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May 02, 2024
 

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COMEDY

Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Oct 18, 2018
Twitter speaks: That joke isn't funny anymore
An Aug. 16 episode of Tokyo MX's variety show "Hirukyun!" found comedian Ken Horiuchi (better known as Horiken) joining the hosts in the studio. Over the course of his stay, he launched the other TV talent and stage hands into a wall of cardboard boxes, before throwing some at people too (including staff who presumably had nothing to do with the bit). Later, Horiuchi picked up Minami Tanaka and Ahn Mika to perform "cleaning," which involved swinging them by the legs so that their hair worked like a broom or a mop.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Oct 15, 2018
Shuichi Takizawa: The comedian with a knack for trash talk
Have you ever thought about where your trash goes after it's tossed into a basket and whisked away by the garbage truck that shows up like clockwork every week?
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 18, 2018
China's version of 'Saturday Night Live' pulled amid crackdown on content
China's version of U.S. satire show "Saturday Night Live" has temporarily been pulled from a domestic video site amid a crackdown on content ranging from online blogs to livestreams.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 20, 2018
'One Cut of the Dead': A zombie flick that brings indie filmmaking back to life
Both budgets and box-office prospects for Japanese indie films have been declining for years. As the former approaches the zero mark, so do recognizable actors and other standard indicators of quality. Audiences, smelling amateurism, stay away.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2018
'Enokida Trading Post': A slacker film goes for lazy laughs
Japan has long had an image as a country of workaholics, dedicating their lives to the almighty yen. But recent Japanese movies, especially at the lower end of the budget spectrum, are full of furiitā ("freeter," a fairly young part-timer or freelancer) trying to decide what to do with their lives.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 9, 2018
Comedy collective highlights the funny side of Tokyo
An Iraqi-American comedian stands onstage in Tokyo and tells the crowd how her lack of Japanese has led her to play "pick and pray" when ordering in restaurants: pointing at the ubiquitous food photos and hoping for the best. "I'm a Muslim so I don't eat pork," says Reem Edan. "But, erm, now I do," she adds to a burst of laughter. "People are like, 'what does it taste like?' and I'm like, 'infidelicious.'"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 6, 2018
Stormy Daniels plays cameo role in 'Saturday Night Live' sketch
Adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with President Donald Trump, played herself in a sketch on U.S. comedy show 'Saturday Night Live' in which she warns Trump that "a storm's a-comin baby."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 25, 2018
'Love × Doc': A rom-com on doctor's orders
When successful Japanese scriptwriters direct films, they tend to try too hard, cramming in characters, gags, plot twists and a blizzard of cuts. Sometimes, the busyness works, as in Koki Mitani's "Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald," a 1997 screwball comedy about a chaotic radio broadcast that delivers on its laugh-a-minute promise.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 31, 2018
'Country of cowards': Comedy duo's political satire stands out in gun-shy Japan
In what was perhaps a make-or-break moment for their careers, comedy duo Woman Rush Hour did something on prime-time television in December that most of their fellow comedians try their best to eschew: They talked about politics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 6, 2017
'52Hz, I Love You' upends the stereotype that Asian cinema can't do romantic musicals
Once upon a time (a decade ago), the unspoken consensus in the movie world seemed to be that Asians couldn't do love stories, much less musical love stories. Happy, soaring, blockbuster types that would send audiences home with goofy smiles and humming a tune from the soundtrack? Not happening.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Nov 29, 2017
The consummation of cool is a funny business for comedian Ike Nwala
Turn on the TV in Japan and you're likely to see a black face from time to time. Rarely will it be in a drama, but on game shows, variety and comedy shows, even some commercials. I wouldn't say we're commonplace, but we're out there. And, honestly, I used to dread every instance. Still do, actually, but for different reasons.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 15, 2017
Known for seeking thrills on TV, Daisuke Miyagawa goes for laughs in 'The Stand-In Thief'
Need someone to chase pigs in Thailand? Daisuke Miyagawa's your man. How about punching watermelons in Australia? Miyagawa's your man.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 27, 2017
Canadian rakugo comic Katsura Sunshine eyes the Big Apple with a push from investors
Katsura Sunshine has come quite a way from his days listening to Japanese rakugo comic tales at a local yakitori skewered chicken restaurant where he was introduced to the ancient traditional art form almost 20 years ago.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jul 14, 2017
Laughing through adversity, bedridden comic Asodog finds the humor in his disability
The thought of living with a degenerative neuromuscular disorder would not occur to most people as a laughing matter.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jun 21, 2017
New magazine offers convicts hope of escaping from a life of crime
To prevent those with criminal convictions from committing further offenses after leaving correctional facilities, a job magazine for people with a history of crime or delinquency will be distributed at prisons and juvenile training schools nationwide starting mid-July.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 22, 2017
Standing up to alienation on Tokyo's comedy scene
Japan is an easy place to foster self-delusion, and a failure at comedy is like a bucket of ice water to the face.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 16, 2017
Comedian Jimmy Carr talks about sensitivity, universal jokes and the best sound he can hear at a stand-up show
"OK, let's kick off with a question for you, in time-honored tradition," Jimmy Carr says to me at the outset of our interview. "Do many comedians make it over to Japan?"
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 26, 2017
Study to look at whether laughter is in fact the best medicine
An Osaka-based medical facility is looking to investigate whether laughter is indeed the best medicine, and whether it can be effective in treating cancer.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Nov 21, 2016
Pikotaro's 'PPAP' sets Guinness World Record
Comedian Pikotaro's music video 'Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen' has been recognized as the shortest song ever to make the U.S. Billboard Top 100 singles chart.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 20, 2016
Japanese comedian Pikotaro's video 'PPAP' cracks the Billboard Hot 100
Comedian Pikotaro’s music video “Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen,” abbreviated as “PPAP,” that recently went viral on social media has entered the weekly U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at 77th.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Did Japan intervene to prop up the yen? Analysts think it did.
A man walks past an electronic board displaying the exchange rate for the yen against the U.S. dollar (right) in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Number of vacant homes in Japan hits record high of 9 million
A vacant house in Tokyo is seen demolished in January 2020.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

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