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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 27, 2021

Ado's defiant hit is a coming-of-age moment for Japan's Vocaloid culture

Ado caused a moral panic in Japan with her catchy and rebellious track 'Usseewa,' a track influenced by the cultural conventions of Vocaloid that are taking Japanese music by storm.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 21, 2021

Rapper Daichi Yamamoto gets personal about breakups, his biracial background and a love of jazzy beats

Japanese rappers are beginning to share more about their own experiences in their tracks, an approach Daichi Yamamoto says is upping the standards for domestic hip-hop.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 30, 2020

Pierre Cardin, designer to the famous and merchant to the masses, dies at 98

In 1957, Cardin became the first European designer to forge business ties with Japan, and within two years he was selling his fashions there.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jul 31, 2020

YouTube traveler John Daub faces a new online landscape

John Daub's travel-centric Only In Japan channel is finding a new path amid difficulties stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 8, 2020

How to celebrate Mother's Day — or anyone you love — during a pandemic

With everyone's attention focused on the coronavirus pandemic, you could be forgiven for forgetting that it's Mother's Day this weekend. Just remember, it's never too late to tell anyone in your life that they matter.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Feb 1, 2020

Yumi Matsuo: It's a different picture in the United States

New York-based lifestyle photographer Yumi Matsuo wants to see personalities shine through her work.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2019

Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, a political titan who spanned eras, dies at 101

The enduring statesman, who bolstered the military alliance with the U.S. and privatized the Japanese National Railways, led Japan onto the world stage in the 1980s.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 12, 2019

For Kure's fishermen, skipjack tuna remains king of their catch

"No katsuo, no life." The words emblazoned on Takahiro Tanaka's T-shirt are more than just a catchy slogan; they are the literal truth. Without katsuo (skipjack tuna), life would be very different for him and the rest of the fishing folks in the port town of Kure, Kochi Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 17, 2019

An enlightening buildup to Viennese modernism

'Vienna on the Path to Modernism' at The National Museum of Art, Osaka, is essentially an illustrated history of sociopolitical developments leading to the city flourishing as one of the world's great cultural centers from the mid-18th century.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Jul 28, 2019

Bringing holistic change to meet industry challenges

Increasing numbers of firms in Japan are trying to make work-life balance a priority, but in a business culture where overtime is still the norm, this is easier said than done.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 8, 2019

In Seoul, authentic Japanese food inspires everyday happiness

The rise in South Korean solo dining culture and a desire to seek out authentic experiences is driving up the popularity of Japanese food.
JAPAN / Politics
May 20, 2019

From cardboard factory to the kantei? Yoshihide Suga gets PR makeover as rumors of PM bid soar

Unsmiling, tight-lipped and at times appearing heavy-handed, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga was never exactly the type of politician the public would take a shine to — let alone swoon over.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 6, 2019

Reform the labor practices peculiar to Japan

Many of the labor practices prevalent in Japan are quite extraordinary in light of global standards.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 12, 2019

'Kinkakuji': Staging a Japanese classic with a German twist

A new opera based on the quintessentially Japanese novel "Kinkakuji" is set to open in Tokyo following a premiere held not in Kyoto, where the famed golden pavilion of its title is to be found, but at the Opera National du Rhin in Strasbourg, France.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / Taking the Lead
Sep 17, 2018

For Lifull president Takashi Inoue, emerging tech and a touch of altruism are key to success

Takashi Inoue wants to transform his company, Lifull Co., into a one-stop shop for important lifestyle goods and services, where customers don't just make purchases but are able to get information about what they are buying as well.
JAPAN / History / Defining the Heisei Era
May 26, 2018

Defining the Heisei Era: Japan indulges in excess

The Japan Times presents the first installment of a monthly 12-part series that looks back at the leading issues of the past three decades.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / How the visual arts shaped Japan's modern literature
Sep 30, 2017

How the visual arts shaped Japan's modern literature

Early on in Natsume Soseki's 1908 campus novel "Sanshiro" — one of the most important expositions of the inter-connectedness of visual and literary art ever written — a young scientist, Nonomiya, looks up at a long, thin, white cloud floating diagonally in the sky.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / The critics who shaped modern Japan
Aug 5, 2017

Junichiro Tanizaki: Speaking to the light from the shadows

In 1933, when Junichiro Tanizaki (1886-1965) published his short but landmark essay "In Praise of Shadows," it could hardly be seen as anything other than a riposte to the "enlightening" agenda of the great cultural critic Fukuzawa Yukichi of the preceding Meiji Era (1868-1912).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 12, 2017

Deep dive into the 1980s with the music of Satellite Young

Synthesizers, drum machines and Vocoder-filtered vocals in the style of pop star Chisato Moritaka — this was 1980s Japan, and it's the sound of Satellite Young.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 15, 2017

Pursuing peculiar passions: the wacky world of Japan's offbeat groups

Play it safe. Follow the rules. Respect authority. And, above all, don't stick out like that silly proverbial nail.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 8, 2017

Disputatious legacies: examining the historic ties that bind Okinawa and China

Commenting on the pervasiveness of his own culture while on a trip to Indonesia, the Nobel Prize-winning poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote, "I see India everywhere." A traveler to Okinawa today from continental Asia, might well say, "I see China everywhere."
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 13, 2016

When Rene Redzepi brought Noma to Japan

In April 2014, chef Rene Redzepi was riding the crest of a wave. Noma, his iconic Copenhagen restaurant, had just been voted back to No. 1 on the World 50 Best list, cementing its place as one of the top global dining destinations. And then, at the awards ceremony, he dropped a bombshell announcement....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 13, 2016

World was a stage for acclaimed theater director Yukio Ninagawa

Acclaimed stage director Yukio Ninagawa was a titan of global theater but his hand felt astonishingly fragile when I shook it in delight in 2012 after the world premiere of "Trojan Women," which brought together a remarkable ensemble of Japanese, Arab-Israeli and Jewish-Israeli actors.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 16, 2015

Kiki Sugino: 'I'm always looking for myself'

Kiki Sugino has a one-of-a-kind resume in the domestic movie business. Many are the young "multi-talents" who act, sing and model, but most are recruited, molded and marketed by an agency. From the start, this 31-year-old actor, director and producer took a more independent route toward multi-dom.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 10, 2015

'Taiko' pioneer Eitetsu Hayashi to mark 45 years of drumming to his own beat

It's the image that comes to most people when they think of a traditional taiko (Japanese drum) performance: A man standing in front of a giant drum, back to the crowd and furiously banging away to create a powerful rhythm.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 24, 2015

Tokyo fashion week: Hiromichi Ochiai — man in the middle

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo wrapped up its runway shows at the Hikarie shopping complex in Shibuya Ward on Oct. 17, ending six days of presentations that showcased a wide range of collections for the upcoming 2016 spring/summer season.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Sep 12, 2015

Dante Carver: 'Dream big, love bigger and do what you love'

SoftBank's Yoso Guy on games, design and what it's really like to be a part of the White family
The Marquis de Sade’s original rolled manuscript called Le Rouleau de la Bastille of “Les 120 jours de Sodome ou l’ecole du libertinage” (“The 120 Days of Sodom, or the School of Libertinage”) is displayed before being auctioned in Paris in November 2017. 
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2025

The Marquis de Sade’s guide to cancel culture

The Marquis de Sade’s legacy proves that even the most reviled figures can outlast cancellation.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building