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November 26, 2024
 

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Johnny & Associates President Julie Keiko Fujishima (second from right) acknowledged that company founder Johnny Kitagawa had sexually abused agency employees for decades during a press conference in Tokyo on Sept. 7.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Sep 9, 2023

What’s in a name? A lot of baggage and trauma, unfortunately.

Johnny and Associates' recognition of abuse is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to move forward.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meet ahead of the Group of 20 leaders' summit in New Delhi on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2023

Will India’s name go the way of Turkey?

If India changes its name to Bharat, it will stumble on the same hurdles that Turkey has faced in getting its new appellation, Turkiye, to stick.
Attendees view "Lizard and Cigarette" by He Xiangyu during Art Basel in Hong Kong in March.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 11, 2023

Pace Gallery's Marc Glimcher surveys an Asian art scene in flux

The art market in Asia is growing increasingly competitive, with a new space in Tokyo for the New York-headquartered gallery adding to that dynamic.
A man stands next to a damaged car in Derna, after a powerful storm and heavy rainfall hit Libya on Tuesday.
WORLD / Society
Sep 13, 2023

Over 5,000 dead in Libya as dam collapses worsen flood disaster

Libya, a North African nation splintered by a war, was ill-prepared for the storm, which swept across the Mediterranean Sea to batter its coastline.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida leaves his office residence in formal attire to attend an attestation ceremony at the Imperial Palace with his reshuffled Cabinet in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 13, 2023

Kishida replaces top diplomat and boosts women in Cabinet reshuffle

Among the more stunning moves was the prime minister’s decision to have former Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa replace Yoshimasa Hayashi as top diplomat.
Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo star as Mario and Luigi in 1993’s “Super Mario Bros.,” the first big-budget, big-screen attempt at a video game adaptation.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 13, 2023

The critics were wrong. The ’90s ‘Super Mario’ flick is awesome.

On the film’s 30th anniversary, the box-office bomb is back in Japanese cinemas for a limited time with a new 4K remaster.
Arata Oshima follows the events of Sept. 27, 2022 — the day of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s funeral — to capture the state of the nation in the documentary, “The Day of the State Funeral.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 14, 2023

‘The Day of the State Funeral’ bears witness to the end of the Abe era

Arata Oshima’s documentary about the official send-off for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is a portrait of a nation adrift.
King Charles III coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey on May 6
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 13, 2023

Charles III has been a very dull monarch, thank God

Defying expectations, King Charles III is popular. Losing the fervor or his years as prince and being dependable — even dull — has paid off.
Sofia Coppola (right), Bill Murray (center) and Scarlett Johansson attend the Venice Film Festival to present their movie “Lost in Translation” in August 2003.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 13, 2023

The complex legacy of ‘Lost in Translation,’ 20 years on

Sofia Coppola's acclaimed film relaunched Tokyo's global fame, but along the way it forgot to show its Japanese characters some love.
Yoji Yamada cast familiar faces in his latest heartwarming family drama “Mom, Is That You?!” including veteran Sayuri Yoshinaga (right), who has appeared in three other Yamada films. Yoshinaga plays the mother of a stressed salaryman (Yo Oizumi, left) in the new film.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 15, 2023

Film veteran Yoji Yamada warms the soul with 'Mom, Is That You?!'

Even after 60 years in the industry, the director continues to make hits. His latest offers a hearty helping of deeply felt human truths.
Monkey D. Luffy (Inaki Godoy), a young wannabe pirate who leads a crew of misfits driven by personal missions, is defined by his ability to stretch his body, making him elastic and indestructible in every way.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Sep 16, 2023

‘One Piece’: Netflix tries to translate the anime magic (again)

Based on a remarkably endurable manga and anime franchise, the live-action series may satisfy fans, but most of the personality of the original is gone.
The Toronto International Film Festival opened on Sept. 7 with admiring applause for "The Boy and the Heron," Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki's latest movie — a meditation on love, loss and the horrors of World War II.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 16, 2023

Hayao Miyazaki has ideas for next project after 'The Boy and the Heron'

Junichi Nishioka, Studio Ghibli's vice president for international distribution, says the director "shows the willingness to create something new."
In "Dragon Palace," Hiromi Kawakami's new collection of short stories, middle-aged and elderly characters inhabit a world in which sexuality and attractiveness are liberated.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 17, 2023

Hiromi Kawakami's 'Dragon Palace': Delightfully raunchy and funny

In her new collection of short stories, the author returns to a world of fluid transfiguration with dry matter-of-factness and knowing humor.
The refined fusion cuisine at Toki reflects the delicacy of Kyoto’s famous kaiseki (multicourse Japanese haute cuisine).
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 17, 2023

Does whisky have a place in Kyoto's fine dining? Hibiki says yes.

My meal opens with a sparkling mix of soda and Hibiki Blossom Harmony, a blend finished with grain spirit aged in cherrywood casks.
Ryo Onishi’s debut feature “Feelingscape” tells a slice-of-life story about a blind man struggling to connect to others while affirming his agency.
CULTURE
Sep 16, 2023

‘Feelingscape’: Ordinary lives made poignant

Ryo Onishi’s debut feature about a man living with a visual disability and his relationships goes into close detail that is both rare and revealing.
As Chinese leader Xi Jinping throws up a forcefield of security controls to repel perceived foreign threats, Beijing’s message to the public is that spooks are everywhere.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 18, 2023

Xi’s security obsession turns Chinese citizens into spy hunters

The push comes after Xi chaired a National Security Council meeting in May that stressed the importance of "extreme-case scenario” thinking.
The far-right Confederation Liberty and Independence party rally against measures imposed by the Polish government to stem the spread of COVID-19, in Warsaw in October 2020.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 18, 2023

The far right is advancing in a vulnerable Europe again

Disruptors in far-right political parties are taking advantage of resentment born out of COVID-19, a cost-of-living crisis and the war in Ukraine.
Montse Tome, the new coach of Spain's women's soccer team, speaks at a news conference in Las Rozas, Spain, on Monday.
SOCCER
Sep 19, 2023

Spain's women's players say their boycott remains, deepening crisis

Should they refuse the call-up, the players could face sanctions including fines of up to $32,000 and the suspension of their federation licence.
Financial Services Agency officials enter Bigmotor's Tama outlet in western Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 19, 2023

Watchdog starts on-site probe of Bigmotor and Sompo Japan

The investigation aims to dig deeper into the insurance fraud scandal by the leading used-car dealer. The probe is likely to take several months.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang holds a copy of China's constitution during a news conference at the Media Center of the National People's Congress in Beijing on March 7.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 19, 2023

China ousted foreign minister over affair in U.S., report says

Top officials in China were told in August that a Communist Party inquiry into Qin uncovered "lifestyle issues.”
Urawa's notoriously fervent supporters are known for packing stands, as well as for repeated off-the-pitch incidents that have impacted the club's reputation.
SOCCER / J. League / From the Spot
Sep 20, 2023

Urawa pays price for hooliganism after years of looking the other way

The J. League club has been banned from playing in Japan's top club tournament after more than a hundred supporters took part in an August pitch invasion.
Fans watch the F1 Tokyo Festival outside Kabukicho Tower in Shinjuku Ward on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 20, 2023

Formula One fans fill up Tokyo festival ahead of Japanese Grand Prix

Thousands skipped work and school to get a glimpse of two-time champion Max Verstappen, hometown hero Yuki Tsunoda and other drivers.
A con artist (Sakura Ando, top) and her half-brother (Ryosuke Yamada) try to make a getaway from the Osaka underworld in Masato Harada’s “Bad Lands.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 21, 2023

‘Bad Lands’: Sakura Ando steals scenes in fast-paced thriller

The actor delivers a hypnotic lead turn as a con artist running from the law and a violent ex in Masato Harada’s high-octane film.
A TV director (Kanna Hashimoto, left) is haunted by the dead wife of an old office crush (Daiki Shigeoka) in “The Forbidden Play.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 21, 2023

