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COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2013

James Gandolfini and the art of 'The Sopranos'

James Gandolfini's legacy will remain a cascade of popular television programs that people who search for quality aren't embarrassed about to watch and debate.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 17, 2013

'Man of Steel' shoulders quest to lift DC into Marvel's league

In Warner Bros.' "Man of Steel," Superman tries to save the world from powerful villains. His real-life task is no cakewalk either: Turn the studio's DC Comics into a hit factory like Walt Disney Co.'s Marvel.
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Jun 2, 2013

Sex gaffes and the voluble Osaka shyster

If the Japan Restoration Party — headed by Toru Hashimoto, the mayor of Osaka, and former Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara — needs a new political slogan, the proverb Kuchi ga wazawai no moto (The mouth is the source of great trouble) would do nicely.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 2, 2013

British wave washes over U.S. media market

The British are coming — actually, they're already here. And they're running some of America's top media and entertainment companies and successfully peddling their shows, newspapers and magazines to the former colonies.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 28, 2013

Tokyo's Koreatown emerged from the flow of bilateral ties

Diplomatic friction between Tokyo and Seoul over territorial and historical disputes is making headlines once again, and Tokyo's right-wing protesters know just where to go to get in the face of its Korean residents: Koreatown in Shinjuku Ward's Shin-Okubo district.
BUSINESS
Nov 9, 2012

Boss quits at hacked Sony unit

Tim Schaaff, head of Sony Corp.'s online entertainment service that was hacked into last year, is resigning his post, the electronics maker announced Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 5, 2012

Let them dance!

The police have been cracking down on dance clubs over the past year, arresting operators and shutting clubs by suddenly enforcing a law about dancing and other amusement that goes back to 1948, and related regulations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 13, 2012

High price of the most gorgeous show in town

Note to self: Never be a young woman in Japan. It's just too harrowing.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 16, 2012

Clowning around in Tohoku to help children

The Japanese entertainment world is supposed to be a very hard one to crack for foreigners in these lean years of economic doldrums. Once in a while a few people manage to carve out a niche for themselves through a combination of talent, perseverance and luck.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2012

Public acceptance of high salaries for athletes contrasts with low regard for finance superstars

The biggest news around Cambridge in recent weeks has been Jeremy Lin, the Harvard economics graduate who has shocked the National Basketball Association by rising overnight from "nowhere" to become a genuine star, leading a losing New York Knicks team to an unlikely string of victories.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Mar 4, 2012

Taro Yamamoto: Actor in the spotlight of Japan's antinuke movement

On a rainy midwinter day, Taro Yamamoto stood with a small group of people in front of Shimokitazawa Station in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward and addressed passers-by in that artsy youth-culture hub.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 22, 2012

Can showbiz really sever yakuza ties?

Last August, comedian and TV emcee Shinsuke Shimada retired from show business following allegations that he'd been palling around with an underworld figure. His withdrawal came on the eve of the implementation of a well-publicized police crackdown on organizations that work with antisocial elements,...
Japan Times
CULTURE
Dec 23, 2011

New Japan Pro-Wrestling hits 40

High-impact slams, chokeholds and daredevil feats of athleticism aren't the usual way to celebrate a 40th birthday, but that's how New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) will be spending its big day.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Nov 24, 2011

Late-night dancing should not be a crime in Japan

Imagine a town where playing rock music is under a curfew and police crack down on unlicensed late-night dancing. Are you thinking of the town from the film "Footloose"? Or are you thinking of Fukuoka? Kumamoto? Yokohama?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 18, 2011

Volunteer-led Tohoku cinema provides welcome escapism

Following the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11 in the Tohoku region, survivors received nearly every type of aid imaginable from thousands of volunteers, ranging from hot meals to haircuts. But they also faced long, soul-deadening hours in shelters and temporary housing, with little in the way...
BUSINESS
Oct 29, 2011

Sony pulls trigger on Ericsson venture purchase

Sony Corp. has agreed to buy Ericsson AB's 50 percent stake in their 10-year-old mobile phone venture to integrate the smartphone business with its gaming and tablet offerings.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Jun 15, 2011

Nintendo et al roll out the big guns at E3

The annual Electronic Entertainment Expo is gaming's main event. It's when the industry's heavyweights face off with new games and new hardware. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo (which doesn't traditionally participate in the Tokyo Game Show) all go head to head. This year's E3, in Los Angeles, provided...
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2011

Social network games flex their muscles at E3 trade show

Facebook sleuths playing "CSI" will share the spotlight with assassins at Ubisoft Entertainment SA's E3 booth next week, the latest sign that video game makers recognize the threat posed by lower-priced casual titles.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
May 26, 2011

'Golden age' of kayoukyoku holds lessons for modern J-pop

On April 21, 2011, the actress and singer Yoshiko Tanaka, aka Sue from 1970s idol group the Candies, died after a relapse of the cancer that she had been living with for 20 years. A tragedy, at the relatively young age of 55, and one that comes during a period of deep soul-searching for the Japanese...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 25, 2011

Sony's fiscal year hurt by 'smack in the eye'

For Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer, this was supposed to be Sony Corp.'s year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 19, 2011

Sony's Stringer calls hacker attack 'hiccup'

The hacker attack that crippled Sony Corp.'s PlayStation Network and Qriocity entertainment services was "a hiccup" in the company's online strategy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer said.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 17, 2011

Print is suffering, but English readers have never had it so good

Returning to Osaka after several years, James wonders what became of Kansai Time Out, the magazine that served the English-speaking community in that region and beyond:
BUSINESS
May 12, 2011

Hackers disrupt PlayStation blog

Sony Corp., struggling to restore online entertainment services after a record theft of customer data, said Wednesday its PlayStation blog has been partially disrupted after the website was attacked by hackers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 24, 2011

Laughs, tears at comedy film fest

The third Okinawa International Movie Festival held its opening ceremony on Tues., March 22, after going through a traumatic week in Japan and coming out of it dramatically changed.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 18, 2011

Stars certain movie business will bounce back

Each new day since the March 11 earthquake seems to bring something worse, but the Japanese entertainment industry is no stranger to disaster and mayhem. There's a been-there-seen-it-all mindset, nurtured by a long history of alternating repression and liberation, plus natural disasters in between.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Dec 20, 2010

Small, Murakami offer opinions on MLB, NPB business strategies

Japanese baseball had trouble finding broadcast partners for the 2010 Japan Series between the Chiba Lotte Marines and Chunichi Dragons. That was a perplexing turn of events in a nation where the sport is king.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2010

China, Haneda draw U.S. airlines

One of Peter Philipp Wingsoe's employees at a Los Angeles marketing firm recently waited five days for a business-class ticket on a United Airlines jet home from Beijing because flights were so packed.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Sep 17, 2010

Apache facing tough start with extended road trip

The bj-league's sixth season begins on Oct. 16, but the Tokyo Apache's first home game isn't until Jan. 6 at Yoyogi National Gymnasium No. 2.

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.