weeks
A screenshot shows many quakes occurring in the Tokara islands over the past 30 days, in this image taken from the U.S. Geological Survey website.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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