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November 22, 2024
 

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Patrick St. Michel
Patrick St. Michel is a Tokyo-based writer with a focus on Japanese music. He runs the blog Make Believe Melodies, which has focused on Japanese independent music since 2009. Besides The Japan Times, he also contributes to MTV 81 and The Atlantic.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / A Weekend In
Dec 21, 2018
A weekend in Seoul: Relaxing on the cheap
Everyone needs a break from the stress-percolator that is Tokyo. But heading off to a different sprawling metropolis for some peace of mind might not seem the most obvious play. Sometimes, though, heading to a new metropolis and surrounding yourself with new sights, smells and sounds can prove the refreshing...
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Dec 19, 2018
TV in 2018: Progressive voices and the enduring charm of ‘Terrace House’
In the English-speaking world, Japanese TV in 2018 was celebrated for how boring it could get. But it was anything but domestically, where viewers questioned norms and helped nudge forward programs with progressive politics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 18, 2018
Music in 2018: Saying goodbye to Heisei with 'U.S.A.'
The final full year of the Heisei Era was one of the most discombobulating for Japanese music this decade. Nostalgia for the soon-to-end era clashed with efforts to figure out where J-pop goes moving forward. Tunes covered in cobwebs suddenly became the soundtrack for viral dances on trendy video apps....
Japan Times
CULTURE
Dec 18, 2018
YouTube in 2018: Controversy, contributors and (allegedly) child-friendly content
YouTube in Japan had an identity crisis in 2018. The video-sharing site only grew in importance this year, as the top creators associated with the platform achieved acceptance by the country's mainstream media gatekeepers while famous names migrated over.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Dec 15, 2018
Just like real yakisoba, this Cold Stone look-alike ice cream has a lot going for it
Inspired by the anime series 'Fate/Extra Last Encore,' Cold Stone Creamery Japan is offering an exclusive yakisoba look-alike ice cream at six store locations nationwide.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Dec 15, 2018
SoftBank finds a week is a long time in social media terms
It’s fair to say that commercial enterprises have sometimes struggled to co-exist with social media.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Dec 13, 2018
Mitsuki Kimura and her film award without the film
Year-end awards season is in full swing, which means a lot of looking back on the past 12 months. Part of the fun of best-of lists and 2018-in-a-minute thinkpieces is arguing about placement and positioning: Did X really deserve to get so much love? Was Y not actually bloated and overrated?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Dec 8, 2018
Lawson's Godiva chocolates are classy, sweet and provide some winter warmth
Lawson's latest collaboration is with chocolate maker Godiva, and together they have launched a limited-edition set of chocolate sweets.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Dec 6, 2018
Bridges built by the power of K-pop and J-pop
This year hasn't been a particularly warm one for the relationship between Japan and South Korea. Ongoing tension stemming from Japan's colonization of its neighbor up to the end of World War II — and efforts to complicate what happened during this period — have bubbled up once again, affecting everything...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Dec 1, 2018
Seiichi Yamamoto's 'Ginga': Musings from an underground music legend
Seiichi Yamamoto's 'Ginga,' originally released in Japanese in 2009 and translated into English by Kato David Hopkins this year, compiles highlights from Yamamoto's column for Guitar Magazine.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Dec 1, 2018
Gotta catch 'em all: Mister Donut's launches two Pokemon-themed donuts
Mister Donut is offering two special Pokemon-themed creations, a banana-chocolate-flavored Pikachu and a strawberry white chocolate one shaped like a red-and-white Pokeball.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 28, 2018
Second Harvest Japan: Helping those in need can make you feel like part of the community
Ahead of a fundraiser for the Tokyo-based food bank, CEO Charles McJilton explains why a 'food safety net' is a must for Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Nov 24, 2018
Kaparu's victory in 2018 mascot awards gives Saitama a reason to shine
The Yuru-kyara (Promotional Mascot) Grand Prix in Japan has become one of the internet’s most anticipated events of the year. The 2018 edition lived up to expectations, and even featured a little voting drama. In the end, the city of Shiki’s Kaparu captured the crown.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 17, 2018
Mariya Takeuchi: The pop genius behind 2018's surprise online smash hit from Japan
On the 40th anniversary of singer-songwriter Mariya Takeuchi's debut, The Japan Times sits down with the musician responsible for such classics as 'Sutekina Holiday,' 'September' and the track that has taken the internet by storm, 'Plastic Love.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Nov 17, 2018
Chocolate or cheese? With Fujiya's new Look chocolate, you don't have to choose
On Nov. 13, sweets maker Fujiya released two new flavors of its venerable Look brand of chocolate: a smoked almond and a cheddar and Camembert cheese variety.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Nov 15, 2018
Don't worry too much over BTS
Throngs of fans packed Tokyo Dome on Tuesday and Wednesday to watch K-pop group BTS perform songs from across its five-year career. The crowd cheered, bought merchandise and the two days offered the seven-member group some respite from a week of scandal.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 15, 2018
The queen of kawaii: Kyary Pamyu Pamyu reflects on her reign
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's trip to the Museum of Death in Hollywood proved to be a 2018 highlight for the 25-year-old J-pop star.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Nov 10, 2018
Carbo-load: Convenience store breads pile on the sweetness
Japan's big three convenience stores — Lawson, FamilyMart and Seven-Eleven — have plenty of rich (and caloric!) bread-based desserts to satisfy any sweet tooth.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Nov 10, 2018
Illustrators use social media to highlight the minutiae of everyday life in Japan
Garbage collectors perform a service that is essential to the functioning of society, and yet their contributions are often overlooked. Whatever a person’s social standing, however, it doesn’t mean their observations on life aren’t worth examining.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Nov 3, 2018
Shibuya's Halloween havoc may tarnish future festivities
Less than a decade ago, finding any sort of Halloween celebration in Tokyo would have been tough. Then, suddenly, October revelry was everywhere you looked in the capital. And in 2018, the spookiest event of the year has evolved once again in Japan: It’s now being held up as an example of hedonism...
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.
'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.
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.

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’
SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

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