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BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2001

Sony, Honda work on useful, entertaining robots

Ever since Sony Corp. and Honda Motor Co. unveiled prototypes of humanoid robots last year, expectations have been growing that they can be developed to carry out household chores and used for entertainment.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 20, 2001

Yoshimoto's talent for comedy

There was a time when parents in Osaka used to scold their kids by threatening, "I will send you to Yoshimoto!" if they were fooling around. Today, though, Yoshimoto Kogyo Co. has become Japan's largest entertainment agency, and most parents would be happy if their children worked for it. Its tarento...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 20, 2001

Ten weddings and a quiz show

'Timeshock" was one of the original Japanese quiz shows, an uncomplicated but tense trivia contest that kept viewers glued to their screens in the '60s and made its voluble host, the late Jiro Tamiya, a superstar. The heart of the show was the intense one-minute barrage of questions that the contestants...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 22, 2001

All together now: Let's all shill for Universal!

Before Universal Studios Japan opened on March 31, media commentators were asking why the new Hollywood theme park wasn't called Universal Studios Osaka. After all, Tokyo Disneyland isn't called Japan Disneyland. Here's the punch line: If they called it Universal Studios Osaka, the acronym would be USO,...
LIFE / Digital
Dec 20, 2000

Government, industry reassess potential harm of video games

SEATTLE -- Can games desensitize children and teach them how to kill? Video and computer game violence is such a hot topic in the United States that the U.S. Senate has held two sets of hearings on the matter, and several senior senators each year host a conference in which they discuss problems with...
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2000

World's tallest building planned in South Korea

South Korea's Lotte Group is to construct the tallest building in the world -- nearly one-third as tall again as the highest building in Japan, the Landmark Tower in Yokohama -- at a cost of some 1.2 trillion won, over $1 billion.
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2000

Sony headquarters gets new moniker; call it eHQ

In a move to demonstrate its renewed focus on network business, Sony Corp. will rename its group headquarters "eHQ" -- short for e-headquarters -- effective Saturday, President Nobuyuki Idei announced Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Oct 31, 1999

The end of a movie era

In this multimedia age, when new electronic entertainment devices for use in the privacy of one's home -- or anywhere -- proliferate endlessly, it can seem hopelessly old-fashioned to trendsetters to sit in a darkened movie theater watching stars emote in heart-tugging dramas, daredevil adventure stories...
JAPAN
Sep 14, 1999

Regional Focus: Hokkaido

Otaru pins revival hopes on mega-mall complex> Staff writer
JAPAN
Mar 12, 1997

Ajinomoto allegedly budgeted for payoffs to 'sokaiya'

Authorities investigating Ajinomoto Co. over alleged payoffs to corporate extortionists suspect that the company included the payments as "entertainment expenses" in its annual budget, informed sources said Mar. 12.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
May 15, 2023

Johnny’s takes steps toward overdue reckoning with its past

Allegations of sexual abuse by founder Johnny Kitagawa have long dogged the talent agency, but times are changing and the company seems to be facing the music.
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 29, 2023

The Japanese Diet expels some GaaSyy

From running his mouth on YouTube to running for office — and now, possibly, running from the law — GaaSyy’s journey has been a wild one.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Jan 3, 2023

Casinos in Macao deal themselves a tough hand with nongaming investment pledges

Casinos have committed to investing a total of $15 billion in the coming decade, 90% of which must be spent on nongaming.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Nov 18, 2022

Celebrities give a needed boost to Japan’s podcast industry

Companies are putting in greater efforts to make the podcast medium mainstream by teaming up with high-profile names such as Hideo Kojima to drive a shift in listener interest.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 16, 2022

Samurai Blues: The J. League, the World Cup and Japan’s place in global soccer

Sports writer Dan Orlowitz joins the show to catch us up on where Japan stands in the global soccer landscape and the controversies swirling around the host nation of Qatar.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Oct 21, 2022

Many soccer fans unlikely to attend Qatar World Cup

Strict entry requirements, sky-high accommodation prices and concerns over Qatar's human rights and LGBTQ+ record have also dampened enthusiasm.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 26, 2022

Sony hikes prices for PS5 in Japan and other markets but spares U.S. consumers

Sony's games business has been squeezed by supply chain snarls feeding into hardware shortages, but the firm now aims to boost production of the consoles for the year-end shopping season.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 18, 2022

Sony readies for metaverse revolution with cross-platform push

Sony's game, music and movie units contributed two-thirds of operating income in the year ended March, indicating that the group is metaverse-ready.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 11, 2022

As automakers add technology to cars, software bugs follow

Today's automakers must design entertainment systems for their cars that will work with software and devices that haven't been invented yet.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 2, 2022

'Spider-Man' propels Sony to forecast-smashing third-quarter profit

The firm is benefiting from strong demand for its PlayStation 5 games console, which it launched in November 2020.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 1, 2022

Sony buys Halo game developer Bungie for $3.6 billion

Sony is a regular acquirer of video game studios, though Bungie is by far its largest of the past decade.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Jan 26, 2022

Microsoft’s Activision purchase could leave Japanese video game-makers out in the cold

Japanese gaming firms, which are generally less agile and outward-looking than their U.S. peers, may struggle as companies invest in the metaverse.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 19, 2022

Microsoft will buy Activision Blizzard, betting $70 billion on the future of games

Microsoft has framed the deal as strengthening the company's hand in the so-called metaverse, claiming that 'gaming will be at the forefront of making that mainstream.”
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jan 14, 2022

Netflix needs new subscribers. Its Korean playbook is its secret weapon.

Following the popularity of the 'Squid Game' series, Netflix is hoping to ride its Korean surge to greater success elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region in order to attract more subscribers.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Dec 6, 2021

‘Modern girls’: Japan's first recognizable youth culture movement

Young women in the late 1920s and '30s exuded a sense of affluence and independence that is still apparent today.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 12, 2021

The limitations of audio-visual translation in shows like ‘Squid Game’

Entertainment translation is a constant juggling act, and viewer criticisms are sometimes made with a lack of understanding of how translation for subtitles and dubbed overlay work.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 3, 2021

China cracks down on showbiz for 'polluting' society and youth

Beijing's latest moves come in the wake of celebrity scandals, but also targets entertainment portraying 'effeminate' behavior and other content deemed 'warped.'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 5, 2021

Former AKB48 idol Miyu Takeuchi takes her musical career into her own hands

Singer Miyu Takeuchi got her start just shy of the spotlight in Japan's idol-pop group, but has taken her creative output into her own hands as a solo performer on YouTube.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight