Search - information

 
 
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2011

Subculture inspires young male cross-dressing trend

He's a 52-year-old medical doctor who goes by the name Ayaka Ogawa when living out his cross-dressing fantasies of being a woman in her mid-40s.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 7, 2011

Hurts

When Hurts took the stage at the Chiba leg of 2010's Summer Sonic for their first ever Japan show, they surely could not have predicted the reception that awaited them. With their debut album still under wraps and nary a note yet released in Japan, this fast-rising British duo somehow wrangled a large...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 7, 2011

Dommune live-streams DJ sets to a growing fan base

The crowd bristles with excitement as the first DJ of the night winds down his set. An air of anticipation sets in around the room. As the next DJ enters the booth with his CD booklet in hand, the throng begins to swarm the tiny floor, no larger than your grandmother's basement. Four Tet is about to...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 7, 2011

Crystal Castles

Experimental electro was never a genre that was intended to go mainstream, so it's no surprise that Crystal Castles are not the most media- friendly band. That hasn't stopped Ethan Kath and Alice Glass from drawing an huge fan base; when they visited Japan back in 2008, despite jitters from their record...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 7, 2011

The Kandinsky narcissistic blues

Anyone who has seen the unrefined figurative works of Mark Rothko can easily understand why he later turned to his abstract Color Field works. Because of examples like this, there is always a suspicion that abstract art is merely the last refuge of the technically inept. Wassily Kandinsky — often seen...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 7, 2011

Fill up on Morimura's unusual 'side dishes'

Some artists are accorded such historical importance that virtually everything they do or have done comes under close scrutiny. Other artists are effectively known for a single thing, such as the nominal Italian Surrealist, Giorgio de Chirico, who is primarily known for his so-called "metaphysical paintings,"...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 7, 2011

Exhibition makes good start to 2011

You've got to wonder about the timing of this exhibition. Who wouldn't have appreciated the chance to see a showcase of 2011 nengajo (New Year's greeting cards) by local hotshot graphic designers back in, say, November last year? Then we might have been saved the embarrassment of sending out yet another...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 7, 2011

See stars at Roppongi Hills

Feel like gazing at the stars but not in the mood for withstanding cold temperatures for hours outside? Head for Roppongi Hills instead.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 7, 2011

Photojournalist group show off their best

All across Japan people are ringing in the new year with visits to hometowns, prayers at temples and bowls of soba. It's a good time to look ahead, but also a good time for looking back — that's where the Tokyo Press Photographers Association comes in.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2011

Seniors' wisdom recorded

Surrounded by record players and speakers that he designed and built on his own, Takeshi Teragaki, 86, a renowned sound system engineer, began to talk about how he first became intrigued by audio players.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 6, 2011

Massage away the blues with sensory therapy

A pot of tea brews next to a bowl of fruit on the kitchen table. Three flying porcelain ducks hang on the wall. A pile of books sits on the shelf. And somewhere in the distance, the sound of bird song mingles with the chime of church bells.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2011

Kan heaps more coals on Ozawa fire

Democratic Party of Japan heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa should decide his own course of action, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Tuesday, indicating the DPJ don should consider resigning from both the ruling party and the Diet when he is indicted over his political money scandal.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2011

Japanese women 'can have it all'

As a female CEO in a nation known for its male-dominated corporate ranks, Kumi Sato says it is her mission to spread the message that despite the challenges posed by social and gender expectations, Japanese women could "have it all" if they wanted.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 31, 2010

Best Japanese/overseas albums of 2010: Qetic

DJ Baku Hybrid Dharma Band — "D.E.F"
CULTURE / Music
Dec 31, 2010

Best Japanese/overseas albums of 2010: Rockers Channel

Arm Strong — "Strong World"
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2010

DPJ's diplomatic weakness all too evident

2010 was a tough year in foreign relations for Prime Minister Naoto Kan and the Democratic Party of Japan as they scrambled to deal with one problem after another, including territorial disputes with China and Russia.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 31, 2010

Best Japanese/overseas albums of 2010: Tokyo Gig Guide

Lemon's Chair — "[I Hate? I Hope?]"
COMMENTARY
Dec 29, 2010

Troubling China-India ties

NEW DELHI — The already fraught China-India relationship appears headed for more turbulent times as a result of the two giants' failure to make progress on resolving any of the issues that divide them. Earlier this month, during the first visit in more than four years of a Chinese leader to India,...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 28, 2010

India asserting its interests vis-a-vis China

LONDON — India hosted Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao earlier this month in an attempt to stabilize Sino-Indian ties, which have undergone great turbulence the past two years.
COMMUNITY
Dec 28, 2010

Teens give boost to volunteerism

American School in Japan alumnus Jonathan Higa and student Alex Heideman are setting an example for others interested in volunteerism by boosting the youth activities of Hands On Tokyo, a nonprofit organization offering community services.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 27, 2010

Computing set to bolster China's industrial prowess

China, having successfully developed the world's fastest supercomputer, now poses a more serious threat than ever to the United States militarily, and to Japan commercially.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 26, 2010

Shikoku shrines: journey through a lost world

Itsue Takamure, born in 1894, grew up to become a remarkable woman: a pioneering feminist scholar — one whose work remains controversial — and an anarchist, though her progressive thinking did not prevent her from collaborating with Japan's militarist government during World War II.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 26, 2010

Exploring historic Nagasaki

The gate in front of me once opened to the world. Steps — now long gone — formerly led down from there to a quay in Nagasaki's sheltered harbor where, in centuries past, visiting trading ships tied up.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’