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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 17, 2009

Dick El Demasiado

Dick El Demasiado is, by his own admission, an impostor. Born Dick Verdult in the Netherlands in 1954, the musician and media artist has become a pivotal figure on Argentina's experimental music scene thanks to an elaborate hoax.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 17, 2009

Perfume "Triangle"

In a pop industry where music is usually a mere marketing tool to help sell an idol's image, Japan's busiest producer, Nakata Yasutaka, has pulled off a rare success by the way his music utterly subsumes the identities of Perfume's three female members, turning them simply into girl-shaped robotic campaign...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / TAKING A CHANCE
Jul 16, 2009

Chrysmela founder sticks to it

At first glance, it comes as a surprise that such a quiet and sensitive young woman founded her own company, but Eri Kikunaga, 28, moved aggressively to establish Chrysmela Inc. in July 2007 and continues to drive it forward.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 24, 2009

La Machine invades Yokohama!

"You know 'e is a crazy man," Fredette, a feisty, flame- haired assistant, warns in a French accent as she hands over a yellow hard hat. "A mad man. Un fou. And very, very busy. You must be quick."
Reader Mail
Apr 16, 2009

Move ahead without U.S.

The interesting thing about North Korea's latest long-range rocket launch was not that it happened, but rather the fact that it highlights once again the illogical nature of U.S. foreign policy. What if it had been Cuba launching the rocket instead of North Korea? Would the United States merely issue...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 3, 2009

Classic cars in a modern setting

At Tokyo Concours d' Elegance 2009, some 30 classic European automobiles owned by Japanese collectors are on show. Meaning "competition of elegance" in French, the title is used for occasions on which the owners of classic cars display their immaculately maintained, beautiful vehicles and compete for...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2009

Credit crisis particularly hard on small firms

The failure of Pacific Holdings Co., a real estate manager that filed for bankruptcy protection with ¥163.6 billion in liabilities, highlights the funding problems at many firms.
EDITORIALS
Jan 27, 2009

China as number three

The Chinese government has revised its estimate of how much the economy grew in 2007. The revision is upward and, if accurate, means that China has surpassed Germany to become the third-largest economy in the world. That may start some celebrations on the mainland, but the Beijing leadership knows better...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 23, 2009

Toilets take center stage at exhibition

As if the scandals of the last few years were not enough, Japan's sumo fraternity must now suffer the indignity of having its toilets exhibited in public.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 18, 2008

Rocking around the Hanukkah menorah

What is the most popular Hanukkah song? It's probably "I Have a Little Dreidel," which even a lot of gentiles learn as children. It tends to be the token Jewish song sung in elementary schools during the holiday season, which, of course, is dominated by Christian themes.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 14, 2008

OEFF marks 15th year

The Osaka European Film Festival, running until Dec. 5, is one of the largest film events of its kind in Asia, and will offer a special opportunity for movie enthusiasts in the Kansai region next weekend to enjoy some premium European movies.
Reader Mail
Sep 25, 2008

Support your local farmer

The Sept. 20 article "Tainted rice scandal swallows Ota" highlights a few things: • Either regulations cost too much to implement, or company officials really don't care about humanity. • Government food safety and inspection officials are getting paid to do nothing. With Japan's bureaucracy, taxpayers...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 29, 2008

Bands gather under Hokkaido's rising sun

"Go for it, guys!" the staff on the wristband checkpoint shout as people file past. "Have a good time!" As the day wears on, they grow more enthusiastic. High-fives are exchanged, with the more ebullient customers even getting a hug.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Aug 15, 2008

Good cool hunting in Edogawa

In Tokyo, when the going gets hot, the cool go to Hawaii, or flee to mountain resorts. Others plunk down their yen for a dip in a hotel or amusement-park pool. The rest of us steam in the stupefying humidity and hope our flip-flops don't fuse to the tarmac. Surely there's some inexpensive, convenient,...
EDITORIALS
Jul 19, 2008

Ensuring accuracy in food labels

A government plan to enact a new law in or after fiscal 2009 to establish the traceability of all food products is timely and appropriate. People's trust in food labels, already undermined by previous incidents, was further shaken by a recent scandal in which Chinese eels were falsely labeled as domestic...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 23, 2008

Step back in time at Ba-rock Music Festival

Tokyo's Mejiro district will take a curious musical sidestep in time from May 30 to June 15 during the fourth staging of the Mejiro Ba-rock Music Festival.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 9, 2008

Tour Tokyo's aging marvels

Talk of architecture in Japan tends to head in one of two directions — the very, very new (as in the mind-bending flagship stores for fashion brands in Ginza), or the very, very old (as in temples dating back centuries). So what, exactly, happened in between?
CULTURE / Music
Mar 7, 2008

Levelload "Yellow Fever"

Comprising Japanese bassist Mariko Doi and British guitarist Tony Wade, Levelload have a mixed cultural background. But their sound is largely drawn from Anglo-American punk-rock tradition, with the spiky Britpop melodies of Elastica and the sultry garage blues of The Kills, combined with Mariko's cooing...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Feb 22, 2008

Italian dining in Kasumigaseki, Hina Matsuri at the Keio Plaza

Ristorante di Hokkaido Mia Angela in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki offers sophisticated yet unpretentious Italian dining, using the freshest ingredients direct from Hokkaido. With a 60-seat casual main dining area, private rooms and a chic party space, partitions can create private space for two to 50 people....
BUSINESS
Feb 15, 2008

Economy grew 3.7% but outlook is murky

The economy grew an annualized 3.7 percent in the October-December period, more than twice the rate forecast, thanks to strong capital investment and exports, the Cabinet Office said Thursday in a preliminary report.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 11, 2008

Molecular morsels

Nothing turns a woman on more than a room full of excited men. No, this was not the Super Bowl, but the International Chefs Congress, a "show and tell" held last September in New York City by some of the world's most influential chefs. The display of techniques and trends was impressive, with a roster...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jan 4, 2008

Urban night cruise; special buffet at New Otani; and dinner for two

Urban night cruise The Conrad Tokyo has put together an exclusive accommodation and nighttime cruise package for small groups.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 7, 2007

Osaka restaurant presents modern kushiage fare

Kushiage (skewers of breaded and deep-fried seafood, meat and vegetables) is a popular specialty of the Osaka region, and the typical kushiage joint usually involves old-fashioned wooden counters, multiple rounds of beer and a smoky, after-work izakaya vibe. So A, a stylish little restaurant in Osaka's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 29, 2007

Nights at the opera: picks for the upcoming season

With the publication last week of the new Michelin Guide, the world may now know Tokyo to be the culinary capital that it is. Opera, on the other hand, lags slightly behind, although compared to many other cities there is still an embarrassment of riches, writes Benjamin Woodward.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 22, 2007

Tea and swords for the Shogun

As with all military leaders of the preceding Momoyama Period (1573-1615), the Tokugawa were celebrated patrons of the arts. The sheer output of the craftsmen they employed reveals an indefatigable support of the arts that extended to the amassing of beautifully crafted swords, armor, art and tea-ceremony...

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes