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August 15, 2025
 

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Alyssa I. Smith
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 8, 2018
Manga and kabuki collide in an action-packed 'Naruto'
Here's a sight you may not expect at a kabuki performance: A blue-haired boy bolts toward a massive snake that writhes menacingly on stage. He brings his sword down on the beast, slicing it into sections that fall apart dramatically. I thought a kabuki performance would've been a bit less extravagant,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 6, 2018
Navigating our way through Broadway's biggest night
The 72nd annual Tony Awards are being presented at New York City's storied Radio City Music Hall on June 11 (8 a.m. Japan time), but that doesn't mean those of us in Japan have to miss out.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Jun 2, 2018
'Mixing Work with Pleasure': a candid reflection of a life at Studio Ghibli
Toshio Suzuki, co-founder of Studio Ghibli, recounts his collaborative partnerships and lifelong bonds with Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, the third of Ghibli's founders.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 31, 2018
Four female directors extol the virtues of short films in presenting new points of view
The red carpet at any film festival is known for star power and fashion, but when 82 women walked arm in arm down the red carpet at Cannes last month, it became a place for politics, too.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 31, 2018
Short Shorts festival entries give Japan a starring role
From "You Only Live Twice" (1967) to "Black Rain" (1989) and "Lost in Translation" (2003), directors who choose Japan as a filming location are often well-rewarded with beautiful backdrops. The local flavor that works its way into a movie can sometimes be as important as the characters or plot.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 9, 2018
'The Florida Project' looks at life's hardships through the eyes of a child
America is portrayed many ways in film, but the way Japanese audiences tend to get to see it is through the rose-tinted lens of a Hollywood blockbuster.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Apr 26, 2018
Yuko Takeuchi steps into an iconic role on 'Miss Sherlock' with elementary ease
Guinness World Records announced in 2012 that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes was the most portrayed character on film and TV, depicted 254 times by more than 75 different actors.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 25, 2018
'Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities': Cirque du Soleil's whimsical steampunk is thrilling
When Cirque du Soleil was founded in Canada in 1984, it redefined the idea of the circus. Its latest show, "Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities," lives up to the troupe's unique reputation of being about more than just jugglers and acrobats — though those characters are still accounted for.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 24, 2018
Ready Player Win: Morisaki represents Japan in his first Hollywood gig
As far as Hollywood debuts go, it doesn't get much bigger than stepping into a Steven Spielberg blockbuster. For Win Morisaki, it's a giant leap toward his goal of becoming an international actor.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 10, 2018
Artisan Junichi Mitsubori presents his new art of wagashi
A rapt audience watches in silence as a delicate confection in the shape of a flower blooms in the experienced hands of a wagashi master. Junichi Mitsubori, a third-generation wagashi (Japanese dessert) artisan hailing from Yokosuka City, Kanagawa, does not embellish his movements as he crafts the sugary...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Feb 3, 2018
Finnish broadcaster targets youth vote with anime-inspired video
On Jan. 27, the day before Finland’s presidential election, a Finnish social media news and current affairs service called Kioski released an election video that caused a stir online, receiving over 700,000 views since its release. While President Sauli Niinisto’s landslide victory with 62.7 percent...
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jan 13, 2018
Debate continues over mothers taking their babies to work
 The hashtag #KozurekaigiOK, which translates roughly as “It’s OK to bring a child to a meeting,” began trending in late November. The trigger was a female politician’s decision to bring her child to a Kumamoto assembly session, which sparked a nationwide debate on child care options for parents...
CULTURE / Books
Dec 30, 2017
'Wagohan: The ABCs of Japanese Cuisine': Reiko Yamada's ode to Japanese comfort food
Food is "the most basic form of diplomacy" for cooking adviser Reiko Yamada. With this philosophy in mind, "Wagohan: The ABCs of Japanese Cuisine" aims to bridge cultures and present the "versatility and beauty of Japanese cuisine."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Dec 23, 2017
A picture of food is worth 1,000 words for businesses on Instagram
With end-of-year parties now in full swing, social media users are curating their profiles with "Insuta-bae" photographs that capture them enjoying enviable times.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Dec 9, 2017
Women unimpressed with advice on how to spend time alone
Women's magazine Ginger Web created a stir in late November by publishing an article that offered single women advice on how to spend time alone.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Nov 25, 2017
'Crappiest apartments of 2017' hashtag bemuses Twitter users
Anyone who's been living in Japan for any length of time has probably seen their fair share of perplexing apartment layouts. Microscopic storage spaces, unfathomably low kitchen sinks and shared bathroom amenities immediately spring to mind.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 25, 2017
'The Sacred Era': Yoshio Aramaki introduces a post-apocalyptic world governed by religion
Lauded as the most important work of the Japanese science-fiction writer, Yoshio Aramaki, "The Sacred Era" is a bold undertaking.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 18, 2017
'Red Roofs and Other Stories': Tales of restlessness by Junichiro Tanizaki
Junichiro Tanizaki is best known for his novels, "Naomi" and "The Makioka Sisters," and is widely considered one of Japan's greatest writers of modern literature. This collection of his early stories "Red Roofs & Other Stories," published between 1917 and 1926, begins with a novella-like story that alludes...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 16, 2017
Twice and Daichi Miura among 10 debuts at this year's 'Kohaku'
Pop outfits Little Glee Monster, Hey! Say! Jump and Twice will grace the stage for the first time at this year's "Kohaku Uta Gassen," with NHK appearing to court new viewers for its annual end-of-year musical extravaganza.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Nov 11, 2017
Lawsuit over student's dyed hair confronts outdated thinking in Japan
A Japanese public high school has come under fire for its strict policy regarding the color of its students' hair.
The indelible memory of being a part of Unit 731
Hideo Shimizu, 95, says he cannot forget seeing the prisoners' bloody wills scribbled on the walls of prison cells at Unit 731 in 1945.
Will Wakatakakage bring balance to the banzuke?
Wakatakakage during a ring entering ceremony in February 2020
Taiwanese drama 'Zero Day Attack' on Chinese invasion to stream in Japan
A scene from the Taiwanese television drama "Zero Day Attack," which will stream in Japan from Friday.
Japanese star convicted of indecent assault in Hong Kong
J-pop idol Kenshin Kamimura leaves the West Kowloon Law Courts on bail in Hong Kong on Wednesday, after he was found guilty of indecent assault of a woman who worked as his interpreter at a restaurant in Mong Kok district in March this year.
Ukraine war has transformed North Korean military: Kyiv’s military intel chief
An explosion of a drone lights up the sky over Kyiv during a Russian drone strike, on July 30. Moscow has dispatched military specialists to train the Korean People’s Army on how to use combat drones and air-defense systems.
The indelible memory of being a part of Unit 731
Hideo Shimizu, 95, says he cannot forget seeing the prisoners' bloody wills scribbled on the walls of prison cells at Unit 731 in 1945.
Will Ishiba's critics be able to garner enough support for a leadership race?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's political survival likely hinges on whether a leadership race will take place within the Liberal Democratic Party following its decision to have its election committee canvass the opinions of party members and prefectural chapters on the subject.
Hidden rosters and the legacy of Japan’s germ warfare
Katsutoshi Takegami, 77, in his storehouse attic where he discovered his father's Unit 1644 documents
Osaka Expo highlights the challenge of holding events in Japan's scorching summer
People huddle near a large fan blowing icy-cold mist at the Osaka Expo on July 12. Amid Japan's relentless summer heat, organizes have put myriad measures in place in order to keep guests safe.
At Himawari Shokudo 2, Italian food with a Japanese soul
At Himawari Shokudo 2, chef Hozumi Tanaka serves Italian-inspired fare with a focus on Toyama produce, such as this appetizer of lightly blanched "hotaru ika" (firefly squid) served atop mixed wild plants and a crepe prepared from "yamato-imo" yam.

Podcast

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

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers
By Tomoko Otake

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