Search - ads

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 3, 2010

From 'Dawn of the Dead' to the live-and-kicking golden 'oldies'

Shu Matsui's innocent smile is familiar. He's always beaming on TV ads, whether he's plugging a washing softener, playing a gentle new father or promoting mobile phones in the guise of a young doctor. But if you were to see any production by Sample, the theater company Matsui founded in 2007, you'd be...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 31, 2010

Fingerprint all Japanese, for safety's sake

If you're a noncitizen and have entered or re-entered Japan in the last couple of years, you've undoubtedly been invited to participate in the wonderful, fun-filled world of biometrics. It's safe to say that many of you felt as though you were being treated like criminals — not to mention the humiliation...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Aug 10, 2010

Of Charisma Men and Western Women

Last month, The Japan Times invited readers to send in their thoughts on "Charisma Man," originally a comic strip that ran from 1998 in The Alien, a Nagoya-based magazine, but lately something of a byword for the stereotypical nerdy Western guy with the beautiful Japanese girlfriend.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 1, 2010

Old Japan lives on at Ikaho Spa

The ways are various in Japan for having one's sense of local pride bolstered by recognition on some official list.
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2010

Nomura hires 40 students on triple pay to be global bankers

Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest securities firm, offered jobs to 40 students at triple the normal starting salary under a new plan to strengthen its international business, two sources said.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 28, 2010

A linguistic guide to the dog days of summer

With the exception of Hokkaido, Japan heralds the arrival of summer when the 気象庁 (Kishocho, or Japan Meteorological Agency) declares 梅雨明け (tsuyu ake, end of the rainy season).
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / Japan Pulse
Jul 15, 2010

PR News wants you to tweet the news

Hey, want to impress everyone by tweeting press releases for random companies? Sign up today!
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jul 13, 2010

Whatever happened to the Charisma Men?

Tim StroudRecruiter, 29 (British)They still exist and can be found in ¥300 bars across the city and reading the Metropolis singles ads every Friday. Also, look out for predatory teachers in eikaiwa classrooms. I sit next to one at work, too.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 13, 2010

One more time — with Charisma

Hide the booze and lock up your daughters: Charisma Man is back. The lovable loser who was constantly broke, dateless and swilling rotgut at home is back in Japan, with a pocket full of folding money, a girl on each arm and a chilled glass of first-class sake in his hand.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2010

Tax hike gambit may end up hurting DPJ

Normally, proposing a tax hike is considered a sure way to lose an election.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 25, 2010

'Flowers'

Directors steal from each other constantly — sometimes out of love, sometimes envy, sometimes a tangle of motives. The results range from Brian De Palma's famed "Odessa Steps" sequence in "The Untouchables," which thrillingly referenced the Sergei Eisenstein silent classic "The Battleship Potemkin,"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 18, 2010

'Hearts and Minds'/'Winter Soldier'

There has been a lot of informed opinion lately suggesting that the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan has already become a "new Vietnam."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 4, 2010

Red and black and spread all over

The avant-garde generally gravitates toward absolutes; you're either with them or against them. But how often in history has progressive art been created in service of the state's one-size-fits-all ideology? Not many, and perhaps the best-known example is the group that appeared in a brief window of...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jun 1, 2010

Japanese Twitter marketing campaigns make some noise

New followers line up for the next creative Twitter campaign. Where will the tweeting flocks fly next?
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 30, 2010

IKKO's professionalism; Hidehiko Ishizuka returns to `Doyo Wide Gekijo'; CM of the week: Kincho

The theme of the profile series "Kokoro no Idenshi" (Genes of the Heart; NHK-G, Mon., 10 p.m.) is the "development of professionalism." This week's subject is TV personality IKKO, whose main appeal is his flamboyant feminine behavior and appearance. This being NHK, the focus is on his career as a hair...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 23, 2010

Snapping with SMAP in Setagaya; swordplay with Shingo; CM of the week: Sky Perfect TV

"Pussuma" (TV Asahi, Tues., 11:15 p.m.) started way back in 1998, making it one of Japanese TV's longest running variety shows. Eternally hosted by aging idol Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and loud-mouthed actor-comedian Yusuke Santamaria, the nonsensical title is meant to cash in on Kusanagi's membership in SMAP....
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 16, 2010

Reality check, 2010: 'Smoking doesn't cause cancer' (Japan Tobacco)

Every generation has its theme song.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 2, 2010

'Zen-Nihon Kaso Taisho,' the trouble with herbivores; CM of the week: Sumisho Fruits

Several weeks ago, NHK profiled Yusei Uesugi, a matte painter who works for George Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic. Uesugi is a major talent in Hollywood special effects, and he got his start as a contestant on "Zen-Nihon Kaso Taisho" ("All-Japan Disguise Awards"), which takes place two or three times...
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 25, 2010

Tabi-maker steps out in style

Ryo Yonehara is the 30-year-old president of Tabi-ji, a Nara-based company making and selling tabi (traditional Japanese split-toe footwear).
LIFE / Digital
Apr 14, 2010

Tech pushes Japan's music scene; industry won't budge

The music business reinvents itself every 20 years or so — basically every time a new format comes down the pike. But the industry has never faced the kind of fundamental challenge presented by the digital file-sharing revolution.
COMMENTARY
Mar 8, 2010

New device apt to kindle greater interest in reading

The first thing that catches your eye when you open the yousho (imported books) section of Amazon Japan's home page is an advertisement for the Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device. The Kindle DX ad, which first appeared last summer, claims that a reader can perform a wireless download of any of more than...
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2010

Panasonic, Hitachi TV ads win prizes

The Japan Chapter of the International Advertising Association has conferred the grand prize of this year's TV advertising award on Panasonic Corp.'s commercial featuring its large-screen flat display television Viera, according to the association.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2010

Toyoda's tears win over Japan

He hasn't bowed in apology. He hasn't resigned. But this week Toyota President Akio Toyoda did perform one of the typical rituals of a Japanese executive under attack: He wept publicly.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Feb 12, 2010

QR code breaking out of the box

Companies and municipalities are still finding new ways to unlock the potential of QR codes in Japan.
BUSINESS
Feb 9, 2010

Toyota confident it has loyal customers

TORRANCE, Calif. — "If there's a problem, we fix it," said Bill Coyne, general manager of South Bay Toyota, sounding frustrated.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Feb 7, 2010

Motivational sport stories, fishermen surviving in a declining industry, and CM of the week: Takefuji

It takes a special kind of determination to make it as a professional athlete, especially when personal problems get in the way. The stories told on "Athlete Kando Gekijo" (Athlete Emotional Theater; TV Tokyo, Wed., 9:54 p.m.) are of people who overcame adversity to excel at their chosen sports.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 5, 2010

'Kazura'/'Boys on the Run'

The odds of two brilliant Japanese comedies opening the same day are high but not impossible, somewhat like the odds of the same director (James Cameron) making two all-time worldwide box-office hits ("Titanic" and that other film about blue aliens).
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jan 31, 2010

Dysfunctional hairs of a vaunted democracy

NEW YORK — Three recent developments in a span of two days reminded me how dysfunctional and uncivil America's vaunted democracy has become.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji