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April 18, 2024
 

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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jul 2, 2015
Actor Yusuke Iseya's most important role is helping the environment through his Rebirth Project
Prepared to step out of his comfort zone and say what he really thinks, Yusuke Iseya is something of a rarity in the Japanese entertainment industry. An actor with a conscience, he's most well-known for movies such as "13 Assassins," "Tomorrow's Joe" and the Hollywood film "Blindness," yet rather than talking about any of that, the 39-year-old would prefer to speak about the environment.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Oct 5, 2013
Downtown comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto leans from TV to film
The Downtown comedy duo — comprising Hitoshi Matsumoto and Masatoshi Hamada — are sitting on a train speeding towards Narita Airport outside Tokyo. It's not like they're going anywhere, or doing anything, even — they're just sitting there and waiting for something to happen. "Something" in this case is a gag carefully engineered in advance by their team of comedian acolytes.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Aug 31, 2013
Naoto Kan speaks out
Naoto Kan took his first steps in the world of politics around 40 years ago as a pugnacious citizen-activist, admonishing those with power as only those without it can. He likes to say he's the same man now, but of course there's an irony in that. After all, in the intervening years he acquired about as much power as an elected official in Japan can hope for — the prime ministership — and the timing of his tenure, coinciding with the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, and the ongoing nuclear crisis that followed, will ensure he remains one of Japan's most talked about prime ministers for years to come.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Aug 3, 2013
Toyohiro Akiyama: Cautionary tales from one not afraid to risk all
In December 1990, journalist Toyohiro Akiyama made headlines the world over when he blasted off aboard a Soviet rocket to become the very first "space correspondent" in history.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jul 6, 2013
Yoko Narahashi: From Hollywood to Hirohito
From "Empire of the Sun" to "The Last Samurai," and from "Memoirs of a Geisha" to "Babel" — when Hollywood film directors have turned their cameras to the Land of the Rising Sun, there is one person they have insisted on having by their side: Yoko Narahashi, a casting agent, producer, sometimes director and, in recent years, all-round interpreter of Japan for U.S. movies.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jun 2, 2013
Language no barrier to multimedia Jon Kabira
With a long rousing cry of “Goooooooood Mooooorning Tooookyoooooooooooo!” Jon Kabira launches into his weekly radio show “JK Radio — Tokyo United” every Friday at 6 a.m. on J-Wave.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 5, 2013
Dai Tamesue: Japan's 'samurai hurdler' keeps rising to new challenges
Though word-class track athlete Dai Tamesue may have hung up his spikes, he has plenty of insights to share on how sports can play a bigger role in society.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Apr 7, 2013
Shigeru Ban: 'People's architect' combines permanence and paper
Generally speaking, an architect's style is defined by particular forms or shapes. There's Frank Lloyd Wright's prominent horizontal lines, for instance; Le Corbusier's simple white boxes; or, more recently, the deliberately abstract masses of Frank Gehry — of Guggenheim Bilbao fame.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Mar 3, 2013
Japanese women strive to empower themselves
When it comes to gender equality, Japan has never failed to disappoint.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Mar 3, 2013
Yukari Horie: Making life easier for working moms
Yukari Horie, 30, is managing director of Arrow Arrow, a Tokyo-based NPO that offers consulting to companies with female workers who are in the later stages of their pregnancy or who have just become moms and are wondering how to adjust their work styles to accommodate their life needs. Horie's group, set up in 2010, is in high demand these days, as more than 60 percent of women in Japan leave the workforce after giving birth, due to difficulties they face in balancing life and family. Arrow Arrow advises companies on how to review workers' jobs and streamline them, which often results in cuts in overtime and improved efficiency across the organization, she says. Horie also organizes discussion groups for individual workers so they can share work-life balance (WLB) issues and find solutions.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Mar 3, 2013
Maco Yoshioka: Battling the postpartum blues
Maco Yoshioka is the founder of Madre Bonita, a nonprofit group that offers postpartum fitness programs for women using elastic exercise balls. Yoshioka, 40, who studied sports physiology at the University of Tokyo, says she became aware of physical and mental difficulties for new mothers when, in the late 1990s, she herself became a single mom at age 25, experiencing many discomforts, such as exhaustion, lack of stamina and sore joints. She stresses the importance of care for women in this period, to help them ward off postpartum depression and stop them from becoming abusive toward their children. Madre Bonita classes are now being taught at 50 locations across the country by 24 accredited instructors, including Yoshioka.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Mar 3, 2013
Yu Negoro: Documenting the gender imbalance
