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CULTURE / Film
Oct 24, 2001

TIFF take 14

Japan has one of the largest film markets in the world. Accordingly, every year the Tokyo International Film Festival serves up world cinema on a grand scale, screening more than 140 films over the course of a week.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 10, 2001

I once was lost, but now I'm found

Radiohead's ascent to superstardom presents an interesting paradox. The English quintet's talent for creating infectiously melancholy pop was undermined by a clear ambivalence toward the value of such a talent. "This is our new song," singer-lyricist Thom Yorke sang in 1995, "Just like the last one/A...
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2001

Severity of injuries left doctors powerless

Most of the victims of a powerful gas explosion and fire in Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district early Saturday morning were dead before they reached hospitals in the metropolitan region, leaving doctors with no chance of saving them.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2001

Koizumi's son to enter show business

The eldest son of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi intends to debut in show business, joining an entertainment production company, industry sources said Wednesday.
COMMUNITY
Jul 22, 2001

When we had heroes

They were voices in the silence, stars in the night they showed the way and they showed what was right
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 22, 2001

It's not always easy to see yourself as others do

On the face of it, the current controversy over Japanese history textbooks is just one more example of Japan not facing up to its militaristic past. On a deeper level, however, Korea's decision to forgo further liberalization of Japanese cultural imports until the offending texts are revised underscores...
LIFE / Digital
Apr 19, 2001

Has the Japanese market for video games peaked?

Sega closed several Japanese arcades last year, including a few of its flagship Joypolis entertainment centers. And according to Sega Enterprises President Hideki Sato, Sega's two biggest competitors in the arcade market, Taito and Namco, are about to close many of their arcades as well.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2001

Ticket agencies join the digital age

Kyodo News The Internet set the scene, cellular phones followed, and now convenience stores have jumped on the bandwagon, drastically changing the way people in Japan buy tickets for concerts, plays and sports events.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2001

Police announce date club crackdown

In an effort to crack down on telephone dating clubs that enable users to engage in sex with minors and child prostitution, the National Police Agency is planning to submit a bill to revise a law controlling the adult entertainment business, NPA officials said.
BUSINESS
Jan 3, 2001

Let Aibo tell you about brand image

Ku-Ku the kitten was top cat in the battle of the robo-pets in 2000, but guess which bionic beast got to snuggle up to Janet Jackson?
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2000

Guesthouse making enemies of tenants and neighbors

Advertisements for Apple House Co., a chain of low-budget guesthouses, tout it as the "biggest guesthouse in Japan" and play up its "no curfew, no key money and no guarantor required" policy.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 19, 2000

Chaotic, comedic 'Ariadne' shows lighter side of Strauss

Wiener Staatsoper Oct. 22, Filippo Sanjust directing, Giuseppe Sinopoli conducting in Kanagawa Kenmin Hall -- "Ariadne auf Naxos" (libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, 1874-1929; music by Richard Georg Strauss, 1864-1949) featuring Waldemar Kmentt, Peter Weber, Agnes Baltsa, Jon Villars, Geert Smits, Heinz...
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Oct 7, 2000

Tales of romance and bloodshed come alive in Shinnai song

Some of the performing arts of Japan are so spectacular that they grab your attention and immediately make you feel a part of the music. Taiko drumming is one; rhythm speaks directly to our bodies, and the beating of a stick on a drum has a physical appeal to all, regardless of language or culture.
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2000

Sleaze market festers with rip-off artists

The promise is too good to be true -- all you can drink and "excellent service" provided by "companions" for 6,000 yen in Tokyo's adult entertainment central.
BUSINESS
Jun 22, 2000

Square Co. plans network service

Square Co., a leading video game software developer, will introduce an electronic entertainment service that will take video game players to cyberspace, where they can communicate with other gamers via an online network, according to the firm's new president.
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Jun 17, 2000

A tribute to Japanese world music

In two previous columns (Feb. 5 and May 20) I wrote about recently established live-music houses, WAON in Nippori and Manabiya in Yokohama, where one can hear hogaku. The familiar settings of these spaces allow for an intimate connection with the music, which ranges from relatively unknown young musicians...
COMMUNITY
Apr 4, 2000

Date club ads turn green Sendai pink with anger

SENDAI, Miyagi Pref. -- "Dial this number for beautiful office ladies." "Ring up for perky college coeds."
CULTURE / Music
Mar 14, 2000

Celtic music takes a sure-footed stand in Tokyo

For anyone interested in "world music," gigs in Japan have been comparatively thin on the ground during the last five years or so, compared to the first years of the '90s. This is a situation that is perhaps set to change.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 1999

Italian theme, cheaper goods key to joint outlet mall

Staff writer
COMMUNITY
Feb 21, 1999

Alley offers old fashioned swig and chat

While Tomomi Kahala hopefuls battle their way across Shibuya's Hachiko crossing to the nearest karaoke bar, those looking for a bit of live entertainment and a huge dollop of good-humored banter head straight for a cluster of rickety wooden watering holes that time seems to have forgotten.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1998

Panel agrees on bill to ban officials from receiving gifts

A panel of the ruling alliance agreed April 14 on a draft bill that would, in principle, ban government employees from receiving gifts and entertainment from corporations, organizations and individuals.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 1998

Arrested Finance officials face new charges

Prosecutors charged two former Finance Ministry bank inspectors in custody Friday with taking a combined 3.8 million yen in additional bribes from four commercial banks in return for favors.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 1997

Tokyo avoids disclosure of wining and dining expenses

The Tokyo District Court rejected on Friday a lawsuit seeking to force Gov. Yukio Aoshima and other Tokyo municipal officials to make public all documents on entertainment expenses.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1997

Sony, Namco, Polygon to unite in graphics venture

To compete with rapidly advancing computer graphics technology in the U.S., Namco Ltd., Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Polygon Pictures Inc. announced Feb. 12 that they will jointly establish a company to produce digital contents for graphics-based films and entertainment software.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jun 12, 2023

AEW to lean on partnership with New Japan Pro Wrestling in fight against WWE

The AEW and New Japan co-branding will be put to the test later this month at a joint production in Toronto known as Forbidden Door.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / Longform
Jun 4, 2023

'Stakeout Diary': A killer on the run, two postwar gumshoes — noir at its finest

When a photographer was given rare permission to follow two detectives through Tokyo on a murder case, who’d have known he’d gather a legion of fans decades later.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
May 27, 2023

Netflix's answer to finding love in the time of an aging population

Dating show “Love Village” and its cast of singles 35 years old and above offer the perfect bait to millennial audiences and show that entertainment can age up without losing its edge.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 18, 2023

Sony considers listing giant financial arm to aid big investment push

The entertainment conglomerate will consider such a plan over the rest of this fiscal year before making a decision.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 15, 2023

Major Japanese talent agency apologizes over sexual assault claims

Allegations by former entertainers against the founder of Johnny & Associates have made headlines both domestically and internationally.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 2, 2023

Hollywood writers go on strike, halting production

The dispute, which pits 11,500 television and screenwriters against the major studios, has shattered 15 years of labor peace in the entertainment business.

Longform

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