Tag - namie

 
 

NAMIE

Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Aug 10, 2018
'Namie Amuro generation': Okinawa moms pursue dream of fame
Five Okinawa women in their 40s, who practiced singing and dancing as teens at the same school as pop diva Namie Amuro, have recently relaunched their music careers after a lengthy break with a goal of achieving fame.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jul 7, 2018
Women in Japan fall for an Amuro who isn't the J-pop star
Most people in Japan associate the surname Amuro with the retiring 40-year-old queen of J-pop of the same name, who gave a series of farewell concerts in June that attracted 800,000 people.
LIFE / Style & Design
Apr 22, 2018
Top stars and collaborations in Japanese fashion
This month, fashion in Japan is coming at you with collaborations involving two major artists, one of the musical persuasion and another that might just break the internet. Meanwhile, one of Japan's homegrown fashion stars celebrates an anniversary with one of the best runway shows Tokyo has seen all...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2018
Nissan opens plant in Fukushima town to give second life to EV batteries
At a small plant intended to help revitalize a town ravaged by the 2011 earthquake, Nissan Motor Co. is giving its costly electric vehicle (EV) batteries a new lease on life after they pass their peak performance.
CULTURE / Sound Off
Jan 18, 2018
Will 2018 herald a return to the 1990s?
Prognosticating something as unpredictable as the domestic music industry might appear to be a fool's errand. But what's the fun in playing it safe? Here are some predictions for 2018.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Dec 28, 2017
Namie Amuro saves 'Kohaku' ... for now
The weekly Shukan Bunshun released a survey in early November highlighting the acts its readers wanted to see perform on NHK's yearend "Kohaku Uta Gassen" music program. They chose Namie Amuro as the artist they wanted to see the most, likely because she announced her plans to retire from the entertainment...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 13, 2017
Music acts found new ways to get noticed in 2017, but nothing beats an established brand
The path to J-pop stardom used to be pretty simple: Align yourself with the right talent agency and label — they'll do all the work.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Jun 18, 2017
For Fukushima returnees, security a growing concern in deserted towns
It's like a dream to once again be able to live in my "home, sweet home."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Mar 11, 2017
Namie: one step forward, a few steps back
Evacuees from the Fukushima town of Namie are struggling to find a good reason to return to their homes.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Jan 29, 2017
Happier times in the era of Tetsuya Komuro
A 58-year-old Japanese man with a dyed blond mullet in a thick, woolly sweater hunches over a series of a dozen keyboards. With a casual confidence his fingers trip through a few bright, up-tempo chords. There's something familiar about the sound — a nostalgia tinged with just a hint of guilty pleasure....
Japan Times
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Dec 18, 2016
Namie's high recovery hopes haunted by dwindling coffers, fears of losing vital state dole
A robot testing facility, a robotics research center, a base for renewable energy and a memorial park — these are some of the plans the irradiated town of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, has in mind for rebuilding after the triple reactor meltdown at the nearby Fukushima No. 1 power plant in March 2011....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Oct 26, 2016
Namie radiation evacuees fear return
Weed-engulfed buildings and shuttered businesses paint an eerie picture of a coastal Japanese town abandoned after a monstrous earthquake and tsunami triggered meltdowns in the Fukushima nuclear plant.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Sep 25, 2016
Hikaru Utada and the iconic women of Japanese pop who came before her
In an age where anyone and (it often seems) everyone can be an idol, it takes something special to be an icon.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Jul 17, 2016
Retailer hopes to lift returning firms in Namie by tapping pipeline to Qvevri-made Georgian wine
Matsubaya, a retail and wholesale firm from the town of Namie near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, is trying to revitalize businesses that were based in the district, using Georgian wine.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 20, 2015
Namie Amuro returned to form this year with '_genic'
Ten years ago, Namie Amuro's star appeared to be fading fast. The pop singer's massive popularity in the 1990s helped cement the rise of sleek J-pop, but by 2005, sales of her albums and singles were starting to come back to Earth. Worse still, the former "Queen of J-pop" was seemingly being lapped by...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 9, 2015
Sound waves: the music of Okinawa
How is it possible that a people who have experienced poverty, famine and discrimination, outlasted efforts at cultural annihilation and suffered the indignities of occupation can manage to celebrate life in song and dance with a passion and joy that belies everyday reality?

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan