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April 23, 2024
 

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CLASSICAL

Experimentation seemed to be a driving force throughout conductor Seiji Ozawa’s life as he pushed the boundaries of what a Japanese artist could achieve with classical music to magnificent heights.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 13, 2024
Seiji Ozawa’s boundless experiment
The influential conductor was not only a man of extraordinary talent, his warm character had the power to unite people as one.
Seiji Ozawa shows his humorous side during a photo shoot with The Japan Times in 2017. The influential conductor died Feb. 6.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 10, 2024
The story behind my favorite photo of Seiji Ozawa
A lot of photography comes down to luck and reflexes. Once you get that magic shot, though, it can stay with you forever.
Maestro Seiji Ozawa conducts the Seiji Ozawa Ongaku-juku orchestra during a rehearsal in Beijing in 2009.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 10, 2024
World mourns loss of 'magician' Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa
Tributes poured in from across the globe for a man credited with paving the way for Asian musicians abroad.
Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa during a rehearsal in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, in September 2005.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 9, 2024
Seiji Ozawa, Japan’s trailblazing maestro, dies at 88
Throughout his illustrious career, Ozawa was instrumental in popularizing classical music for mainstream audiences in Japan and abroad.
Hiroko Higashino, who was born with three fingers on her right hand, plays an AI-powered piano during a rehearsal for a Christmas concert in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2023
AI-assisted piano allows disabled Tokyo musicians to perform Beethoven
To assist players, the Anybody's Piano tracks the notes of the music and augments the performance by adding whatever keys are needed but not pressed.
Janos Cegledy sits in a park in Tokyo's Nerima Ward. The pianist says Japan suits him, “There is a certain civility and politeness here which you don’t find anywhere else.”
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / Longform
Dec 11, 2023
The extraordinary life of a Holocaust survivor living in Japan
Janos Cegledy tours schools, telling his story. If the students ever meet a Holocaust denier, he says, they can reply, "I met someone who was there."
Koshiro Takeuchi (left) placed third in the violin category of the Long-Thibaud Competition in Paris, while Miyu Kitsuwa took fifth.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 27, 2023
Japanese violinist takes third in international contest for young talent
Koshiro Takeuchi, 18, said he was "honored to win a prize in such a prestigious competition."
Members of the Quartett Hana, including Japanese violinist Fuga Miwatashi (left) and Emiko Yuasa (right), perform during the string quartet final at the Geneva International Music Competition on Sunday.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 30, 2023
Three Japanese musicians win top prizes in Geneva quartet event
Two Japanese were among members of one of the string quartets placing joint second at the Geneva International Music Competition.
Pianist Yukie Nishimura plays a piano repaired from the 3/11 tsunami damage in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2023
Pianist Yukie Nishimura performs in former no-go zone in Fukushima
The event took place in the Tsushima district in the Fukushima town of Namie after the government's evacuation order was lifted in March this year.
John Williams (right) and Seiji Ozawa (center) have been friends for decades. Their long-awaited reunion in Japan comes courtesy of a musical collaboration between Williams and the Saito Kinen Orchestra for the 31st edition of Ozawa’s annual music festival.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 24, 2023
Music legends John Williams and Seiji Ozawa reunite at Matsumoto festival
The American composer and conductor led a special program featuring his famous film scores at his long-time friend's annual event in Nagano Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 6, 2023
War-displaced Ukrainian joins Japanese ensemble in performance for peace
Iana Lavrova joined the 2023 Fukushima Cello Concert for a performance by a 500-strong group held in May.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 14, 2023
'Honeybees and Distant Thunder' is an ode to nature informing art and life
Riku Onda's vibrant novel follows four characters as they navigate the pressures and joys of competing in a piano contest and examines the idea of genius in the world of classical music.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 27, 2023
Japan-based Holocaust survivor honors historic Jewish revolt with piano performance
Pianist Janos Cegledy's three pieces at a commemorative event in Tokyo for the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in Poland were a moving tribute to the Jewish people’s acts of bravery.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 3, 2023
Ryuichi Sakamoto, trailblazing musician and film composer, dies at 71
Ryuichi Sakamoto, an award-winning composer and member of pioneering electronic act Yellow Magic Orchestra, has died. He was 71 years old.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 20, 2023
Mao Fujita makes Mozart's sonatas his own
The 24-year-old concert pianist adds flourish to familiar melodies ahead of his debut recital at New York’s hallowed Carnegie Hall.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 12, 2022
Ryuichi Sakamoto performs possible last concert amid cancer battle
Sakamoto revealed in June that he is battling stage 4 cancer, after previously announcing he had throat cancer in 2014 and rectal cancer in 2021.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Dec 4, 2022
Ryuichi Sakamoto keeps the music going with a 'profound' concert
The upcoming “Playing the Piano 2022” concert will showcase a musician still exploring new horizons while contemplating the finiteness of life.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 14, 2022
Japanese pianists win first and fourth prizes in Paris contest
Japanese musicians won the first and fourth prizes in the piano category of the Long-Thibaud-Crespin international music competition in Paris.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 27, 2022
Nagano music festival stays true to Seiji Ozawa's musical legacy
The maestro's daughter, Seira Ozawa, sees his passion reflected at the month-long Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Aug 22, 2022
Bid to restore Fukuoka piano signed by renowned classical artists launched
Famous pianists including Wilhelm Kempff of Germany, Emil Gilels of Russia and Arthur Rubinstein of Poland are among those whose autograph graces the instrument.
Japan’s cannabis market growing rapidly amid regulatory shift
The legality of products that contain cannabinoids, a group of substances derived from the cannabis plant, has been somewhat murky in Japan.
Philippines wants U.S. and Japan to take over rail deal eyed by China
Delfin Lorenzana
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
At least one dead, seven missing after two MSDF helicopters crash off Izu Islands
Contact was lost with the two SH-60K helicopters, each carrying four crew, in an area east of Torishima in the Izu Island chain during anti-submarine warfare training Saturday night.
Tokyo Rainbow Pride lights up capital as organizers celebrate 30 years
Rainbow flags were flown through the capital's busy Shibuya and Harajuku areas for Tokyo Rainbow Pride events this weekend as organizers hailed 30 years of one of Asia's largest LGBTQ celebrations.
A craft beer crawl through Tokyo’s top bars, brewpubs and dives
If all you drink is Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin, you're depriving yourself of some of the best craft beer Tokyo has to offer — and there sure is a lot of it out there.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
Tsukiji 2030s: A stadium, culinary center and transportation hub
A computer-generated image shows redevelopment plans for the former site of the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo.
Hearing the impact of climate change in Okinawa, one bird call at a time
Toshihiro Kinjo (center), a research support technician at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, inspects an audio recording device in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on April 3 as Masako Ogasawara, a research support specialist at OIST, looks on.
Japan’s cannabis market growing rapidly amid regulatory shift
The legality of products that contain cannabinoids, a group of substances derived from the cannabis plant, has been somewhat murky in Japan.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability
Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability

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