Philip Brasor - The Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Sep 17, 2006

Struggling to put the brakes on the culture of drunk driving

What makes a crime more heinous than another? We usually think it has to do with intention. Murder, which implies pre-meditation, is more seriously punished than manslaughter, which implies lack of premeditation.

CULTURE / Music

Sep 14, 2006

People of one voice

Michael Franti seemed to be everywhere at the 2003 Fuji Rock Festival, and since he stands as tall as a volleyball player and sports long dreads, it was impossible to miss him.

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Sep 10, 2006

What's love got to do with it? Holding on for a while

Many modern people have probably formed their idea of romantic love through the popular arts. We know from Jane Austen novels that marrying for love is an idea that preceded Hollywood, but people still wed for many other reasons, including simple companionship, convenience and money. Nevertheless, love...

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Sep 3, 2006

Controversial tales of cats, Pluto and Britney's belly

Controversy No. 1: Cats are people, too

CULTURE / Music

Sep 1, 2006

Blondie

Among that small elite of American bands who enjoyed strings of Top 40 hits during their respective heydays, Blondie stands out. The New York-based group may not have shifted as many units as The Beach Boys, Creedence Clearwater Revival or even Hall and Oates, but they managed to stay on top without...

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Aug 27, 2006

'Disguised contracting' gets proper airing in media . . . with results

The main front page story of the July 31 Asahi Shimbun was about the prefectural labor bureaus cracking down on major manufacturers for improper employment practices; in particular, something called giso ukeoi, or "disguised contracting."

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Aug 20, 2006

Notes on Yasukuni and a week that will live in infamy

Following his historic visit to Yasukuni Shrine last Tuesday on the 61st anniversary of Japan's surrender, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi spoke to the media. As usual, his comments had the bland quality of safely scripted pronouncements, but at one point he paused significantly: "I prayed for those...

CULTURE / Music

Aug 18, 2006

Urban tea party gets lift at beach

Unlike Fuji Rock, that other Japanese music festival, and which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, Summer Sonic is still very much in evolution. It's an evolution less stylistic than logistical.

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Aug 13, 2006

High-school baseball pitches the way of the samurai

It's said that even Japanese people who don't like baseball still get caught up in the annual summer high-school baseball tournament, which happens to be taking place right now at Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture. Apparently, this same paradox applies to at least one American. On the Internet message...

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Aug 6, 2006

Welfare's not fair when it comes to single mothers

In show business, you can't look as if you made up your own labels. Only someone as big as Michael Jackson gets away with calling himself the King of Pop.

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Jul 30, 2006

And in the Japanese corner is . . . Morita-san

Christina Morimoto is sitting in the office of the Tokyo modeling agency she works for, answering questions about her first acting job in the new movie "I Am Nipponjin."

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Jul 23, 2006

The many hazards -- especially for kids -- of living the high life

Some news stories make you laugh and some make you cringe. If you live in an apartment you may have done both while reading the July 13 story in this newspaper about an employee of Schindler Elevator K.K. getting trapped in a Schindler lift in the same Tokyo residential building where a teenager was...

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Jul 16, 2006

And now for some good news -- on tap for everyone

We have become so used to environmental portents that whenever we hear good news we blink in disbelief, so blink away: It appears that the various concerted efforts to get people in Japan to save water has paid off.

CULTURE / Music

Jul 14, 2006

A confluence of buzzes

Artistic restlessness is not a quality normally associated with rookie rock bands. It applies more to established groups who've outgrown their signature sound. TV on the Radio, a Brooklyn quintet whose second album, "Return to Cookie Mountain," was already being touted by tastemakers as the year's best...

CULTURE / Music

Jul 14, 2006

Udo Music Festival

When & where: Udo Music Festival takes place at Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture and Izumiotsu Phoenix in Osaka, July 22-23. Performances begin at 10:30 a.m. The lineups on Saturday switch venues on Sunday.

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Jul 9, 2006

There's a price to pay for flaunting wealth in Japan

For its annual World Wealth Report, finance firm Merrill Lynch circles the globe and counts the number of millionaires. Though a million dollars -- 114 million yen, as defined by the survey -- ain't what it used to be, it's still a distant dream for the vast majority.

CULTURE / Music

Jul 7, 2006

ESG keep on moving

Drugs and violence were rampant. Teenage pregnancy was common. Opportunity was scarce. An office clerk named Helen Scroggins, who lived in a housing project with her four school-age daughters in New York City's South Bronx in the mid-1970s, was anxious.

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Jul 2, 2006

Consternation characterizes response to Zico's World Cup flops

Though it may not be any consolation to local soccer fans, the Japanese team won the Humanoid Division in the RoboCup soccer competition that took place in Bremen on June 14-20.

CULTURE / Music

Jun 30, 2006

Summer Sonic

W hen & Where: Summer Sonic takes place Aug. 12-13 at Chiba Marine Stadium, Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture; and WTC Open Air Stadium, Osaka Intex and Zepp Tokyo in Osaka. Shows begin at 11 a.m. on both days. The lineups on Saturday switch cities on Sunday.

CULTURE / Music

Jun 29, 2006

Posies blossom as fans continue to pop up

Shonen Knife didn't make much of an impression overseas until the release of a 1989 tribute album that included versions of their songs by the likes of Sonic Youth and Red Kross. Coincidentally, the whole Seattle rock scene went global shortly thereafter, pulling into the spotlight bands that happened...

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