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July 06, 2025
 

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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 20, 2003
Pretty Girls Make Graves: "The New Romance,"
By Philip Brasor
'I heard a record and it opened my eyes," goes the pivotal line in "Speakers Push the Air," the opening song on "Good Health," last year's debut album by the Seattle quintet Pretty Girls Make Graves. The record's passionate immediacy opened a lot of people's eyes to the possibility that punk still had...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 20, 2003
Joe Gibbs Production
By Tom Bojko
Soul Jazz Records has issued a couple dozen outstanding compilations of unusual music ranging from New York punk-funk and Philadelphia soul-jazz to Yoruba music and Haitian voodoo drumming. Particularly great are their releases of both vintage and modern Jamaican music, of which "Joe Gibbs Productions"...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 17, 2003
The ancient Chinese master Du Fu
By Donald Richie
THE SELECTED POEMS OF DU FU, translated by Burton Watson. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002, 174 pp., $17.50 (paper). Du Fu (712-770 A.D.) is one of the most honored of Chinese poets. He has been called (by Kenneth Rexroth who early translated him) one of the greatest poets "who has survived...
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 17, 2003
New Okinawan theater completes missing link in performing arts
By Tai Kawabata
It is a dream come true for Tatsuhiro Oshiro, a native Okinawan and Akutagawa Prize-winning novelist and playwright.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 17, 2003
Combining the best of two worlds
By Mark Schreiber
DRAGON BONES, by Lisa See. New York: Random House, 2003, 368 pages, $24.95 (cloth). THE SAMURAI'S DAUGHTER, by Sujata Massey. New York: HarperCollins, 2003, 304 pages, $24.95 (cloth). It is no coincidence that, besides having Eurasian female authors, both of these books feature female detectives with...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 17, 2003
Monastic comparisons and the rightness of left
By Anatole-roger Peltier
MONASTIC DISCIPLINE: Vinaya and Orthodox Monasticism, an Attempt at Comparison, by George Sioris. Chiang Mai: The Knowledge Center, 375 pp., 495 baht (paper). LEFT VERSUS RIGHT, by George Sioris. Chiang Mai: The Knowledge Center, 150 pp., 195 baht (paper). George Sioris, a Greek scholar on Asia and a...
CULTURE / Books / THE BOOK REPORT
Aug 14, 2003
Manga culture ignites craze in media markets overseas
By Janet Ashby
American boys can now read popular Japanese manga like "One Piece" in an English-language "Shonen Jump" and German girls can read girl's manga in the German-language magazine "Daisuki." Is this a passing fad or the start of a full-scale manga invasion?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 13, 2003
Gonna Vamp
By Simon Bartz
A "vamp" is a woman who seduces or beguiles by using feminine charms, according to my dictionary. It's also the name of a new magazine that promotes underground Japanese bands, preferably if the band members are equipped with guitars, boobs and cute pouts rather than guitars, biceps and bad chat-up lines....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 13, 2003
Manolito y Su Trabuco
By Michael Pronko
The Japanese government can be thanked for one thing: open treaties with the Cuban government that allow the most scorching salsa players in the world to perform here on a regular basis. Perhaps the government doesn't have a choice since Japan has an unusually high percentage of Latin music aficionados....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 13, 2003
Hotshot terrorist comedy just misses target
By Nobuko Tanaka
Though only in his early 30s, Martin McDonagh already has a 1998 Tony Award under his belt for his worldwide hit, "The Beauty Queen of Leenane." What's more, his works have been staged in 38 countries -- Japan among them.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 13, 2003
Reverend Charlie Jackson: "God's Got It"
By Tom Bojko
When the Rev. Charlie Jackson was a boy, he played sacred music on Sundays and blues the rest of the week. While Jackson himself saw no irony in this, his mother had little appreciation for her son playing electric guitar on both sides of the Lord's fence and quickly steered him toward the church. Little...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 13, 2003
Natacha Atlas: "Something Dangerous"
By Philip Brasor
Beyonce Knowles is not a singer I would have pegged as a model for Natacha Atlas, but the coincidental similarities between Atlas' new album, "Something Dangerous," and the Destiny Child leader's chart-topping debut solo joint, "Dangerously in Love," go beyond their titles. Atlas dives headfirst into...
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
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. 
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
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

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

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