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November 22, 2024
 

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Philip Brasor
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 30, 2016
NHK may need to rethink its 'taiga' formula
An article that appeared in December in the Yomiuri Shimbun weighed the prospects for the 2016 edition of NHK's year-long historical taiga drama series, which premiered Jan. 10. "Sanada Maru" is the title of the 55th marathon show, and the name of a fortification added on to Osaka Castle to protect it...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 29, 2016
An age-reversing cat; behind the scenes with an idol group; CM of the week: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
Second chances are the theme of the fantasy "Sumika Sumire" ("Sumi or Sumire"; TV Asahi, Fri., 11:15 p.m.), a new series based on a popular "girls comic" by Mitsuba Takanashi.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 23, 2016
SMAP dodges bullet; Becky isn't so lucky
When media leaked intelligence on Jan. 10 that eternal boy band SMAP might be dissolving, the outpouring of fan emotion overwhelmed anything else that was happening in the show business world. One person who was probably grateful for the distraction was Rebecca Eri Ray Vaughan, the TV personality better...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jan 23, 2016
Mounting student debt may cost society dearly
The education ministry conducted a survey in 2014 of institutes of higher learning and found that the average yearly tuition for private universities was ¥864,384. In addition, the average "entry fee" (nyūgakukin) was ¥261,089. Adding other expenses, the ministry estimated it cost a student ¥1.43...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 22, 2016
A 1971 thriller returns; the life of an indigo dyer; CM of the week: Nihon Waso
'Kuro no Shamen" ("The Black Slope"), made in 1971, is one of the most famous thrillers in the history of Japanese cinema. On Sunday night at 9, TV Asahi presents a new TV adaptation of the tale.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 16, 2016
The elephant in the room for Toshiba is nuclear
Japanese press outlets often cover scoops from competing outlets, but it's rare to build on a competitor's story with original reporting, especially when the scoop is a few years old. In December, the weekly magazine Aera, which is affiliated with the Asahi Shimbun, ran an article about a secret meeting...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 15, 2016
Lovers with a age gap; secrets of a retired boxer; CM of the week: Sanyo Foods
The natural reaction to the central situation of the new comedy-drama series, "Otosan to Yobasete" ("Call Me Father(-in-law)"; Fuji TV, Tues., 10 p.m.), is queasiness. Though May-December romances are a fairly common cultural touchstone, here the idea is played for maximum discomfort.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 9, 2016
Different-names ruling leaves door open to possibility of same-sex marriages
While the Supreme Court ruling said there is nothing unconstitutional about compelling married couples to register under one name, they didn't expressly limit marriage to a man and a woman.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jan 9, 2016
Low wages at the heart of foreign labor shortage woes
There has been a lot of discussion recently about allowing more foreign workers into Japan to make up for severe labor shortages in some fields. As of the end of 2014, the labor ministry estimated there were 790,000 foreign nationals working in Japan legally, which is more than the number of national...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 8, 2016
Disappearing-father drama; Swindling in Osaka; CM of the week: Bandai Namco
Osaka is the setting for the bittersweet two-hour drama "Saiko no Oyako" ("The Best Mother and Child"; TBS, Sun., 9 p.m.), which stars Naomi Fujiyama as a single mother raising a daughter, played by Riisa Naka, who has just graduated from university with a degree in architecture but is having trouble...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 2, 2016
Seeing 2015 through a fragmented media lens
Media literacy means understanding that objective reality is impossible to comprehend, and that the best you can do to make sense of the world is to know how to interpret signals. Part of that process is identifying what's at stake: Newspapers and broadcasters have parties they think they need to please,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jan 2, 2016
Getting a high rise out of dodging taxes
About a year ago, we talked about using real estate purchases to lower inheritance and gift taxes. Obviously, people who are able to take advantage of these schemes are already well off — the average person doesn't have to worry about paying inheritance taxes when his or her parents die because for...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 2, 2016
New adaptation of Natsume Soseki's classic novel; scaling Mount Everest; CM of the week: Parco
Natsume Soseki's novel, "Botchan," has been adapted many times over the years, but it has been 20 years since it was last done for television. To celebrate the 100th year since the writer died, Fuji TV is presenting a brand new production of the classic story (Sunday, 9 p.m.) starring Arashi's Kazuya...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 26, 2015
Civilian casualties of WWII left out in the cold
'Unbroken," Angelina Jolie's 2014 film about the late American Olympic athlete Louie Zamperini, will finally receive a theatrical release in Japan next year after inciting the ire of local groups who claim its depiction of Japanese prisoner of war camps is sensationally harsh and thus an expression of...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 26, 2015
Ripped-off bar hostesses in Japan stand up for their rights
With an increase in nonregular employment driving more women into the night entertainment business, some are turning to labor unions to deal with clubs that try to con them.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 25, 2015
What happens when professional baseballers get fired; CM of the week: Reebok
For every professional athlete who makes a long career out of his or her pastime, there are probably another 10 whose moment in the spotlight is painfully brief. That is the concept behind the occasional documentary series "Puro Yakyu Senryokugai Tsukoku Kubi wo Senkoku Sareta Otokotachi" ("Men Given...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 19, 2015
Japanese newspapers' self-interest ensures they toe Komeito's line on tax exemption
The vernacular press has been uncharacteristically unanimous in its support for the exemption of food from the planned consumption tax hike.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 18, 2015
Three troubled sisters; Japan's favorite mystery author; CM of the week: McDonald's
The heroes of the three stories that make up the omnibus drama "Damashi-banashi" ("Stories of Deceit"; Nippon TV, Sun., 11:15 p.m.) are the somewhat untrustworthy Yoshida siblings.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 12, 2015
Why infrastructure repairs are being ignored
Several days after a storm caused the Kinugawa River to overflow its banks and destroy communities in Ibaraki Prefecture in September, the infrastructure ministry held on-site meetings to look into what went wrong.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 12, 2015
Investors see big returns as Airbnb takes off in Japan
While many see Airbnb as a possible fix for two seious problems in Japan — the shortage of hotel rooms and a steady increase in vacant buildings — others see an investment opportunity.
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.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
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.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
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.

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?
By Kathryn Wortley

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