‘The Forbidden Play’: J-horror mishmash offers satisfying scares

Horror legend Hideo Nakata's latest flick is a halfway return to form, in part due to actor First Summer Uika's chilling turn as a vengeful wraith.
Spain's players during during a training session in Oliva near Valencia, on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Sep 21, 2023

Women's soccer players in Spain to end boycott

As part of a deal to end the move, between six and nine senior officials of the football federation will be invited to leave their jobs or will be fired.
A sign at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 6. AI and quantum information science have recently become a major issue in international politics.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 26, 2023

How emerging technologies can bring power to states

While the technologies are expected to largely change how militaries, economies and societies are operated, many of their social impacts remain unclear.
Freshness and seasonality, along with the chef's ability to highlight both, feature heavily in Japanese fine dining.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 24, 2023

Does Japan's fine dining philosophy stand alone?

While Japanese fine dining is not as categorically defined as French gastronomie, a culture of refined dining has long existed in the country.
John Williams (right) and Seiji Ozawa (center) have been friends for decades. Their long-awaited reunion in Japan comes courtesy of a musical collaboration between Williams and the Saito Kinen Orchestra for the 31st edition of Ozawa’s annual music festival.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 24, 2023

Music legends John Williams and Seiji Ozawa reunite at Matsumoto festival

The American composer and conductor led a special program featuring his famous film scores at his long-time friend's annual event in Nagano Prefecture.
An exhibition featuring Studio Ghibli films, including calligraphy by film producer Toshio Suzuki with famous film lines, is held in Bangkok in February 2022.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 22, 2023

Is this the end for Japan’s iconic Studio Ghibli?

It’s tough to find an appropriate analogy for the Ghibli sale; the only one that comes close is Disney's purchase of Pixar for $7.4 billion in 2006.
Paternity leave has not taken root in Japan due to concerns over decreases in income and disruptions to the work side of life.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 24, 2023

Japan local governments working to encourage paternity leave

From Saga to Yamanashi, local officials are trying a variety of policies to give their male employees a chance to better participate in family life.
Taiwan stuns Samurai Japan to capture Premier12 title
Japan starter Shosei Togo reacts after allowing a three-run home run against Taiwan in the fifth inning of the Premier12 final on Sunday.
Japan and U.S. to form missile plan in case of Taiwan emergency
A U.S. Marine Corps M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and a Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Missile (12SSM) system are put on display at a symposium at a base in Kisarazu, Japan, in June 2022.
Preparations for Osaka Expo well underway amid lack of excitement
The Grand Ring, a symbol of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka
Ishiba shelves proposal for liaison offices with North Korea amid rising tensions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks on Saturday in Tokyo at a rally that was held by a group of families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea decades ago to demand the immediate return of all abductees.
'Kohaku' still matters for J-pop bragging rights
Emerging Gen Z J-pop group ME:I will perform on this year's "Kohaku Uta Gassen," national broadcaster NHK’s New Year's Eve spectacle.
Are you leaving your loved ones digital legacies or headaches?
The National Consumer Affairs Center reports a growing number of consultations regarding "digital legacies" — data and online services left behind when people die.
How Japan can exit the fossil fuel subsidies it can’t seem to quit
A man walks past a gasoline station in Tokyo on Thursday.
An iconic 32-foot doughnut might give Randy’s an edge in Japan
Randy's Donuts in Inglewood, California. Replicas of the giant doughnut sculpture will be installed, where possible, at shops in Japan.
Tokyo’s newest three-star chef wants ‘harmony across every detail’
British-born Daniel Calvert earned his third Michelin star last month — a stunning achievement considering his restaurant, Sezanne, has only been open for just over three years.
133-year-old Kyushu railway station remains to be partially preserved
The remains of the original Moji Station in Kitakyushu

Podcast

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

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat
By Greg Dvorak

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