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LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 30, 2009

Need to know those buzzwords to follow Japan's big hit products

Of all the jobs I've held in Japan, by far the most challenging was the four years I spent during the baburu keizai (バブル経済, bubble economy) as a trend watcher for a market-research company.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 20, 2009

'2012' star tells of being John Cusack

HOLLYWOOD — The year 2012, according to the ancient Mayas, is the year Earth destructs and a new cycle of life begins. (The Aztec and other pre-Columbian American calendars also held a cyclical view of the universe, sort of a reincarnation of planets at the end of each eon). So leave it to Hollywood...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Oct 22, 2009

Tokyo Girls Collection producer Ayako Nagaya

Ayako Nagaya, 37, is the president of F1 Media Inc. and the chief producer of Tokyo Girls Collection (TGC), a semiannual entertainment extravaganza showcasing Japanese street fashion, music and a myriad of products, from instant noodles to cars. Staged in Tokyo's Yoyogi Stadium, this one-day fashion...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 30, 2009

Tokyo Game Show fails to impress

The theme for the 2009 Tokyo Game Show is "Game, it's so energetic!" Ironic, as the energy for this year's show was less palpable than for previous ones.
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2009

In 'sinking world,' geisha turn barmaids

In the stifling summer heat at the roadside Yebisu Beer stall in Kyoto's Gion district, Sakiko, dressed in a thick floral kimono, face plastered in white makeup, looks flustered as two foreign tourists photograph her. "Pouring beer here is different but fun," said Sakiko, one of about 90 apprentice geisha,...
Japan Times
CULTURE
Aug 28, 2009

Cheeky for charity

It is no surprise that an adult entertainment broadcaster would be concerned about the spread of the HIV virus and AIDS. But for one satellite channel in Japan known for silly parodies and wacky porn programming, that concern goes beyond immediate commercial interests — to trying to reverse wilting...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 25, 2009

Pop 'idol' phenomenon fades into dispersion

The arrest of singer-actress Noriko Sakai, 38, this month in connection with illegal drugs shattered the image of a star who in the 1980s parlayed being cute and innocent into idol status.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 20, 2009

Sony cuts price of PlayStation 3

Sony Corp. has cut the price of its PlayStation 3 console by 25 percent, bowing to demands from game publishers and increasing pressure on industry leader Nintendo Co. to follow.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 14, 2009

New university library puts focus on the fans

Perhaps no single cultural product is held more dear in Japan than manga. It was a dominant form of pulp entertainment in the early post-World War II period, a forum for social dissent in the 1960s, then for female creativity in the '70s. By the '80s, manga was at the center of a mass market that outstripped...
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2009

SMAP star's public nudity spurs arrest

What's wrong with a little public nudity?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Apr 19, 2009

Potting the pink in Saitama

Thumbing through any of the dozen Tokyo sex-service recruit magazines reveals ads for shops, indexed by region, seeking young ladies to serve in various fuzoku (sex-related) clubs and bars.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2009

Embassy warns of Roppongi drink-lacing

The U.S. Embassy informed Americans in Japan on Tuesday that it has recommended that its employees avoid frequenting bars and clubs in Tokyo's Roppongi entertainment district because of a significant increase in drink-spiking incidents.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2009

DS sales top 100 million in record time

Global sales of the Nintendo DS hand-held topped 100 million in four years and three months — a milestone reached at the quickest pace for any video game console — the manufacturer said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 10, 2009

Nintendo secret: It's all in the game

It's a common belief that the video game industry is recession-proof.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Mar 6, 2009

Yokohama port's 150th anniversary

Ever since its port was opened to ships from the U.S., the Netherlands, Russia, Britain and France in 1859, Yokohama has prospered as one of Japan's largest maritime trading centers. To mark the 150th anniversary of the port opening, various events are planned in and around the city throughout the year....
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 15, 2009

The recession will lead to a downturn in media quality

Every day there is more gloomy news about a major manufacturer or retailer or service company cutting jobs — and not just a few dozen here or there, but thousands, tens of thousands. No one gets out alive, except self-made billionaires and McDonald's, which is doing quite well, apparently. People will...
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2009

'Anime,' 'manga' grab spotlight at major exhibition

At the Japan Media Arts Festival, prepare to jet into the sky like Superman and dance with speakers blasting at your hips, as the nation's largest showcase of cutting-edge "anime," "manga" and high-tech arts gets more interactive.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 1, 2009

Popularity's dead! Rebellion against brands starts now

Recently I ran into a friend who works at a TV station in Tokyo. The conversation turned to Johnny's Jimusho, the most powerful talent agency in Japan, whose stable of male singers has dominated television for almost two decades. When I asked her if she had run into any of Johnny's stars, she said she...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Jan 13, 2009

Digital 'big switch' is big con

Visit any electronics shop and you cannot escape reminders that in July 2011, Japan will end analog TV broadcasts and switch over to digital. After that time, existing analog TV sets will require adapters, but over the next 2 1/2 years most people are expected to discard their set for a digital model....
Reader Mail
Jan 11, 2009

Digital won't make it better

In the Dec. 28 Media Mix article, "Critics switched off over digital-TV plans," media critic Yukichi Amano made a very good point — namely, that switching to digital TV will be a waste of time if there is nothing new on offer in terms of programming. I would like to add that I think Japanese TV is...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 1, 2009

J-pop prepares an assault on the West in '09

I wouldn't want to shout about it (since it might upset your New Year's hangover), but 2009 might just be the year that J-pop goes global. Several heavy hitters have set their sights on Western domination this year, and more than ever, their chances seem good.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 28, 2008

Place your wager on Macau

A charitable take on Tokyo's landfill projects would have them simply extending the city's alluvial plains into Tokyo Bay. Given another millennium or two, natural siltation might end up doing the same thing.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Dec 24, 2008

Who says you can't buy a friend?

Your new chum: Gadgets are by definition small mechanical or electronic devices with a practical function that typically are thought of as novelties. Widgets, on the other hand, have until recently been merely hypothetical gadgets, handy for illustrating hypothetical examples.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami