Music Dec 18, 2020
Miyavi meets the reality of the moment
by Yukari Tanaka
The musician, also known as the samurai guitarist, learns to roll with the punches in the era of the coronavirus with virtual reality performances.
Culture Jul 23, 2019
Miyavi is on a mission to change Japan's tune on refugees
by Mai Yoshikawa
In his lesser-known role as a refugee advocate, Miyavi, aka the samurai guitarist, asks that people look beyond the headline numbers before declaring Japan unwelcoming to asylum-seekers. Despite Japan taking in only 42 refugees in 2018 — accepting less than 1 percent of applicants — ...
Film / Reviews Feb 3, 2016
An unforgiving look at 'Unbroken' in Japan
by Giovanni Fazio
Flashback to 1983: Director Nagisa Oshima's "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence," set during World War II in a Japanese-run POW camp in Java, is opening in theaters across Japan. It starred David Bowie with two huge local stars: comedian Beat Takeshi and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto. ...
Music Apr 17, 2015
Miyavi explores his 'Others' side on new album
by Matthew Hernon
Playing a sadistic real-life villain in the Angelina Jolie film "Unbroken" clearly took its toll on Takamasa Ishihara, who admits he wept and threw up as he prepared for his final scene. Now back in a more familiar role as the enigmatic musician Miyavi, ...
Film Jan 14, 2015
A longer look at the problems of 'Unbroken'
by Mark Schilling
Why can't "Unbroken" — Angelina Jolie's hit World War II drama — catch a break in Japan? There are presently no plans to release the film here in theaters, on DVD or online, even though it has a strong Japan focus as well as ...
Editorials Dec 23, 2011
The government on Tuesday selected Lockheed Martin's F-35 as the Air-Self Defense Force's next-generation fighter over Boeing's F/A-18 and the Eurofighter Typhoon to replace aging F-4 fighters. Japan plans to purchase 42 F-35s, hoping that the first delivery will start in fiscal 2016 (April ...
Commentary / World Sep 5, 2011
by Kevin Rafferty
Hitherto unknown and self-styled "loach" Yoshihiko Noda must learn to swim in an ocean of problems as Japan's new prime minister of the year. He has more than a plateful of domestic issues, but he should also realize, as his predecessors forgot, that Japan ...