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November 21, 2024
 

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Mark Thompson
Mark Thompson is the managing editor of The Japan Times, where he has worked since the birth of HTML. Once upon a time, he was on the features desk and wrote regularly about culture and technology. He can be found on way too many social platforms, including Mastodon, Post.news, Bluesky and Threads.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Oct 12, 2009
Running with the Red Bulls in Odaiba
At Japan's first Red Bull Box Cart Race, it was more about unfettered creativity than pure speed.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Oct 6, 2009
3D marketing in motion
Turning 2D into 3D on the fly, Motion Portrait is the dream toy of today's viral campaigns.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Sep 17, 2009
Tokyo Meatrea: a cut above your usual food court
Herbivores be damned. Namco announces plans for new 'food theme park' dedicated to meat. Yes, meat.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 12, 2007
Cleansing your mind with a little creativity
Nasu Kogen is proudly promoted as a vacation spot of the Imperial family. Judging by the numerous pamphlets at the station's welcome center, the area, about an hour and a half north of Tokyo, certainly wants to offer something for the whole family — but not necessarily the royals.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 3, 2005
And the winner, by a nose, is . . .
Speaking at the news conference following the closing ceremony of this year's Tokyo International Film Festival, lead actor Koichi Sato said that while working on "Yuki ni Negau Koto (What the Snow Brings)" he "never imagined that this film would go on to receive the top prize at an international event."...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 5, 2004
'Kill Bill: Vol. 2': Back into the pit of vipers
True originality is a many-splintered thing. Let us recall that Shakespeare was indebted to Marlowe, Picasso drew inspiration from African totems and Van Gogh dug ukiyoe prints. Then this thing called postmodernism gave artists carte blanche to quote, sample, appropriate, reinterpret -- you name it,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 23, 2003
Men among monsters in deep Yamagata
When it comes to ski resorts, Japan has virtually everything you could want. For serious powder, there are the wonderlands of Niseko in Hokkaido or Hachimantai in Iwate. For those looking for Western-style apres-ski, there's the posh Arai Mountain and Spa. And for the day-trippers from Tokyo, there are...
COMMUNITY
Feb 3, 2002
The Ponshu-kan: A small taste of heaven in Echigo Yuzawa Station
Echigo Yuzawa Station is a well-trod portal to Niigata's famed snow country, bustling this time of year with the comings and goings of skiers and boarders. But however fine the powder, there's an excellent reason to linger: The Ponshu-kan (Sake Museum) located in the station.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 2, 2001
Need a powder fix in Japan? Go boarding out of bounds
Anyone who has skied or boarded on a weekend in Japan knows the story: the well-groomed slopes, blanketed with skiers and boarders making their way up and down as loudspeakers blare pop music and shrill announcements. And then there are the cattle-corral cafeterias, the chaotic souvenir stands, the apres-ski...
CULTURE / Film
Nov 7, 2001
Between the real and the surreal
A whiff of the absurd was in the air at the closing ceremony of the 14th Tokyo International Film Festival, held Sunday at Orchard Hall in Shibuya. It wasn't necessarily the presenters' hairdos and breathless patter, nor the new formal dress code imposed on the attending filmmakers. It wasn't even the...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Mar 7, 2001
Great Domain Robbery
I got a whiff of this story last week at Inside.com. It was in a news brief about a journalist who had floated details about a company that would soon offer new top-level domain names.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Feb 21, 2001
Who's napping now?
As any music fan knows, the future of Napster, the biggest free lunch of MP3s on the Net, is still very much in legal limbo. Last week a San Francisco appeals court confirmed a decision made this summer: Napster is knowingly infringing the copyrights of recording artists. The court asked U.S District...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jan 24, 2001
Back in the loop
This is not what you would call a lede per se, but indulge me for a few paragraphs. This will take some explaining.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jan 10, 2001
What's it all about, IT?
2001 may well be the year of the IT revolution, but as far as I'm concerned, we're talking about utilITy. From here on, usefulness is going to be the benchmark for information technologies.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Dec 13, 2000
Next stop Wirelessland
A funny thing happened on the way to work . .
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Nov 15, 2000
Whassup on the Web
It hasn't made it into Webster's Dictionary yet, but you already know this word. In fact, it's already in your head. It's that jingle, that logo, that look, that idea. It's called a meme, and there's a whole branch of social science devoted to it. Richard Dawkins, the man who coined the word in his book,...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Oct 18, 2000
Singing a different tune
With the Oct. 3 release of "Kid A," Radiohead's hotly anticipated but allegedly "difficult" album (i.e., no guitar solos, love ballads or sing-along chants), the British band accomplished quite a feat: It shot to the top of album charts worldwide, including Billboard's U.S. album charts, the holy grail...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Oct 4, 2000
Who's your buddy?
Last week, AOL and DoCoMo announced a major strategic alliance, but few techno-journos were blindsided by the news. Rumors had been floating since early summer, and the potential benefits were fairly easy to digest. Savvy scribes had probably already put together rough drafts. It was just a matter of...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Sep 20, 2000
I want my RTV
While on vacation in the States, I found myself watching the finale of "Survivor," the climax of a summer of reality TV. I could have turned it off. I could have returned to my book. But no. I had been (blissfully) ignorant of all that had gone on before, but that didn't matter. I watched both it and...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jul 12, 2000
I-mode uber Alles
A small cheer could be heard recently when it was announced that NTT DoCoMo would add English-language content to the menus of its i-mode cell phones. It went official July 3, and, well, the selection wasn't that big of a surprise. In fact, some of it had already been available in previous months (and...
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.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
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