Music Apr 17, 2020
Naoki Kobayashi: A J-pop star jumps to a new stage
by Matthew Hernon
Having already tasted success in the world of J-pop, Naoki Kobayashi has now set his sights on an acting career overseas.
Food & Drink | TOKYO FOOD FILE Feb 29, 2020
Izakaya Aobadai: Classic soba, new-wave sake and cherry-tree views
by Robbie Swinnerton
It's an excellent sign when the first sight that greets you at a restaurant is a gleaming refrigerator filled with some of the best sake in Japan. When the next thing you see is a room set aside for rolling out and cutting soba ...
National Jan 27, 2020
Kids' performance led by Exile star at Olympic flame ceremony to draw on Japan's culture and myths
The March 19 ceremony to mark the handover of the Olympic flame in Athens will include a performance that draws on Japanese culture. A rehearsal for the performance was held Sunday at the Makuhari Messe convention center in the city of Chiba, where the media ...
Entertainment News Jun 6, 2019
Akira of Exile marries Taiwanese supermodel and actress Lin Chiling
Akira, 37, a member of top Japanese dance group Exile, and Taiwanese supermodel and actress Lin Chiling, 44, announced they got married on Thursday. The two came to know each other in 2011 when they acted together in a stage drama titled "Red Cliff," and ...
Film May 25, 2017
by Mark Schilling
From its debut in 1999 as the passion project of actor Tetsuya Bessho, Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia has grown into a big event on the local and regional film calendar. Size is one reason: The 19th edition, which unspools from June 1 ...
Entertainment News Dec 24, 2016
Popular member of boy band Exile severely injured in Hokkaido auto accident
Two people, including a 41-year-old member of the popular Japanese boy band Exile, were severely injured in an auto accident near Hakodate, Hokkaido, shortly after midnight Friday, police said. A people carrier carrying seven people, including band member Daisuke Maki, widely known by his stage ...
National / Media | MEDIA MIX Nov 19, 2016
Is Japanese pop music losing its relevance?
by Philip Brasor
Shukan Bunshun recently ran some articles describing how last year the talent management company LDH allegedly paid entertainment behemoth Burning Productions to ensure that one of LDH's acts would win the top prize at the 2015 Japan Record Awards (JRA). Accompanying one of the ...
Music / CD Reviews | LISTENING POST Apr 13, 2016
Sandaime J Soul Brothers hope to seal their 'Legacy' on latest album
by Ronald Taylor
Sandaime J Soul Brothers from Exile Tribe — "The JSB Legacy" (Rhythm Zone) Sandaime J Soul Brothers find themselves in an exciting position with the release of "The JSB Legacy." Last year, they challenged a boy-band landscape dominated by Johnny & Associates acts — doing ...
Music | PRETTY GOOD YEAR Nov 27, 2015
J Soul Brothers winning the boy band war
by Ronald Taylor
Sandaime J Soul Brothers from Exile Tribe were on track to have the highest-selling album of 2015 with "Planet Seven," when Arashi swooped in and released "Japonism" in October. Arashi may have won this battle of the boy bands, but looking at the entire ...
Music | STRANGE BOUTIQUE Dec 24, 2013
Familiar obstacles stymie change in domestic music industry
by Ian Martin
While the Japanese music industry ended last year on a promise of change, 2013 has highlighted a few of the ingrained practices that are going to be a little bit more difficult to dislodge. One industry story that caught the interest of the international press ...
Reader Mail Dec 8, 2011
Regarding the Dec. 2 editorial "Abominable remark over Futenma": Perhaps the comment of the now former Okinawa Defense Bureau chief, Satoshi Tanaka, should be taken with a translation of "screwed over" rather than "raped". In which case his comment would suggest that the Japanese ...