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November 22, 2024
 

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Daniel Robson
Daniel Robson, a British journalist based in Tokyo since 2006, is a features editor and writer at The Japan Times. He also writes freelance about music, videogames and Japanese pop culture for other publications around the world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 13, 2006
School's out for Oreskaband teens
'I don't think being high-school girls is an important part of our band," says 18-year-old Tae-san, drummer with Osaka ska band Oreskaband. And with mere months until their graduation, we're about to find out if she's right.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 6, 2006
The Lemonheads "The Lemonheads"
If you want to love this album, look to the lyric sheet. Reviving the sweet 'n' sour Lemonheads moniker with new bandmates, Evan Dando eschews the warm country tone of his 2003 solo album "Baby I'm Bored," instead opting for a less dynamic, spiky electric sound. Despite sweet vocal melodies on "Become...
CULTURE / Music
Sep 15, 2006
Yuki "Wave"
With her Minnie-Mouse-on-helium voice and overt Bjorkisms, there's no denying that Yuki is one of J-pop's most colorful stars. But after her success fronting Judy And Mary, Yuki's solo sound was far from consistent until, after two dodgy albums, she hit her stride with 2005's "Joy," an out-and-out pop...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 18, 2006
Fans go cool on Arctic Monkeys
You might think it would be exciting for a band from a Sheffield suburb to play a huge festival in Japan. But when Arctic Monkeys played the packed Mountain Stage, it was without even the merest flicker of a smile. Preferring to bemoan the noise coming from the stage next door, vocalist Alex Turner seemed...
CULTURE / Music
Aug 11, 2006
Nikaido Kazumi "Nikaido Kazumi No Album"
Kazumi Nikaido's first solo album in three years is an odd proposition. It's scattered and insane, like a schizophrenic puppy that's been at the cough medicine. But when it shines, it really shines.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 21, 2006
Putting pop back together
"I'd say Canada's music scene is very healthy at the moment," says Brendan Canning, founding member of Toronto's swollen indie supergroup Broken Social Scene. And he's not wrong. Dozens of diverse Canadian bands are becoming worldwide exports: Montreal's Arcade Fire have swept the globe, selling over...
CULTURE / Music
Jul 14, 2006
Primal Scream "Riot City Blues"
Primal Scream are essentially two bands rolled into one. Sometimes they're fiercely experimental innovators; at others, they're little more than a Rolling Stones/Faces tribute band. "Riot City Blues" falls into the latter camp. It's hardly the most exciting prospect, but then many Scream fans would argue...
CULTURE / Music
Jul 7, 2006
Puffy "Splurge"
It's been 10 years since Ami and Yumi shot to fame with the million-selling debut single "Ajia no Junshin," and it's almost unthinkable that a manufactured pop duo should last so long. But Puffy's strength has always been in embracing the unpredictable, and "Splurge" is a confident, mature pop album...
CULTURE / Music
Jun 23, 2006
Utada Hikaru "Ultra Blue"
Utada Hikaru's back on form -- whatever that means. Her English-language "Exodus' album in 2004 was a global flop, yet undeservedly so; an experimental set that chose artistry over chart domination, it was a quiet masterstroke after three albums of undiluted pop smashes. She said it was the album she'd...
CULTURE / Music
Jun 16, 2006
The Chalets "Check In"
The Chalets are a gang. Like bands ought to be. Their playful, irreverent Irish humor is sharp and sweet, like an ice-lolly with a rusty blade for a stick, as they sing of sex-crazed sentient computers, crap bands and drunken seaside holidays.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Apr 25, 2001
Radiohead
Concert Preview by PHILIP BRASOR If you are conflicted about going to the trouble of obtaining tickets for Radiohead's autumn shows without first hearing their new album, "Amnesiac," which doesn't hit the stores until the end of May, you may be reassured to know that the material was recorded during...
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

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