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April 01, 2025
 

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Alyssa I. Smith
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 11, 2022
Yuki Tejima: 'Women have always had a place in the literary world, but now there’s a new generation with really strong voices'
Yuki Tejima runs the Instagram account Book Nerd Tokyo. She uses the platform to discuss books and cafes she loves — a simple formula that has proven very popular.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 6, 2022
Fuji Rock offers escapism once again
The summer music festival's 2022 edition marks a return to an event resembling 'normal.'
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Jan 26, 2022
From 'Spirited Away' to 'Demon Slayer': The meteoric rise of anime
Since 2002, Japan’s anime industry has doubled in size to become worth over ¥2.4 trillion annually.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 29, 2021
So long, 2021
We hear from listeners about their high points in 2021.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 11, 2021
Maxwell Powers: 'You have to be competent, yet invisible'
According to his bio, Maxwell Powers is the 'voice guy in Tokyo.' He explains a few of his roles and the perks of being widely heard.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Aug 17, 2021
Mary Fujishima, J-pop matriarch of Johnny & Associates, dies at 93
Johnny & Associates Inc. announced today that its honorary chairperson, Mary Yasuko Fujishima, sister of music mogul and company founder Johnny Kitagawa, died of pneumonia at a hospital in Tokyo on Aug. 14. She was 93 years old.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 24, 2020
How has COVID-19 changed Japan's pop culture? Episode 4: Rebuild
Two anime films — ”Demon Slayer” and “Violet Evergarden” — offer a dash of optimism to end 2020, as Japanese pop culture moves towards the beginning of a new era.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 23, 2020
How has COVID-19 changed Japan's pop culture? Episode 3: Adapt
Pop group NiziU's “Make You Happy” became the song of this very strange summer and the government changed its tone from stay home to Go To.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 22, 2020
How has COVID-19 changed Japan's pop culture? Episode 2: Isolate
When COVID-19 brought about a stay-at-home spring, Animal Crossing provided us with a digital island escape.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 21, 2020
How has COVID-19 changed Japan's pop culture? Episode 1: Collapse
In Episode 1 of Recultured, we look at how 2020 ground to a halt through the lens of "Terrace House," and hear from stars of the show about its dramatic ending amid the arrival of COVID-19.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jun 5, 2020
Episode 52: Can 'Terrace House' continue after Hana Kimura's death?
Alyssa Smith and Tom Hanaway have been writing recaps of 'Terrace House' and join Deep Dive to discuss Kimura's death, and what it might mean for the show going forward.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
May 29, 2020
Seeking kindness after a 'Terrace House' tragedy
The death of 'Terrace House' star Hana Kimura gives new impetus to discussions about cyberbullying.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / 'Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020' Recaps
May 16, 2020
Ep. 41 'Life-Threatening Date'
After announcing that production on “Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020” was going on hiatus and then going quiet on us for a few weeks, Netflix released a brand new episode like a gift from the television gods offering some small relief from the current pandemic.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / 'Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020' Recaps
May 1, 2020
'Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020' best moments so far
After 40 episodes, “Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020” has gone on hiatus to protect the cast and crew amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s still unclear when, if or even how the show will return, but we’re filling the “Terrace House” void by looking back at this season and selecting some of the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / 'Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020' Recaps
Apr 10, 2020
Ep. 39 ‘Always Remembered’
Now, more than ever, I need the sweet escape of TV drama as a reminder of a time when we weren’t in the throes of a pandemic. Although the past few episodes of “Terrace House: Tokyo 2019-2020” were hard to watch, this episode delivered more than enough heartwarming charm to pull me back into the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / 'Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020' Recaps
Apr 1, 2020
Ep. 37 'Another Terrace!!'
Most weeks, watching “Terrace House: Tokyo 2019-2020” is a fun indulgence that lets viewers bask in the low-stakes drama of six 20-somethings (and an occasional 30-something) pursuing crushes, following their dreams, going on dates and cooking meals. But Episode 37 was different because when it comes...
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / 'Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020' Recaps
Mar 6, 2020
Ep. 35 'The Monster in the Hallway'
I have to hand it to Toshiyuki, aka "Shacho," he knows how to steal the spotlight.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / 'Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020' Recaps
Feb 28, 2020
Ep. 34 'Case of The Bottled Beer Incident'
Our newsfeeds lit up this week about something rather sickening. Was it COVID-19? No. We’re talking about the titular “Bottled Beer Incident.” But before we dive into that, we have to welcome some new faces.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Feb 27, 2020
'Followers': Tokyo life as seen through an Instagram filter
Miki Nakatani plays a high-powered fashion photographer loosely based on director Mika Ninagawa in the Netflix series 'Followers.'
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / 'Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020' Recaps
Feb 21, 2020
Ep. 33 'Half Blue'
Official couple alert!! It has taken 33 episodes but we finally have our first pairing in Emika and Tupas. I'm not counting Risako and Kenny because ol' Riri insisted they were still in the "talking" phase of their relationship when they moved out of the house together. Yama-chan, the resident cynic...
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

Podcast

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

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
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