Yu Negoro, 40, is a documentary filmmaker who has delved deep into the issues of gender and sexuality in Japanese society. Her first project was a series of three short films dealing with women suffering from eating disorders, a condition Neguro suffered in her 20s. Attributing her problems partly to conflicts with her mother, Neguro says she is now convinced that anorexia and bulimia are often the only outlets for women tormented by pressures to conform to gender stereotypes. She is now working on a film about men accused of domestic abuse, examining what social factors have driven them into turning violent toward women.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Feb 3, 2013
Hidetoshi Masunaga: making revolution through the Constitution
On Dec. 14, 2012, two days before the Lower House election in which the Democratic Party of Japan headed by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda was eclipsed as the conservative Liberal Democratic Party swept back to power in a landslide, a one-page advert with a huge banner headline appeared in a vernacular newspaper.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jan 6, 2013
Frederik Schodt: pop culture ambassador to the world
Quick quiz: Who was the first Japanese civilian to be issued a passport?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Dec 2, 2012
Michael Woodford: Japan's whistle-blower supreme speaks out
Michael Woodford glances out of the floor-to-ceiling window of his multimillion-pound loft apartment, which looks out across the River Thames toward the City of London, the so-called Square Mile that is among the world's leading financial and commercial centers.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Nov 4, 2012
Yoshiko Tatsumi: Cookery guru serves wisdom with her soups
"Never fight a war with Chinese people, because we would lose," Yoshiko Tatsumi sternly warned, "with absolute certainty," a 40-strong group of mostly middle-aged women gathered recently in her spacious three-story residence set in gardens in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Oct 7, 2012
Shigesato Itoi shares lots of 'delicious life'
Shigesato Itoi is an established name in the Japanese cultural scene, but what he is known for may differ depending on who you ask.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Sep 2, 2012
Film star Satoshi Tsumabuki moves up to a new stage
Wearing a headband and tracksuit, Satoshi Tsumabuki — the 31-year-old darling of the Japanese entertainment world — was easy to spot among a crowd of actors in a rehearsal studio in downtown Tokyo recently. He was there preparing for "Egg," Hideki Noda's new play, which opens Wednesday at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre (TMET) in Ikebukuro in the first programme after the theater's 17-month refurbishment.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Aug 5, 2012
David Atkinson: Ancient Japan captures money man's interest
David Atkinson was still in his 20s when he rose to fame as a Japan-based banking analyst with the U.S. investment bank Salomon Brothers, prior to him moving to Goldman Sachs.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jul 1, 2012
Author Lesley Downer's romance with Japan is no fleeting affair
British writer, historian and journalist Lesley Downer has been visiting Japan and writing about it for nearly 35 years — beginning in 1978, when she was part of the first-ever intake of the English Teaching Recruitment Program, which evolved into the famous JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching Program) scheme.
No link to Nankai Trough quake seen after temblor in Shikoku
Satoshi Harada from the Meteorological Agency explains about the magnitude 6.6 earthquake during a news conference early Thursday.
Why hasn't Japan moved to prop up the weak yen?
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
U.S. deploys midrange missile system in Indo-Pacific for first time
A U.S. Army Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Launcher arrives as part of the capability’s first deployment into theater on Northern Luzon, Philippines, April 8.
Snake on a train: Discovery of serpent delays Tokyo-Nagoya shinkansen
A Tokaido shinkansen. It is unclear whether the snake was venomous or how it ended up on the train, and there was no injury or panic among passengers.
Unpacking the chaotic by-election in a scandal-hit Tokyo district
People listen to a campaign speech in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Tuesday.
Benefits and risks: AUKUS looks to take gamble on Japan
U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British leader Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the AUKUS partnership, after a trilateral meeting, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego in March last year.
Kyoto’s demon night parade lives to haunt another day
In a Kyoto long past, the "hyakki yagyō" (100 demon night parade) haunted a sleepy corner of Kyoto. Now, one enterprising monster enthusiast has won a small batttle to keep the march alive.
Japan’s best and brightest designers set to shine in Milan
Adal’s Look into Nature brand, on show at Salon del Mobile 2024, rethinks "igusa" (Japanese rush grass), traditionally used for tatami, as a sustainable material for furniture.
U.S. deploys midrange missile system in Indo-Pacific for first time
A U.S. Army Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Launcher arrives as part of the capability’s first deployment into theater on Northern Luzon, Philippines, April 8.
Unpacking the chaotic by-election in a scandal-hit Tokyo district
People listen to a campaign speech in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Tuesday.

Podcast

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

Longform

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

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A young restaurant leads the way in Karuizawa
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