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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2016

Tencent taps ninja Naruto to chase China's $31 billion anime market

A blue-eyed ninja with spiky blond hair and whisker marks is leading Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s campaign to capture the eyes and wallets of China's anime fans.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 16, 2016

Dotonbori: Where Osakans eat, drink and be merry

Comparing Osaka with almost any other Japanese city is akin to likening a bloodied steak to boiled chicken.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jan 16, 2016

Online streaming keeps anime afloat

Last week in California, I caught up with some of the chief purveyors of Japanese popular culture in the United States and elsewhere in the world. It became rapidly clear that 2016 won't be at all like 2015 — or any other year before it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 9, 2015

'San Andreas' struggles to hold water in post-3/11 Japan

In the 1970s, Hollywood disaster movies were a lucrative genre. In 1974 "Earthquake" and "The Towering Inferno" were released, and the decade saw the box-office success of multiple "Airport" films.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2015

Who are you calling a honky? Gaffe-prone Fuji TV stumbles again

Internet users were snorting in derision after participants on a Fuji TV entertainment show wore T-shirts with a bizarre English slogan incorporating a word that some Caucasians might find offensive.
WORLD
Jul 22, 2015

Security experts hack into, seize control of moving car

A pair of veteran cybersecurity researchers have shown they can use the Internet to turn off a car's engine as it drives, sharply escalating the stakes in the debate about the safety of increasingly connected cars and trucks.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jul 18, 2015

Project Anime asks the right questions

More than 90,000 attended the 24th annual Anime Expo (AX), North America's largest Japanese pop culture convention, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from July 2 to 5. The four-day event featured a concert by idol group Momoiro Clover Z, who were joined onstage by two members of veteran American...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2015

'Puzzle & Dragons' maker plans expansion into game publishing

GungHo Online Entertainment Inc. plans to strike partnerships with third-party game developers and share its recipe for success as the maker of the world's highest-grossing smartphone title begins to expand into publishing.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 31, 2015

'Tenimyu' 2.5-D shows net over 2 million tickets sold

There's kabuki, noh, butoh, bunraku, regular plays, glitzy musicals and Japan's unique all-female Takarazuka musical theater troupe — but another home-grown performance-art genre has for some time been carving a niche in this country's diverse entertainment world in the shape of so-called 2.5-D musicals....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 5, 2015

Asia casinos woo Chinese gamblers with nose jobs, Peking duck and escorts

At the oceanfront Ramada Plaza hotel on South Korea's Jeju Island, about a hundred Chinese gamblers huddle around felt-topped tables, wagering as much as 5 million won ($4,500) at baccarat.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 5, 2015

Message trumps the medium at JMAF

When Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase "The medium is the message" in the mid-1960s, the ensuing dialogue on media theory encouraged an approach that persists to the present day: to examine new types of technology through the societal and cultural changes that they engender.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 2, 2015

South Korean children navigate rocky road to K-pop stardom

Nine-year-old Kim Si-yoon has no time to throw tantrums.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 30, 2014

'The Interview' top-selling 2014 flick on Google Play

Sony Pictures' "The Interview" is the top-grossing movie of the year for Google Inc., after earning $15 million in online sales and rentals from all sources through Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2014

Sony has a bigger problem than North Korea

Sony's corporate headquarters seemed to view the hacking drama related to its film 'The Interview,' which lampoons North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as mostly an American problem. The attack exposed a disturbing lack of cyber-preparedness on Sony's part.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 22, 2014

Sony considers options for release of 'The Interview'

Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton is looking for a new way to release the satirical film 'The Interview' after U.S. theater chains refused to show it over threats of violence from hackers linked to North Korea.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 15, 2014

Sony says news outlets should stop using hacked documents

Sony Pictures Entertainment lawyers have sent a letter asking news organizations to stop writing articles based on stolen documents released by hackers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 10, 2014

In rare move, Sony CEO Hirai personally cleared scenes in film on North Korea, emails show

The company's top executive approved a scene depicting the death of Kim Jong Un in a satirical film that may have prompted a cyberattack on Sony Pictures.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 6, 2014

Code + culture: new media art from Japan

Domestic media artists have been using programming code in recent years to create some astonishing works of art. We look back at how this scene developed over the years and examine four contemporary artists who have defined the way the genre has evolved.
BUSINESS
Dec 3, 2014

North Korea's fingerprints reportedly found on Sony hack

North Korea may have had a hand in the digital attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment that used destructive malware to disable systems and destroy data, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 3, 2014

North Korea, other nations among suspects in Sony hacking: U.S. national security official

U.S. investigators are considering multiple suspects, including North Korea, in their investigation into a cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment that knocked out the company's computer systems for over a week, according to a U.S. national security official with knowledge of the investigation.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 30, 2014

Gambling debt cripples Macau 'junket' model

Companies that connect China's wealthy gamblers to Macau's casinos are waiting as long as a year for gamblers to repay billions of dollars of loans, crippling the business model of an industry that sustains the world's biggest casino center.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / TRAVEL INSIDER
Nov 11, 2014

Dragoair upgrade offers; Nagoya-Jakarta direct flights; Milan expo carriers

Starting this month, Dragonair will upgrade its business-class and economy-class cabins and install a new comprehensive in-flight entertainment system on its fleet of 15 A320 aircraft.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / ROBERT WHITING'S 1964 OLYMPICS RETROSPECTIVE
Oct 14, 2014

Opening Ceremony ushered in new era for Japan

The 1964 Tokyo Olympics had a profound impact on the capital city and the nation. In the second installment of a five-part series that will run during the next two weeks, best-selling author Robert Whiting, who lived in Japan at the time, examines the excitement surrounding the Opening Ceremony.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Aug 23, 2014

Yoshimoto Kogyo's role in creating a real-life robot with a sense of humor

With big, round, smiling eyes and a shirt and bow tie displayed on the screen on his chest, humanoid robot Pepper is ready to entertain his guests. Music begins to play, and Pepper shows off his moves to the 1960s hit song "The Loco-Motion" as a crowd of onlookers laughs with pleasure.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 5, 2014

Researcher to show that passenger jets may be at risk of cyberattacks

Cybersecurity researcher Ruben Santamarta says he has figured out how to hack the satellite communications equipment on passenger jets through their Wi-Fi and in-flight entertainment systems — a claim that, if confirmed, could prompt a review of aircraft security.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 10, 2014

Disney resumes sales of new movies on iTunes in Japan

Walt Disney Co., the world's largest entertainment company, resumed sales of new movies through Apple Inc.'s online store in Japan after halting them temporarily in a dispute over terms.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 27, 2014

Taking aim at Japan's gender problem

Media coverage of the rise and fall of Japanese scientist Haruko Obokata illustrates the problem with the third arrow of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic policy — and its otherwise laudable goal of expanding the participation of women in positions of power.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?