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Japan Times
CULTURE
Jul 15, 2011

Will heartthrob Mukai shine as the shogun?

This year's NHK Sunday evening drama has already entered the history books for one, perhaps inauspicious, reason. On March 12, a day after the Great East Japan Earthquake, NHK announced that the following day's broadcast of "Go," as the show is titled, would be canceled to make way for news coverage....
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2011

South China Sea: making sense of nonsense

After a series of aggressive incidents involving Chinese patrol boats and subsequent soothing official statements, many analysts are trying to figure out what is really going on.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 17, 2011

Superfly takes a heavy trip

Hang on a minute, how did this happen? Somehow hippie-loving 1960s-throwback pop songstress Superfly has got, like, totally heavy, man. While her previous studio album, 2009's "Box Emotions," featured a couple of belters, new release "Mind Travel" does away with soppy ballads almost completely, favoring...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 26, 2011

Gellers find a new balance with 'Guatemala'

The story behind Gellers seems like the stuff of made-for-TV movies. A bunch of kids meet one another on the outskirts of the city, and eventually form a band. They stick together and, despite a few setbacks, release an album and tour the country as adults. There are no scripts to be found here, though....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 26, 2011

English mags approach milestone, crossroads

Those members of the expat community in Japan who are addicted to their weekly or monthly fix of English-language magazines will have surely noticed all the changes going on lately. These are troubled and exciting times and, just as it has in the past, the local media world is trying to rise to the challenge...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 25, 2011

It's a woman's world inside manga

Bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women), long a staple of ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) and its erotic sub-genre shunga (spring pictures), is mostly moribund in contemporary art. A variant form, however, lives on in shojo manga, serialized comic books that are often flush with romantic narratives and target,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 23, 2011

Knightley learns about life from Ishiguro adaptation

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Keira Knightley, at age 26, has proven herself much more than just a pretty face. Born March 26, 1985, she requested a showbiz agent at age 3 — not all that surprising, considering that her father, Will Knightley, is an actor and her mother is the acclaimed playwright Sharman...
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2011

Nintendo's pioneering 3-D hand-held debuts

Nintendo's latest game machine, offering glasses-free 3-D images, went on sale Saturday ahead of a global rollout, and analysts say it promises to be the world's first 3-D mass-market product.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 21, 2011

Bo Ningen

Sporting chest-length, jet-black hair that obscures each of the four members' facial features, Bo Ningen look like what might have happened if Sadako from "The Ring" had crawled out of the well and found herself on stage fronting a psych-rock band. Add in song titles such as "Koroshitai Kimochi," which...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 14, 2011

Tokyo photography museum takes a look into the future

The Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography has entered a new dimension. The museum's special exhibition this year concentrates on 3-D photography.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2010

Know them by their bliss

NEW YORK — What's the best way to really know someone? Is it to uncover their daily worries, hassles or fears? To discern what traits they most hide from others, and perhaps even from themselves?
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Nov 10, 2010

Ninja USB clip defends your data's honor ; Bandai's hovering X-Flyer feels like mini-UFO

Japan has produced a number of fun USB storage devices over the years ("humping dog" memory stick, anyone?) and now there's another to add to the list thanks to the good people at Cut n' Paste.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 24, 2010

Ego-Wrappin'

MARK JARNES Staff writer
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 17, 2010

Shedding some light on shadows

What follows you around nearly everywhere but you never notice?
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 10, 2010

Luna Regalo serves up a flip

If you are thinking of going to a restaurant this weekend, why not take the opportunity to enjoy some acrobatics at the same time?
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 3, 2010

Double dose of dancing hits Saitama

A double bill of cutting-edge dance awaits fans at the Saitama Arts Theater this weekend.
COMMENTARY
Aug 5, 2010

China's claims make waves

Befitting its status as a rising global power, China says it is the third-largest country in the world, after Russia and Canada, with a land area of about 9.6 million square km. However, although China is a continental giant, it is a maritime minnow compared to other big countries.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 16, 2010

'Kari-Gurashi no Arrietty (The Borrowers)'

Studio Ghibli is often assumed to be the animation house that Hayao Miyazaki built, but Miyazaki has directed only nine of its 17 features to date. Four were made by studio cofounder Isao Takahata and four by four different directors. These latter four, however, are all immediately identifiable as Studio...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jun 4, 2010

Unwind Bali-style in Tokyo

Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Chinzan-so is holding a Bali Experience promotion through June 30.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 30, 2010

Studies highlight a 'heartwarming' resu of the real thing in Japan

Nothing gets the circulation going like sex.
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
May 26, 2010

Casio cell phones in the frame; Panasonic pushing Blu-ray angle for TVs

Mobile snaps: Casio's latest cell phone, the CA005, just released by KDD's mobile phone service "au by KDDI," offers two products in one. A typical glossy clamshell mobile phone, the CA005 also packs a 13-megapixel camera into its sharply rectangular form. The phone's camera features smile detection...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 21, 2010

New history of art in the 21st century

To the extent that it exists in the popular consciousness, contemporary art is frequently associated with ideas of "newness" and "antitradition." This is partly to do with the legacy of the early 20th-century Dada movement. Responding to the social ferment surrounding World War I, the Dadaists rejected...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
May 7, 2010

Mexican invasion at Trader Vic's

Timed to celebrate the Mexican holiday of Cinco de Mayo, Trader Vic's at the Hotel New Otani Tokyo will feature Mexican dishes from its historic sister restaurant, Senor Pico, until May 31.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 23, 2010

'Johnny Mad Dog'/'Clash of the Titans'

For a quick snapshot of the alternate and opposing directions being taken by cinema in the 21st century, it's worth considering a pair of films on release this weekend: "Johnny Mad Dog," by French director Jean-Stephane Sauvaire, is a provocative, intensely realist look at child soldiers on the rampage...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Apr 21, 2010

Be good to your vacuum cleaner and it will suck, if you're lucky

There's not a lot of turnover in vacuum cleaners, but manufacturers are doing their best to change that with new bells and whistles.

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