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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 4, 2009

'The Ugly Truth'

The rom-com, once a source of solace for the working woman who, after a hard day's work, could at least count on undemanding entertainment to tide her through the evening, has become something different. It's no longer the sweet and smart girlfriend equivalent, unjudgmental if a little cynical. That...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 30, 2009

Ryuichi Sakomoto on 'Bakusho,' dishes worth tears and 'The Host's Wife'

This week the subject of "Bakusho Mondai no Nippon no Kyoyo" (Bakusho Mondai's Japan Education; NHK-G, Tues., 10:50 p.m.) is music, but not necessarily Japanese music.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2009

Jumbo SMAP ad pro-LDP?

SMAP, the pop group that has dominated the nation's music scene for more than two decades, urged voters to support incumbent politicians as the ruling party faces likely defeat in Sunday's Lower House election.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 29, 2009

Corporate exec puts the planet's needs on par with the bottom line

The church that Bill Werlin attended as a child had no walls. "I grew up in the mountains. People would ask me where my church was and I would point out the window and say, 'right there,' " he says.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 28, 2009

'Martyrs'

What exactly is the definition of a horror film these days? The genre seems to have moved from its traditional goal of scaring the viewer to a more decadent phase in which extreme depictions of brutality and degradation seem to be its raison d'etre. Suspense and fright have been replaced by torture and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 28, 2009

the telephones get their disco on

Saitama quartet the telephones are unabashed disco aficionados.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Aug 21, 2009

Chinzan-so Italian festival

The Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Chinzan-so will hold a monthlong "La Festa Italiana" of Italian cuisine, art and fashion, as an official event of "Italia in Giappone 2009," the government promotion supported by the Embassy of Italy in Tokyo and the Italian State Tourist Board.
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Aug 19, 2009

Driving you 'crazy for kanji' — in a good way

Here's an addiction that doesn't require a 12-step recovery program. For the past six years, Berkeley, Calif.-based freelance writer Eve Kushner has been a self-proclaimed, unapologetic "kanji-holic." Kushner details her passion for Sino-Japanese characters in a new textbook, "Crazy for Kanji: A Student's...
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Aug 18, 2009

Kids hit the dance floor for charities

Visitors going into Tokyo Church of Christ in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, on a Friday afternoon in July were welcomed by three children with painted faces who proceeded to perform modern dance.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Aug 16, 2009

'Telepolitics,' polls shake up status quo

Japanese politics has been in a chaotic state for the past few years, perplexing millions of voters. The country has seen four prime ministers in the past three years, and the latest — Taro Aso — could be forced out if the Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition force, grabs power in the...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Aug 16, 2009

Tokyo bees make honey high over Ginza

Forget Chanel, Cartier and H&M, the buzz on Ginza — long Tokyo's most glitzy shopping and entertainment district — is now all about . . . honeybees.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 14, 2009

'Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl'

Japanese filmmakers will almost always tell you that they make films for the domestic market first and foremost. If foreigners happen to like them too, that's a nice little bonus, like an after-dinner mint.
Reader Mail
Aug 13, 2009

Just more celebrity make-believe

Correct me if I am wrong, but it is possession of narcotic drugs, stimulants and proscribed substances that is illegal in Japan, not the use of them. Reading the news carefully, we learn that the sumo wrestlers who recently fell afoul of Japanese drug laws, plus singer Noriko Sakai and her surfer husband...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 9, 2009

Humor may be universal, but Japan's is largely its smut-free own

Swedes crack jokes about Norwegians, Poles knock the Russians, and though everyone likes a good Italian joke, they're less funny than they used to be thanks to the genuinely grotesque antics of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 7, 2009

'Summer Wars'

"Revenge," George Orwell once wrote, "is bitter," but it can also be sweet, can't it?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Aug 4, 2009

Spontaneous Japanese TV keeps Dave Spector on his toes

Michael Jackson's death meant a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For Japanese television celebrity Dave Spector, it meant being woken on the morning of June 26 at 6 a.m. and spending most of the next two weeks either studying or commenting on the performer for the benefit of Japanese...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 31, 2009

'Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian'

What to say about "Night At The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" (opening locally as "Night Museum 2"), the latest outbreak of Hollywood sequelitis? Well, I can tell you with all confidence that leading man Ben Stiller is just as funny here as he was in "Meet The Parents 2" or "Madagascar 2." Or that...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 31, 2009

Bugy Craxone "Cheeseburgers Diary"

Bugy Craxone, whose name is a twisted mash-up of the English words blue, easy and klaxon, formed in Sapporo in 1997, relocating a year later to Tokyo. Their pop-infused, female-fronted hardcore sound won them a deal with Victor Entertainment within a year; but whereas many Japanese rock bands start out...
CULTURE / Books
Jul 26, 2009

The quirky terrain of an otaku mind

"Otaku" is one of those Japanese words that has no precise equivalent in English. "Geek" translates the knowledgeability as well as the social ineptness of the stereotypical otaku, but not quite his (and, more rarely, her) intense interest in what so-called serious adults regard as trivial pursuits:...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 24, 2009

'Bolt'

Brave, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Bolt is the canine equivalent of Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) of "The Truman Show" fame — he lives his whole life in a TV show but doesn't know it. And because he's a dog, the Kafka-esque/metaphysical angst that assailed Truman (once he discovered that his life is...
BUSINESS
Jul 23, 2009

Toshiba may turn to Blu-ray

After losing its battle to make the HD-DVD the successor to the DVD, Toshiba Corp. is considering making products in the winning Blu-ray format.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 19, 2009

History in a stunning setting

It may be hard to imagine of a Saturday night in the gaijin gulches of Tokyo's seething Roppongi entertainment district, but back in the 16th century, foreigners — especially of a Western ilk — were a complete novelty in Japan.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan