Tag - comedy

 
Menu
Search
 
April 19, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

COMEDY

According to Hitoshi Matsumoto’s lawyer, he is suing Bungei Shunju, the publisher of the Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine over an article that was published in the magazine and online on Dec. 27.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 23, 2024
Comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto sues publisher over sexual assault article
The Downtown member is suing Bungei Shunju, the publisher of the Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine, for defamation.
Hitoshi Matsumoto
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 9, 2024
Japan comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto halts activities amid sex scandal report
Matsumoto's agency, Yoshimoto Kogyo, apologized to broadcasters, fans and other parties for causing trouble and concern.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jun 16, 2023
Simplicity key to British TV show success, says 'naked' Japanese comedian
Tonikaku Akarui Yasumura, 41, became the first Japanese performer to compete in the final of 'Britain's Got Talent' earlier this month.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Community
Jun 10, 2023
Finding familiar ground at a D&D-inspired Tokyo comedy show
The stories are wild and the jokes are improvised, but expat audiences find these monthly shows a comfort.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 21, 2023
No joke: China's backlash against stand-up stirs fear of comedy clampdown
A Beijing-based comedian said a number of their shows had been canceled in the wake of a joke about the military.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 20, 2022
Koji Nakamoto, member of comedy group the Drifters, dies at 81
Nakamoto was part of the group when they served as an opening act for the Beatles when the English band performed in Japan for the first time in 1966.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 4, 2022
So you want to be a stand-up comedian?
Learn the tricks of the trade at Tokyo Comedy Bar, the capital's new stand-up comedy venue.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 27, 2022
Diane Kichijitsu: ‘Human interactions provide plenty of comedic material’
The male-dominated world of 'rakugo,' traditional Japanese comic storytelling, has welcomed a British woman who's in on the joke.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2020
Pioneering stand-up comedian Keiko Utsumi dies at 97
Keiko Utsumi, a pioneering comedian who rose to fame as one half of a female stand-up duo, died of multiple organ failure last weekend, her office said Friday. She was 97.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 26, 2020
Comic Saku Yanagawa was on his way to cracking the U.S. — then COVID-19 happened
Comic Saku Yanagawa is making a name for himself in the U.S., but with racist hecklers and awkward Zoom gigs, he's facing his toughest crowds yet.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
May 11, 2020
Yuriko Kotani embraces Britain’s penchant for irony and dark comedy
Standup comedian's comparisons of Japan and the United Kingdom have not only have delighted English-speaking audiences across the world, they have also helped her embrace her identity.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 1, 2020
Meet the expat comedians who keep Tokyo smiling
Probably the biggest paradox of stand-up comedy is that while there are no schools of humor — no Bachelor of Laughs degree, not even a “funny” skill on Linkedin to endorse your friend for — stand-up comedians are out there in good numbers. Even in Tokyo, where speaking English can be a struggle, English-language stand-up is finding an audience.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 8, 2020
Yuriko Kotani: The Japanese comedian laughing her way through dark days in the U.K.
Japanese comedian Yuriko Kotani journeys back from her adopted U.K. for a series of live shows, in which she discusses the quirks of the British and their language.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Sep 30, 2019
Say bad thing, read boilerplate apology: Japan, we can do better
A joke about her skin hasn't bothered Naomi Osaka, but there are broader ramifications from such kind of comedy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 25, 2019
'Ninkyo Gakuen': Yakuza comedy fails to make the grade
Hisashi Kimura's latest film sees a band of yakuza get involved with a local high school, serving justice and forming bonds along the way
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 22, 2019
Learning to say 'yes, and...' both on and off the stage
Twenty-five years ago, Chris Wells, a 27-year-old American raised in Missouri, faced Jun Imai, a young Japanese method actor from Tokyo who was on his way to becoming a leading authority on improv in Japan. "We met at an improv show in Tokyo," Imai says. "We had two teams against each other: a gaijin (foreign) team and a Japanese team."
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jun 6, 2019
Japan's king of comedy, Yoshimoto Kogyo's Hiroshi Osaki, expands his realm
It has been 10 years since Hiroshi Osaki took the reins at Yoshimoto Kogyo, and in that time Japan's oldest and arguably most influential entertainment agency has veered down several different paths. While comedy remains at the forefront of the company's activities, as it has for over a century, these days it's about much more than just promoting and showcasing owarai geinin (comedy performers).
Japan Times
CULTURE
Feb 5, 2019
Game for a laugh: Learning to become a manzai comedian
As I stand in the cramped wooden gangway at the side of the stage, going over my lines in a frantic whisper, I am reminded of something that American comedian Patrick Harlan had told me when we first met four months ago.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 3, 2019
Comedian Akira Ohashi 100% reveals his naked ambition
His naked tray act may not be to everyone's liking, but Akira Ohashi is too focused on the positives to worry about that. The Saitama-born, 44-year-old comedian, who is better known by his stage name Akira 100%, clearly loves being in the public eye, and after more than two decades struggling to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry, who can blame him?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 22, 2018
London film fest resurrects comedic universality of Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy, perhaps the greatest comedy double act in cinema history, returned to London on Sunday, twiddling their bowler hats to a delighted West End crowd as they arrived for the world premiere of the biopic "Stan & Ollie.
No link to Nankai Trough quake seen after temblor in Shikoku
Satoshi Harada from the Meteorological Agency explains about the magnitude 6.6 earthquake during a news conference early Thursday.
Thousands evacuated as Indonesia volcano erupts
Indonesia's Mount Ruang spews hot lava and smoke as seen from Sitaro, North Sulawesi, on Wednesday.
Why hasn't Japan moved to prop up the weak yen?
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Snake on a train: Discovery of serpent delays Tokyo-Nagoya shinkansen
A Tokaido shinkansen. It is unclear whether the snake was venomous or how it ended up on the train, and there was no injury or panic among passengers.
Sex differences could be key to the successful treatment of long COVID
A new study has found that women with long COVID had significantly lower levels of testosterone compared to those who had recovered from their infection.
'House of the Owl' brings Hollywood values to Japanese TV
In the new Disney+ series “House of the Owl,” Min Tanaka (left) plays a powerful political fixer, or “kuromaku,” who has a troubled relationship with his adult children, particularly his idealistic son, played by Mackenyu.
Benefits and risks: AUKUS looks to take gamble on Japan
U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British leader Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the AUKUS partnership, after a trilateral meeting, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego in March last year.
Kyoto’s demon night parade lives to haunt another day
In a Kyoto long past, the "hyakki yagyō" (100 demon night parade) haunted a sleepy corner of Kyoto. Now, one enterprising monster enthusiast has won a small batttle to keep the march alive.
U.S. deploys midrange missile system in Indo-Pacific for first time
A U.S. Army Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Launcher arrives as part of the capability’s first deployment into theater on Northern Luzon, Philippines, April 8.
Unpacking the chaotic by-election in a scandal-hit Tokyo district
People listen to a campaign speech in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Tuesday.

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

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on
By Lance Henderstein

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER