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July 17, 2024
 

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Philip Brasor
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 20, 2009
Those same old jokes aren't funny anymore
In October, a Colorado couple fooled the American media into believing that their 6-year-old son had possibly taken off in a homemade helium balloon, setting off a police search that received nationwide coverage. By the time the little boy was "discovered" hiding in the couple's attic, a Japanese TV...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 18, 2009
Last call for Wendy's
It was only AFTER Wendy's declared defeat in the face of McDonald's dominance in Japan that the hamburgers started flying on the grill.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 18, 2009
The noughties played it nice
The biggest Japanese music event in 2000 was Hikaru Utada's Bohemian Summer tour, which was launched at Tokyo's Yoyogi Pool that June. Since emerging in December 1998 with the single "Automatic," followed by the debut album "First Love" four months later, the 17-year-old singer-songwriter, daughter of...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 15, 2009
Old condos finally attract interest
Buying an old condo can be a risky but since many can be had at rock-bottom prices these days, they might be worth the investment.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 13, 2009
A mother's love — Hatoyama's — boosts tax coffers
Nothing says "socialism" better than the redistribution of wealth. In fact, redistributing wealth is what taxes are all about, and no tax redistributes wealth more honestly than inheritance taxes.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 10, 2009
A streetcar named beer
For truly recession-style bonenkai, salary workers are hopping aboard Arakawa-sen's Forget-the-year Beer Special. Next stop, Hangover Hill.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 7, 2009
Be good to your fry pan, and it will be good to you
If you value your fry pan's life, a Teflon recoating service makes good economic and environmental sense.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 6, 2009
Eco cars go up in smoke
Preadolescent tarento (TV celebrities) tend to provoke my gag reflex. I can only tolerate preternatural cuteness if it's presented without irony or intensification. Ten-year-old Nozomi Ohashi, who's famous for singing the theme song to the animated movie "Ponyo," has, according to her Wikipedia entry,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 4, 2009
Winter tale: Do oseibo have a future?
The tradition of oseibo (winter gifts) undergoes a sea change as younger generations shift their priorities to practicality and sustainability.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 4, 2009
Countdown Japan
The main difference between this year's four-day, end-of-year, all-Japanese-artist rock festival, Countdown Japan, and last year's is that this year it will only be held in Chiba. For the last three years it was also held simultaneously in Osaka, just like Summer Sonic is in August, but according to...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 30, 2009
Takarakuji: What's chance got to do with it?
Legend has it that lottery tickets sold at certain outlets are more likely to be the winning numbers. Never mind the odds of losing don't change.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 29, 2009
Cute kittens out to kill you
Cats are easy targets, which is why Shukan Asahi took such a cheap shot at them in the banner headline of its print ads for the Dec. 4 issue: "New-type influenza being spread by cats!?" In the subhead, cat cafes were cited as "hotbeds of infection."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 28, 2009
Even pawnshops got it rough
You'd think that pawn shops would be one of the business capitalizing on the recession, but that's not exactly the case.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 26, 2009
Taiyaki: the people's choice during hard times
Business would appear to be good for vendors of taiyaki, the cheap, sweet street food. And this isn't Japan's first taiyaki boom.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 23, 2009
Deflation at the vending machine
Vending machines used to be a safe haven for drink companies in Japan, but price-hammering rivals are changing that.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 22, 2009
Obsessed with 'ugly' women
When I read the news item in early November about the three men in Tottori Prefecture whose mysterious deaths were linked to a woman already under arrest for fraud, I associated them with the similarly mysterious deaths of several other men linked to a Tokyo woman who was under arrest for swindling....
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 19, 2009
Cold cash for hot stoves
You would think that dangerous, outdated kerosene heaters would not still be considered 'modern appliances' in Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 16, 2009
Are point cards worth it?
Point cards have become ubiquitous in Japan but at the end of the day, how much value is the consumer getting by using them?
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 15, 2009
Movie JAL doesn't want you to see snubbed by media
Big-budget movies need all the help they can get recovering their production and promotional costs at the box office, so advertisements stating that the 3 1/2-hour epic "Shizumanu Taiyo" ("The Sun That Doesn't Set") is a "big hit" should be taken with a grain of salt. First of all, every movie released...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 12, 2009
Pet cremation goes mobile
When your pooch or kitty expires in Tokyo, you can't just bury it out back. Which explains why mobile pet crematoriums are such a growth business.
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
China’s economic growth comes in worse than expected
Pedestrians in the Wangfujing shopping area in Beijing on July 11, 2024. China's economic growth in the second quarter was lower than forecast, adding pressure on Chinese leaders to lift confidence at the Chinese Communist Party's third plenum this week.
Kansai airports to increase takeoff and landing slots ahead of Osaka Expo
Kansai International Airport in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture. The upper limit on the number of takeoff and landing slots at the airport as well as Kobe Airport in Hyogo Prefecture will be raised in spring next year ahead of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals
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