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CULTURE / Books
Oct 14, 2001

Kenzaburo Oe: Bridging the generation gap

In the wake of the terrorist attacks in America, large bookstores have put together special displays on Islam and terrorism, while the cult idolization of the prime minister continues with the publication of a coffee-table book of Koizumi photos (Jun-chan lounging in a robe!). However, as always in recent...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 5, 2001

'It's a complicated story,' pleads a battered press

The press has taken quite a beating over its coverage of the murders at Ikeda Elementary School. Even before the funerals, letters to the editor columns were filled with missives from enraged readers lam basting the media's lack of either common decency or common sense. Most complaints concerned interviews...
CULTURE / Books
Jul 15, 2001

Controversial textbooks are big sellers for Fusosha

The latest best seller, oddly enough, is a junior high school history textbook. After going on sale on June 1, "Atarashii Rekishi Kyokasho" has been at or near the top of the best-seller list and the related social studies text "Atarashii Komin Kyokasho" in the top 10. Already 500,000 copies of the history...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 1, 2001

Innovative strategies that get the message across

The pointlessness of election campaigns in Japan is dramatically exemplified by the sound trucks screaming the names of their respective candidates over and over. The stupidity of election campaigns in Japan is audaciously exemplified by something that happened in my own neighborhood last week prior...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 10, 2001

There's a fine line between parody and larceny

There is an unspoken belief among music critics that had George Harrison not been a Beatle, he wouldn't have lasted more than a minute in the pop business. This belief has nothing to do with Harrison's talent and everything to do with his professional judgment. First, he released all his good songs on...
JAPAN
May 10, 2001

Ex-wife strongly backs Koizumi

Kayoko Miyamoto, former wife of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, said in a magazine interview published this week she wants to be a cheerleader for her ex-husband, explaining, "I have nothing to lose."
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 8, 2001

You say you've got woman troubles?

This week, on "Ningen Yuyu" (Educational, Monday-Thursday, 7:30 p.m.), NHK will explore the malaise that is afflicting many young Japanese women right now. The four-night series, "Hyoryu suru Shojotachi (Drifting Girls)," will use conversations with experts and documentary footage to show how many young...
CULTURE / Books
Mar 2, 2001

Ex-OL, self-described everyman take Naoki prize

The winners of the Naoki literary prize for the second half of 2000 have been announced. This time, both winners -- "Planaria" by Yamamoto Fumio and "Vitamin F" by Shigematsu Kiyoshi -- are short-story collections, as were three of the other four short-listed works.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 5, 2001

Have Japanese novelists lost touch with readers?

The fading interest in reading among younger Japanese first caused alarm several years ago in Japan, but I was recently startled to see a full page devoted to the topic in The New York Times' Book Review section (Dec. 10).
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 21, 2000

Success of discount barns should come as no surprise

" 'Tis the season," and while many a crabby gaijin points out that Japan's decidedly commercial spin on Christmas excludes its religious meaning, shopping makes a lot of people happy, so why knock it?
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 26, 2000

Get ready for the Ichiro onslaught

Hold onto your hats. The contract agreement between the Seattle Mariners and Ichiro (Suzuki) promises to offer an exciting, fun time with a frenzied media circus, possible extra events, increased tourism and brisk souvenir sales, as the former Orix BlueWave outfielder and seven-time Pacific League batting...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 16, 2000

Social guilt: putting the blame on Mom

Though the media agrees with the government that Japan's flagging birthrate is a bad thing, they seem determined to make potential parents dread the prospect of raising kids in a world where every wrong choice, major or minor, could turn their offspring into criminals, deviants, or just plain miserable...
CULTURE / Books
Nov 3, 2000

Throwing out complication to embrace simple life

Reflecting the downbeat mood in Japan, book sales continue to be sluggish, especially of hardcover books and serious fiction.
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2000

New law means marching orders for bad tenants

Motokazu Miyama's big fear is one probably shared by hundreds of thousands of other property-owners in Japan: What if unwelcome tenants refuse to leave after the apartment lease expires?
CULTURE / Books
Oct 6, 2000

'Exodus' to a country of hope?

In recent years Murakami Ryu has received much attention for his uncanny knack of writing novels taking up themes, such as teen crime and hikikomori (withdrawing from the world and shutting oneself up in one's room), just before they come to public awareness as social problems. Now Murakami's new novel...
COMMENTARY
Jul 25, 2000

Media credibility is at risk

Two recent incidents have revealed the cozy relationship between government and the media in Japan. One is the appointment of a former Yomiuri Shimbun chief editorialist as a member of the National Public Safety Commission. The other is the fact that a member of the Cabinet press club wrote a memo for...
COMMUNITY
Apr 13, 2000

Home is where the condo is

Mari Ishiyama, a 38-year-old secretary at a foreign bank, had been looking for an apartment for several years, but always struck out when it came to the final lottery (a standard real-estate practice to decide who can purchase a unit in a building when there are too many prospective buyers). "My friends...
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2000

DPJ chief ready to testify over donations

The president of the Democratic Party of Japan said he is willing to give testimony if he is summoned over allegations in a magazine that he accepted illegal donations of 50 million yen. Yukio Hatoyama, president of the largest opposition party, made his announcement in response to a question during...
JAPAN
Jul 29, 1999

Acquitted wife-killer Miura loses appeal in libel suit

The Tokyo High Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal by Kazuyoshi Miura, a businessman convicted of trying to murder his wife in the early 1980s for insurance money, upholding a lower court decision against his 190 million yen libel claim against a magazine company.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jul 28, 1999

The little claimer that could

While companies, especially computer makers, have been eager to promote the Internet as a global bazaar and amusement park rolled into one, they are quickly learning that there's a little more to it than that. The tools that are supposed to help the customer are the same ones that can empower the unhappy...
JAPAN
Aug 25, 1998

Career seminar to focus on English speakers

Simul International Inc. will sponsor a career seminar Sept. 9 for people who want to use English in their jobs, in cooperation with The Japan Times, Shukan ST and InterFM.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 1997

Doi, SDP threaten libel suit over wives' visit rumor

The Social Democratic Party and its leader, Takako Doi, decided Thursday to file a libel suit with the Tokyo District Court over a magazine article that claims Doi's niece is among the Japanese women being allowed to visit next month from North Korea and that Doi is vulnerable to Pyongyang.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 1997

Photos of young Kobe suspect spark demand for recall

Justice Minister Isao Matsuura denounced the Shinchosha publishing house July 4 and demanded that it immediately recall copies of its two magazines that ran a photo of the 14-year-old Kobe youth being held in the murder of schoolboy Jun Hase.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1997

24,000 crank calls result in arrest of rejected comic

A resident of Chiba Prefecture has been arrested for making thousands of crank calls to the offices of Kodansha, a major publishing house, police said.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2023

Culture at Johnny's to be scrutinized amid investigation into abuse claims

A team of experts hired by the talent agency have said they will “independently” and “exclusively” investigate claims of sexual assaults by late founder Johnny Kitagawa.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 18, 2023

How Japanese media companies enabled Johnny’s abuse

The power dynamics of Japan's entertainment and media industries ultimately meant that accusations of sexual abuse were not investigated.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 15, 2023

Major Japanese talent agency apologizes over sexual assault claims

Allegations by former entertainers against the founder of Johnny & Associates have made headlines both domestically and internationally.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight