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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 28, 2015

Back to the love hotel for ex-pink film director

Interviews with people you know well can turn awkward if you try to be the probing questioner instead of the coffee-shop companion. No such worries with 61-year-old Ryuichi Hiroki, the former pink film (i.e., soft pornography) director who made his commercial and critical breakthrough with the erotically...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 13, 2015

Lantis looks to woo a dedicated fan base with anisong tour

Fans breach the language barrier at overseas expos of Japanese pop culture as soon as the music starts. Legions of non-Japanese, most of whose knowledge of the language is limited to basic greetings and exclamations, burst into karaoke-style singalongs, mimicking dance moves and waving glow sticks. This...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 11, 2015

Fear and retribution rule amid Xi's crackdown on corruption in China

Chen Zhenggao, a member of the Communist Party's elite Central Committee, clearly has enemies.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 10, 2015

Code + culture: New Internet artists from Japan

If the Internet is an ocean, why do we spend so much time floating on its surface? What's really going on down there? Not just in the deepest, darkest trenches, but among the forgotten protocols, faulty algorithms and emerging parameters outside the busy shipping lanes and far from the crowded life rafts...
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 9, 2015

Sony to delay sale of PlayStation 4 in China

Sony Corp. will delay sales of the PlayStation 4 in China, originally scheduled for this Sunday, due to "various factors," the company said.
BUSINESS
Jan 2, 2015

Good plug for BlackBerry: Old, secure units came through for Sony after hackers hit

If there's one company that's gotten a bit of good press from the Sony Corp. hacking scandal, it's BlackBerry Ltd.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 1, 2015

What if 'The Interview' had been made in Japan?

It couldn't happen here — that was my first takeaway from the massive cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment prompted by the Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy "The Interview." In the film, the two heroes journey to North Korea ostensibly to interview its real-life leader, Kim Jong Un, but in fact,...
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jan 1, 2015

Most read Culture stories of 2014

OK Go's Japanese-inspired music video and Sailor Moon's special birthday were some of the most read and shared Culture articles of 2014.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 29, 2014

Sony's 'Interview' fetches $15 million online in four days

"The Interview" earned more than $15 million in online sales in its first four days of distribution as Sony bypassed a wide theater release amid concerns from major cinema chains about threats of violence.
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2014

Sony says PlayStation still has problems, gradually coming back online

Sony Corp.'s PlayStation Network suffered connection problems for a fourth straight day since hackers attacked the video game network, and the company said on Sunday that service was gradually being restored.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 26, 2014

Xbox, PlayStation game networks felled by known hacker group

Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox Live and Sony Corp.'s PlayStation Network, Internet services that video gamers use to play online, were hit by connection failures Christmas Day, with the hackers Lizard Squad claiming responsibility.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 26, 2014

Hirai giving more input at Sony Pictures in wake of hack

Sony Corp.'s Tokyo headquarters is changing its usual arm's-length relationship with its U.S. studio following a massive cyberattack and the controversy over the comedy "The Interview," with the group CEO being consulted on key decisions, company officials said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2014

Work begins in Japan to shield infrastructure against cyberattacks

Japan, fearing it could be a soft target for possible North Korean cyberattacks in the escalating row over the Sony Pictures hack, has begun working to ensure its basic infrastructure will remain safe and to formulate its diplomatic response, officials said.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 23, 2014

Lower sales affected acts worldwide

The Japanese music market has faced hard times as of late. Starting with an announcement from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry in March that the country's music sales dropped 16.7 percent in 2013, the past 12 months saw no particular upswing in physical or digital sales, therefore...
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 17, 2014

Former Sony employees sue studio over 'nightmare' data breach

The massive hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. computers has spurred two lawsuits by former employees accusing the company of failing to protect the personal information of thousands of workers.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Dec 12, 2014

Ice Bucks strive to build brand, promote league

"Hard work, every day."
BUSINESS
Dec 9, 2014

Group claiming Sony hack demands 'Interview' not be released

A group claiming to be responsible for the massive computer hack at Sony Pictures Entertainment demands the company cancel the release of 'The Interview,' a film comedy that depicts an assassination plot against North Korea's leader.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 8, 2014

Bangkok hotel is one crime scene in Sony hack

The incursion into Sony Pictures Entertainment's computer system reached its climax in, of all places, the elegant St. Regis Bangkok in the capital of Thailand.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 18, 2014

Engineer mobility at Samsung is a lesson for troubled Sony

Samsung Electronics Co. is giving Sony Corp. a lesson in quick decision-making by moving engineers from its smartphone unit less than a month after posting a profit slump in the business.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 6, 2014

Tesla reportedly to unveil 'autopilot' cars this week

Tesla Motors Inc. will make its first foray toward automated driving, joining luxury rivals in offering high-tech features, including one that can keep the car in its lane, according to a source familiar with the carmaker's plans.
EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2014

Pop-idol group debuts in debt

It's not unusual for nine young women to form a new pop-idol group in Japan. Contrary to other groups, though, members of The Margarines were chosen for their personal indebtedness.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 28, 2014

SoftBank rumored to be in talks to buy DreamWorks

SoftBank chief Masayoshi Son plans to make Hollywood's DreamWorks Animation studio part of his communications and media empire, a source reveals.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 26, 2014

Kojima's terrifying world of the unknown

Hideo Kojima's "P.T." isn't even a full game, and it still might be the scariest video game experience of the year. It is atmospheric, unfailingly creepy, and in future years might be looked back on as the first step in the reimagining of the horror genre.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2014

Artists, athletes will get to shine at Sports Culture Davos in 2016

As Japan gears up to host the 2020 Summer Olympics, the government will jointly hold Sports Culture Davos in fall 2016 in Tokyo and in the Kansai region with the Geneva-based World Economic Forum, education minister Hakubun Shimomura said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Sep 12, 2014

For toddlers, Anpanman doesn't have a use-by date

He has a big red nose, two rosy cheeks and an edible head that is regularly rebaked in his uncle's oven.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 27, 2014

On this island, depopulation isn't the problem — inertia is

There is one thing most people don't realize about this island paradise amid the Seto Inland Sea: that despite many people wanting to move here, none of them can.
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2014

MGM seen scouting Tokyo fish market as potential casino locale

MGM Resorts International has scouted the world's biggest fish market as a potential site for the casino resort it wants to build in Japan, according to two sources familiar with the company's plans.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 12, 2014

USJ touts wizardry of Harry Potter to win Japan casino partners

As Japan edges toward legalizing gambling resorts, USJ Co. is counting on its cachet turning around its Universal Studios theme park to win a partnership with a foreign casino operator.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jul 25, 2014

Anime enjoys summer homes in Los Angeles

For more than two decades, post-production, audio and creative studio Bang Zoom! Entertainment in Burbank, California, has been delivering the anime fix abroad. Founder and CEO Eric P. Sherman talks about how it all began.

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell