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November 21, 2024
 

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Ryotaro Aoki
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 17, 2015
Negoto's 'Vision' sees beyond genres
It's an origin story that sounds like something out of a coming-of-age film: On a whim, four friends decide to enter a battle of the bands-style competition; not necessarily to get signed or to "make it," but to have something fun to do together in their last year of high school. Except they do get signed,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 20, 2015
Perseverance wins Ningen Isu an encore
Kimonos and heavy metal. It's a combination that few groups have pulled off convincingly. While the aesthetic may have been used last year to turn (or bang) more than a few heads in the West by heavy metal idol unit Babymetal, the tiny trio certainly wasn't the first to attempt it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 16, 2014
Rock, J-pop and dance: Albums we liked in 2014
The year-end album charts in Japan have a tendency to prop up the same acts year after year: Exile, anything that ends in a "48," and almost every group from the Johnny & Associates stable of boy bands. Writers at The Japan Times, however, spent the year looking past the charts to find a few gems lurking...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 4, 2014
Mono's dual album release shows dark and light sides to the band
On the 2012 album "For My Parents," instrumental rock band Mono went big. Recorded with the 25-piece Wordless Music Orchestra, the album reflected a band that had finally completed a musical journey that it started more than 15 years ago performing grandiose, symphonic instrumental rock.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 9, 2014
Review: X Japan at Yokohama Arena
X Japan performed its first show in Japan in over three years on Sept. 30 at Yokohama Arena.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 16, 2014
Luminous Orange's Rie Takeuchi soars with a little help from her friends
Though often referred to as a "shoegaze band," Luminous Orange's Rie Takeuchi says she is neither of those two things.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 5, 2014
Dragon Ash, Chara impress at Rock in Japan's first weekend
The first thing you're greeted with when walking into the gates of Rock In Japan Festival is a large sign with a list of rules titled, "7 Things Rock In Japan Wants to Tell You."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 29, 2014
Avengers in Sci-Fi talk about Zeppelin and the problem with festivals
You don't usually hear Led Zeppelin and science fiction mentioned in the same breath. But for Taro Kohata, who plays guitar and synthesizer, and sings for rock band Avengers In Sci-Fi, the two go hand in hand.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 8, 2014
Daymare puts its bands through a hardcore filter for Leave Them All Behind event
"There are people who like aggressive music the way they like sports, but I think 'hardcore' is about being self-aware of what you're doing, about how to create your own space," says Tadashi Hamada, manager of independent music label Daymare Recordings. "That's my first requirement for bands. So hardcore...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 1, 2014
Leftfield J-pop, '70s influenced rock and shadowy R&B: Our favorite albums of 2014 (so far)
In his Strange Boutique column last week, Ian Martin wrote about the need for a canon in Japanese music in order for newcomers to the scene — especially those writing about it — to gain some context into what is being released.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 19, 2014
Luna Sea rockers Sugizo and Inoran talk life at 25
"I don't think of this as a reunion. We didn't break up; we just paused our activities and came back to life," says Sugizo, guitarist and violinist of rock group Luna Sea. Sitting next to bandmate Inoran, he speaks calmly and softly, his eyes looking back at me through tinted sunglasses. "Words like...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 19, 2014
Review: Luna Sea at Yoyogi National Gymnasium
Luna Sea celebrated its 25th anniversary by holding a special concert, "Luna Sea 25th Anniversary Live -The Unfinished Moon-," on May 29 at Yoyogi National Gymnasium.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 10, 2014
Boris sums up its sonic spectrum with 'Noise'
Trying to define the sound of Tokyo-based experimental trio Boris is like asking someone their favorite kind of music. It's everything, it's nothing in particular ... it's definitely not country.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 22, 2014
Marty Friedman reminds metalheads he hasn't forgotten his roots on 'Inferno'
Former Cacophony/Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman returns with his first solo album of original material in four years, "Inferno," after releasing a series of Japan-only cover albums in which he deconstructed and amped-up J-pop tunes.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 20, 2014
Singer Mayu Wakisaka takes inspiration from the TV drama boom
Singer-songwriter Mayu Wakisaka harbors dreams of Hollywood, but she's not about to enroll at drama school.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 29, 2014
Indie band The fin. is just getting started
"There's this idea (among Japanese bands) that you have to make something different from the Western music you listen to," says Yuto Uchino, singer for indie rock band The fin. "I was really trying hard to write in Japanese, but it was awkward. The words just didn't fit and I could never really say what...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 8, 2014
Oreskaband vocalist iCas talks politics and 10 years in the music game
The first topic that comes up when I sit down with Oreskaband's singer/guitarist Naoko "iCas" Yoshioka isn't music or her band, it's a lunchtime variety show called "Waratte Iitomo!" The finale aired March 31 and she asks me if I saw it, which I hadn't. She insists that I watch it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 27, 2014
Man With A Mission and Buzz The Bears keep punk's spirit alive at Punkspring
It's not every day you get to exchange thoughts on punk rock with a talking wolf.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 11, 2014
Mothercoat sees tour as a step in cultivating a global fanbase
Most bands in Japan come to Tokyo to reach for stardom. Indie rock act Mothercoat did the opposite, however, when its members all relocated to Fukaya, Saitama Prefecture, two years ago.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 4, 2014
Owarikara takes its fans to the edge with 'Saihate Songs'
The band name Owarikara loosely translates into English as "starting from the end." However, singer and guitarist Hyouri Takahashi gives a much more specific interpretation.
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
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.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
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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