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May 04, 2024
 

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YU AOI

Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 22, 2017
Shinobu Yaguchi can make sparks fly, even off the grid
When I met Shinobu Yaguchi at a Chicago sushi restaurant on March 1, I made my usual mistake with well-known directors: mention that I had interviewed him before. He, understandably, blanked, since the interview was 20 years ago for his 1997 indie comedy "My Secret Cache" ("Himitsu no Hanazono")
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 8, 2017
'Survival Family': Soft-pedaling through dystopia
To Hollywood, "dystopian future" usually means invading aliens, exotic technology and gigantic explosions. Shinobu Yaguchi's "Survival Family" posits an alternative, more mundane cause of civilizational collapse: Japan's electric grid suddenly freezes up, like a laptop that's been doused with hot coffee. Televisions go blank, smartphones go silent and the internet goes missing. Chaos ensues.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 8, 2016
Ishizaki switches guitars for scripts in his on-screen debut
Making his on-screen debut in Daigo Matsui's multistranded, disorderly and, at times, moving film "Japanese Girls Never Die" ("Azumi Harako wa Yukie Fumei"), singer Huwie Ishizaki admits that he was nervous prior to stepping in front of the cameras. The 32-year-old solo artist is used to putting on intense shows for his fans, but appearing in a movie alongside one of the country's leading actresses, Yu Aoi, was a whole new kind of pressure.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 30, 2016
'Japanese Girls Never Die': They want to have more than just fun
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he wants to build a society in which "all women can shine." But as Daigo Matsui graphically shows in his new film "Japanese Girls Never Die," women in Japan are still living in a male-dominated society that, in everything from unequal pay to blatant sexual harassment, serves as a de facto black-out curtain.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 19, 2016
Japan's eclectic collection of choice
The Tokyo International Film Festival offers a great once-in-a-year opportunity to see new and classic Japanese films with English subtitles. The sheer quantity on offer — more than 50 titles in the main sections alone — can be overwhelming, though. Here are samples from my own must-see list.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 18, 2016
History of life on Earth; a tale of two women; CM of the week: Asahi Group Foods
There has been life on Earth for roughly 3.8 billion years, and humans have only been around for a small portion of that time. The four-hour special "Ningen wa Nan da?" ("What is a Human Being?"; TBS, Mon., 7 p.m.) attempts to get at the meaning of human existence through close scientific research.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 27, 2015
Japan-Korea dramas shine
Festival/Tokyo, which bills itself as "Japan's leading performing-arts event," is notable this year for its international collaborations — especially between Japanese and Korean dramatists, whose works comprise three of the 12 main programs in its Oct. 31-Dec. 6 span.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 3, 2015
World Heritage site tourism; visualizing Hiroshima's bombing; CM of the Week: Mitsui Real Estate
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Hakubun Shimomura takes time away from dealing with the new national stadium to make a guest appearance on the travel program "So da, Dokka ni Ikko?" ("Well, Where Shall We Go?"; TV Tokyo, Tues., 6:57 p.m.). Shimomura is there to introduce 18 of the UNESCO World Heritage sites that happen to be in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 24, 2014
Fatal Frame: Mari Asato's uncanny, ghostly dopplegangers
Japanese horror movies have various ways of making you squirm, shiver or watch the screen through your fingers. But sooner or later most scares of the spook-house variety become annoying. How many more times do I want to see a ghostly hand surging from a tub of bloody water to grab an unsuspecting wrist? How about . . . never?
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 14, 2013
Mishima plays get the puppet treatment
The "Five Modern Noh Plays" by Yukio Mishima (1925-70) has already been the subject of many adaptations, but the latest is by marionette theater company Youkiza. Not only is the original set of yūgen (a mysterious, profound universe) retained, but so is the modern approach typical of novelist Mishima's dramas.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 19, 2013
Ishikawa knows when to throw away the script
Japanese directors of TV dramas often make films that are basically big-screen versions of small-screen shows. No surprise, since their TV-network backers want product that will work equally well with multiplex audiences and home viewers.
Reader Mail
Feb 27, 2011
Pawns of leading-edge 'research'
The front-page Feb. 22 article "Work starts at Shinjuku Unit 731" prompted me to make a few comments as a student of the Chinese language who visited the Biological Warfare Unit 731 site in the Pingfang district of Harbin, China. (The Shinjuku site in Tokyo is said to have been research headquarters for Unit 731.)
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
Yen swings stir talk that Japan is in the FX market once again
An electronic screen in Tokyo displays the yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar and the graph showing its recent swings, on Thursday.
Harajuku strives to reclaim its former glory — and surpass it
Laforet Harajuku, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last year, has been a witness to the district's evolution over the years.
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.
Japan's May 1 intervention may have cost ¥3.66 trillion, BOJ data suggests
An electronic screen displays a graph showing Japanese yen exchange rates surging against the dollar amid signs of intervention by authorities, in Tokyo on Thursday.
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.

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

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Live like a lord or lady for a night at Ozu Castle
Live like a lord or lady for a night at Ozu Castle

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