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CULTURE / Books
Mar 20, 2011

Black ink, red blood

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE PRESS NETWORKS OF EAST ASIA, 1918-1945, by Peter O'Connor. Global Oriental, 2010, 381 pp., £61 (hardcover) In the pre- and early war years, the big three newspapers at the center of the networks in Japan were The Japan Times, Japan Advertiser and the Japan Chronicle.
Reader Mail
Mar 6, 2011

Blurry separation of generations

The March 2 Kyodo article " 'Kawaii' culture taking hold in U.K." gives an an interesting contrast of the differences in the perception of "kawaii" (cute) between the United Kingdom and Japan. But I'm surprised that the writer didn't look beyond street pop culture to examine publishing.
Japan Times
Features
Feb 27, 2011

Nationalism and its discontents

In this wide-ranging feature following a recent visit to Chengdu, China, Jeff Kingston examines Sino-Japanese relations and challenges facing the government in Beijing
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 27, 2011

Skipping the ads gets harder as shows become infomercials

In the late 1990s, I did piece work for a public relations company, translating achievement reports into English for its non-Japanese clients. The reports outlined how and where the company had secured mentions of its clients' products in various media, and included equivalent advertising value amounts...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 6, 2011

There be all kinds of monsters among us

An old saying goes "Issun no mushi ni mo gobu no tamashi" (even a one-inch worm has a half-inch soul); i.e., even the most humble and powerless creature can put up with only so much before turning on its tormentor.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 23, 2011

The countdown: six months and a day till TV goes digital

Quick: what happened in Japan on Sept. 10, 1960? A few people might recall that was the day Japan commenced color TV broadcasting. At the startup, color programs were few in number, but consumers still had four years and one month to buy a color set before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Jan 19, 2011

Japanese Web outlook and predictions for 2011

Last year saw many changes for Japanese Internet users as people began to shift from Japanese social networks to international ones, and from regular cellphones to smart phones. The international influence was felt in other web-based areas too. So what can we expect for 2011?
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 17, 2011

Film 'Peepli live' outstanding as a spotlight on shortcomings

HONG KONG — One of the hot topics among India's chattering classes is when their country will surpass China and become the fastest growing country in the world.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 9, 2011

Cheater exposed by tweeting ex

The micro-blogging service Twitter is an effective PR instrument, but one fraught with risk for celebrities who want to juice their notoriety by connecting directly and on their own terms with the public. Forgoing the filtering function of publicists, they may endear themselves to fans even more powerfully;...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 24, 2010

Meet some famous Japanese ghosts of publishing

We live in interesting times. Because of the Internet, old familiar media formats are breaking down or going through changes. More and more printed word publications are going out of business or finding new life online. The old LP/album format is essentially an anachronism in an iPod-centered universe....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2010

Japan, EU encouraged to share consumer safety info, knowhow

Protecting the safety and interests of consumers is essential in an age of rapid globalization, and both Japan and the European Union could benefit from exchanging practical information and experiences, journalists and experts agreed during a recent conference.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 25, 2010

China and India exposed

BERKELEY, Calif. — Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's forthcoming trip to India, following hard on the heels of President Barack Obama's recent visit, will provide another opportunity for the media to gush about the growing global economic clout of China and India. We can be sure that the soft underbellies...
JAPAN / Media
Nov 7, 2010

Japanese films at TIFF fail to thrill, with some notable exceptions

The Tokyo International Film Festival tries to accommodate the many critics, journalists and other freeloaders who want to see and report on its films, while squeezing as many paying customers into its screenings as possible. So folks in the former group are encouraged to attend special media-only screenings...
CULTURE / Music
Nov 5, 2010

Japan Music Week sets lofty goals for the live scene

With plans for a weeklong series of shows featuring 500 artists from 40 countries performing in 50 venues — and a target of 20,000 attendees — it's clear from the get-go that Jon Lynch has ambitious plans for Japan Music Week. But there are still moments when he catches you out.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 31, 2010

