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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 30, 2014

'Dakishimetai: Shinjitsu no Monogatari (I Just Wanna Hug You)'

Of Japanese medical melodramas there is no end. Targeted largely at the female audience, they appear on the lineups of Toho and other major distributors with the regularity of cherry blossoms in April.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jan 25, 2014

In Davos, gripping kabuki with little substance

Afriend asks via email: "Did you see the video of Abe in Davos?"
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jan 24, 2014

Kabuki reviews shed light on Edo theater culture

Seven compilations of acting reviews for kabuki shows performed in Nagoya during the Edo Period have been found in the storeroom of Misono-za, an old theater in the city that is under renovation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 15, 2014

'Kaz' Kumagai brings tip-top tap to town

"Anyone can enjoy being be a tap dancer in their daily life; all you have to do is casually make a rhythm with your feet when you're walking down the street," Japan's leading exponent of the art, Kazunori Kumagai, insists — seemingly oblivious to the gulf between him and most of the rest of clod-hopping...
LIFE
Jan 11, 2014

The return of Godzilla, the king of kaiju

'Godzilla' first appeared in cinemas across the country in November 1954 but its story line was heavily influenced by an incident eight months earlier at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2013

Sony exploring sale of Gracenote audio-recognition service

Sony Corp., looking to shed units to focus on fewer products, hired Frank Quattrone's Qatalyst Partners to explore a sale of its Gracenote audio-recognition software business, two sources said.
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Dec 2, 2013

Tokyo: What do you think of Japan's national broadcaster, NHK?

Beloved voice of the nation or loathed drain on household finances? Vox pops from around the capital suggest a bit of both.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 16, 2013

Amano: tracing Japan's arc through its ads

Though Yukichi Amano's field of expertise was advertising, he used his weekly newspaper columnsto comment on popular culture in general, and frequently provided other media outlets with his personal take on social trends.
BUSINESS
Nov 12, 2013

Mitsui Fudosan, partners said seeking OK for Odaiba casino-resort complex

Mitsui Fudosan Co., the nation's largest property developer, is seeking approval for an entertainment complex and resort in Tokyo with construction firm Kajima Corp. and Fuji Media Holdings Inc.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 5, 2013

Hostess exists rather happily on the edge

With international repertoire's share of the music market down to about 15 percent, it has never been harder to break foreign acts in Japan. And given the shrinking market for non-Japanese music, it seems quixotic to set up a company specializing in bringing foreign repertoire into the country — especially...
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Oct 31, 2013

Waseda students teach you how to have fun

University festivals are probably not the first place foreign residents in Japan would seek out entertainment, but as evidence of the existence — despite many reports to the contrary — of a certain joie de vivre among the nation's young, they are hard to beat. And the hardest to beat is surely Waseda-sai,...
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 29, 2013

DeNA plans push beyond games

DeNA Co., the Tokyo-based company whose service lets people play games on mobile phones, is seeking to expand its e-commerce and mobile entertainment businesses and is mulling acquisition opportunities.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 4, 2013

Pianist Ai Kuwabara to live out her dream on stage at Tokyo Jazz Festival

Pianist Ai Kuwabara is waxing nostalgic at the offices of her record label, East Works Entertainment, in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Aug 29, 2013

Obama criticized for delivering predictable rhetoric amid historic backdrop

President Barack Obama began with a recapitulation, an attempt to recall in lyrical fashion who came to Washington in 1963, where they came from, how they got here and why they made the journey.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 19, 2013

Samsung, Sony set pre-emptive strikes

Samsung Electronics Co. and Sony Corp. reportedly plan to unveil new devices next month as two of Asia's biggest technology companies try to showcase their products before Apple Inc. releases new iPhones and iPads.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 18, 2013

Sony to release flagship Xperia smartphone in September: sources

Sony Corp. will launch a flagship smartphone for its Xperia brand next month that features imaging technology developed for its cameras and ultrahigh definition TVs, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Aug 13, 2013

Otakon celebrates 20 years of anime fandom in the U.S.

The American anime convention, Otakon ("Otaku Convention"), begins with a costume parade before it officially opens. Last week I had a bird's-eye view of the spectacle from my 14th-floor hotel room in Baltimore, Maryland. An endless army of imaginary characters trudged across the elevated concourse and...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2013

Forget the beach, try an on-the-job vacation

KidZania, the theme park where children can role-play professions such as doctor or firefighter, has proved popular around the world: entertainment centers are now operating in 10 countries in addition to Japan, including Mexico, Indonesia and Portugal.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 8, 2013

Eat yourself broke at Grand Front Osaka

You've gotta love a city whose primary motivation is to accumulate wealth then promptly squander it through the time-honored pursuit of kuidaore (eating oneself to bankruptcy). Now, with the opening of the massive Grand Front Osaka commercial, residential and entertainment complex on the north side of...
BUSINESS / BALANCING INTERESTS
Jul 22, 2013

Farmers stealing TPP spotlight from other key issues

While a great deal of political and media attention is focusing on what the Trans-Pacific Partnership might mean for Japan's agricultural sector, less is being devoted to how it could impact investor-state disputes and copyright laws, two controversial areas that present a growing challenge to forging...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 7, 2013

The aidoru industry seeks big bucks in numbers

They say that Japan is suffering from a major shōshika (少子化, plummeting birth rate) syndrome, but a cursory glance at the entertainment industry reveals a singular fact: The young people of this country are well and thriving, and huddled together in mass aidoru gurūpu (アイドルグループ,...
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 5, 2013

Hate pornography, sure, but be wary of banning it

Prosecutions for the possession of the filthiest pornography confirm foreigners' suspicions that the British care more for animals than people. Between 2008 and 2011, the English and Welsh authorities charged 1,922 men for having images of bestiality about their person. By contrast, they brought only...
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 13, 2013

News Corp. publishing arm breakup plan wins approval

After years of being criticized by investors for his love of newspapers, News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch is now a step closer to cleaving off his declining publishing business.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 9, 2013

A world of flowers and willows in Kyoto's geisha districts

'No matter what happens / I am in love with Gion. / Even when I sleep, / Beneath my pillow / The waters ripple.'

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