Gianni Simone - The Japan Times

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Gianni Simone

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Gianni Simone

Gianni Simone is a mail artist, zinester and general troublemaker from Italy. When not taking pictures of Tokyo police boxes, he writes on all things Japanese for Vogue Italia, Zoom Japan, and other assorted publications. Together with Randy Osborne, he co-authored the book "Made of This."

For Gianni Simone's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Jun 25, 2020

Watari-um celebrates a mother's legacy

Thirty years on, the Watari siblings encourage the quirky and unusual as the curators of the Watari Museum of Contemporary Art.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Apr 30, 2020

Taiko group Kodo makes a plea for donations amid the COVID-19 crisis

With Japanese drumming group Kodo forced to cancel this year's tour, the group has made an appeal for donations and equipment.

Japan Times

LIFE / Style & Design

Apr 19, 2020

A Japanese designer lauds the allure of everyday aluminum

They may not have the stylish design of what's being produced today, but the simplicity in Seiji Onishi's collection of aluminum items are where true beauty lies.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT

Jun 2, 2019

Coming to Japan to escape alcohol is risky, but help is available

When Casey 'dropped dead' on his kitchen floor, he realized he hit rock bottom. Luckily, he got the support he needed to get his drinking problem under control.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES

Feb 3, 2019

From cosplay fan to idol, Yuriko Tiger's journey has been a colorful one

It was 1964 when 19-year-old ye-ye singer Sylvie Vartan captured the hearts of Japanese cinemagoers in the French film "Cherchez l'idole," released here as "Aidoru o Sagase" and in English as "The Chase." Her track from that film, "La plus belle pour aller danser," was a hit here, selling more than a million copies.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Nov 18, 2018

A pair of events centered on non-Japanese artists are helping to build bridges into Japan's manga market

The Japanese market for manga is worth hundreds of billions of yen and is a crowded field for many young Japanese illustrators to break into. And if you're coming from overseas, there are even more obstacles.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink

Jan 29, 2016

The future of rice farming in Japan

Rice has been at the center of Japan's economy and culture for centuries. But changes are afoot. There is growing concern among Japanese farmers that the country's rice-producing capabilities are diminishing in the face of international trade pacts such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In fact, all local agriculture is in the spotlight as pressure mounts to increase local imports of overseas produce.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT

Jul 28, 2014

A trip around the Yushukan, Japan's font of discord

Often overlooked in discussions about Yasukuni is the divisive role played by the Yushukan, the war museum built within the shrine grounds to promote the 'Yasukuni doctrine.'

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES

May 25, 2014

With one eye on the future, globe-trotter builds a foundation for change

Having lived in Punjab, California, London and Tokyo and set herself one huge goal after another, Sonia Dhillon-Marty is now trying to make a difference through her Tokyo-based nonprofit foundation.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices

Apr 9, 2014

Post-Fukushima reform throws up a few surprises

The magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, devastated the northeast, killing more than 15,000 people and causing level 7 meltdowns at three reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Observers believed the sheer size of the catastrophe and its subsequent effects provided the country with an opportunity to reform and turn the page on two decades of political, social and economic crisis. In his 2013 book “3.11: Disaster and Change in Japan,” Richard Samuels, director of the MIT Japan Program, chronicles the 18 months that followed the disaster and explains why this opportunity for change wasn’t followed by substantial progress. Here, Samuels expands on some of the issues he examined in his book:

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES

Nov 15, 2013

TELL vet helps cast net wider to reach kids, stop suicides

The Tokyo English Life Line has been providing support and counseling services to Japan's international community for 40 years. Vickie Skorji, the new director of the Lifeline hot line service, has played a pivotal role in its activities.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT

Oct 28, 2013

Getting published is easy; getting noticed is trickier

How can writers make themselves heard in the age of blog and self-publishing saturation? Japan-based authors offer a diverse range of views

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT

Jun 25, 2013

Authors take polar-opposite tacks as they try to decipher Japanese women

It's an all-too-familiar story: On the romantic front, foreign ladies living in Japan have it bad while the guys do unbelievably well. For every woman who complains about Japanese men's aloofness and lack of communication skills, there is a man who boasts about all the local chicks he's had.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

Nov 20, 2012

Tackling the nihongo mountain, by strategy: from base camp to the plateau and beyond

For foreigners who arrive in Japan with little knowledge or preparation, the first encounter with the local lingo can be brutal. In the past, for instance, newcomers would have taken the train from Narita airport to Tokyo or Shinjuku station and promptly run up against a solid wall of indecipherable ideograms. Asking for directions was often a futile exercise, as most people only spoke a little English at best.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives

Nov 10, 2012

Pregnancy crisis center lends guidance, support

Demographic statistics released by the health and welfare ministry continue to paint a bleak future for Japan, whose population is forecast to decline steadily in coming decades unless measures are taken to reverse the birthrate decline. The number of babies born in 2011 was the lowest on record since 1947.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives

Nov 3, 2012

Free magazines zoom in on all things Japanese

While English-language magazines in Japan are fast becoming a species in danger of extinction, Europe is experiencing a renewed interest in this country thanks to a veteran French journalist who since 2010 has been publishing Zoom Japon (and its English version, Zoom Japan), a free monthly magazine about all things Japanese.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives

Oct 20, 2012

American artist takes personal approach to traditional painting

Finding places in Tokyo can be complicated. All too often a simple address is not enough. That's why many people here look like treasure hunters roaming the streets armed with a map or its modern equivalent, the smartphone.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives

Oct 6, 2012

Video journalist's work takes him to centers of the world's conflicts

Takeharu Watai has spent all of his two-decade career in video journalism as an independent. But he is conscious that public distrust of the mass media, particularly over its coverage of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and the nation's nuclear energy policy, has grown so strong that, by default, it extends to journalists in this country.

CULTURE / Books

Sep 9, 2012

Roadside view of a tasty, tasty world

THE WORLD'S BEST STREET FOOD: Where to Find It & How to Make it, Lonely Planet, 2012, 224 pp., $19.99 (paperback)

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives

Sep 8, 2012

Eye surgeon makes a difference, performing 'miracles' in Vietnam

In 1965, Akira Kurosawa directed "Akahige" ("Red Beard"), the story of an Edo Period doctor who teaches his arrogant intern the importance of compassion, responsibility, and empathizing with his patients. Ophthalmologist Tadashi Hattori has seen this movie, but he insists that he was not thinking about it when, 10 years ago, he threw away a promising career in Japan to help poor people in Vietnam instead.

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

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.

For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on

By Lance Henderstein

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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