Japan's Afghanistan news blackout in the spotlight

Veteran freelance journalist Kosuke Tsuneoka was finally freed last month by kidnappers after five months of captivity in Afghanistan. Though the Japanese media reported the kidnapping when it happened last April, and then Tsuneoka's release on Sept. 6, any details about his confinement or what he was...
EDITORIALS
Oct 16, 2010

NHK reporter crosses the line

Public broadcaster NHK announced Oct. 8 that a reporter in its news department's sports section warned a Japan Sumo Association official that the Metropolitan Police Department would conduct raids on sumo stables to search for evidence indicating that sumo wrestlers had gambled on professional baseball...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Sep 22, 2010

Japan iPad competitor offers up some luv

While this columnist is admittedly upset that Mouse Computer named their latest product after my old college dorm room without attribution, it's certainly very exciting to see an Android-based competitor for Apple's "revolutionary" iPad coming out of Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / THE TROUBLE AT TOYOTA
Sep 3, 2010

Driver error findings valid: expert

The U.S. auto safety regulator's recent interim report that found driver error to be the probable cause of most of the sudden acceleration accidents it probed involving Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles confirms the warnings of an American psychologist and ergonomist that motorists failed to use the brakes....
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 24, 2010

Girl idol group about mass exposure, fans

AKB48 has taken the pop singing idol phenom and multiplied it into a mass-production, mass-marketing, mass presence affair.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 1, 2010

Japanese quotes cast country's life and culture in disparate lights

SECOND IN A THREE-PART SERIES — In its current issue, the popular monthly magazine Bungei Shunju has a long feature titled "Tekichushita yogen 50," meaning "50 predictions that hit the mark."
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2010

Sengoku sees last-minute resurgence for DPJ at polls

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku on Friday downplayed media projections of a defeat for the ruling Democratic Party of Japan in Sunday's Upper House election, saying his party still has 48 hours to regain voter support.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 27, 2010

What's in a name? Politics as usual

When the Democratic Party of Japan indicated in its political manifesto that it favored voting rights for foreign permanent residents, the reaction from some quarters of the media was visceral. In early April, publisher Takarajima-sha produced a 96-page "emergency publication" titled "Gaikokujin Sanseiken...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jun 8, 2010

Readers weigh in on U.S. military presence

Fear of breaking taboo During my 31 years in Japan I have appreciated The Japan Times' coverage of social issues such as discrimination against ethic and social minorities, which the vernacular papers give only passing mention to.
COMMENTARY
May 1, 2010

How news skews views

BEIJING — I am not good at flying kites. But during a recent visit to the Olympic Village of Beijing, I felt compelled to do so. Despite the cold and late hour, there were many kite runners around me. A salesman insisted that I try my hand before committing to any purchase, and I did. After purchasing...
COMMENTARY
Apr 26, 2010

China's true supporters versus the hackers

Caring about China can be hard to do. Many Chinese, for starters, resent it when others express concern, viewing it as an intrusion, especially when the other party disagrees with something China has done.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2010

Tokunoshima is a risky gambit

TOKUNOSHIMA, Kagoshima Pref. — When Tokunoshima, an island with about 26,000 residents officially governed by Kagoshima Prefecture but counted as part of the Satsunan Islands that lie closer to Okinawa than Kyushu, first emerged as a candidate host for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, local reaction...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Apr 20, 2010

Takada enjoying rookie season with Evessa

The Japan Times will be featuring periodic interviews with players in the bj-league. The league's fifth season began in October. Hirohisa Takada of the Osaka Evessa is the subject of this week's profile.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 28, 2010

Japanese women can't get no satisfaction

Several weeks ago, star economist and self-help guru Kazuyo Katsuma was the special guest on the TBS variety show "Kinyobi no Sumatachi e." The program's title conflates "kinyobi no tsumatachi" (Friday Wives), which once referred to Friday night "trendy drama" series centered on well-to-do housewives,...
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2010

Politically connect: Twitter use is up

Presumably exhausted from all the heat over his political money scandals, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama recently limited the number of questions he takes from reporters every morning as he leaves his official residence.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan