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LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Apr 20, 2011

In the battle with smart phones is i-mode dead?

Ever since 1999, when the Web-service/portal known as "i-mode" first appeared on Japanese keitai (cell phones), Japan has been hailed as the world leader in mobile phone technology — until recently that is.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / WEEK 3
Apr 17, 2011

Bags of fun recycling old JTs

In Japan, English-language newspapers are great sources of news and views and such (some more than others, of course). But a new use for them has lately arisen, with patrons of mini-trucks selling baked yaki-imo (sweet potatoes) in upscale Tokyo office districts thinking it trendy to receive their hot...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 17, 2011

The unnatural state of Japan's self-restraint

Immediately after the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, Japanese television started covering the disaster full-time. As things returned to some sort of version of normal, the spaces where commercials were supposed to run were first filled with public service announcements provided by the Ad Council...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 17, 2011

Lest we forget: Tiananmen Square massacre revisited

TIANANMEN MOON: Inside the Chinese Student Uprising of 1989, by Philip J. Cunningham. Rowman Littlefield, 2010, 290 pp., $39.95 (hardcover) This is a gripping story told with page-turning brio by an American who had ringside seats for the gathering student protests in May 1989 that ended in the early...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 15, 2011

'Sucker Punch'

I've never thought of director Zack Snyder ("300", "Watchmen") as an experimental filmmaker, but his latest, "Sucker Punch" (Japan title: "Angel Wars"), seems like some sort of conceptual art prank. The experiment seems to have been as follows: Send some staff to San Diego's Comic-Con, survey 100 random...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 15, 2011

There are oppositions that attract

Japan's limited progress at Tohoku's Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant after damage from the Great Eastern Japan earthquake and tsunami makes the March opening of this Taro Okamoto exhibition seem apocalyptic. Okamoto's unique avant-garde style was deeply influenced by the West. He found contradictions...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 8, 2011

The world awakens to Japan's 'brutal orchestra'

Creating a wonderfully bizarre avant-garde hybrid of classical music, heavy rock and punk, Osaka's 11-member-strong Vampillia have been described by their record label as "a hardcore version of Arcade Fire."
BUSINESS
Apr 6, 2011

Sony may delay new PlayStation Portable

Sony may stagger the global release of its next-generation portable game machine because of the March 11 disaster, an executive said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2011

Kansai region wonders: Could it happen here?

TSURUGA, Fukui Pref. — On a hillside overlooking Tsuruga, about a dozen children and their mothers are enjoying the day at At Home, the Fukui Atomic Energy Science Museum. Inside, kids rush to play free arcade-style games spread across the two-floor facility. Some feature the latest computer graphics...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 3, 2011

Facial gymnastics, interviews with 'average people; CM of the week: Loto6

As further proof that variety-show producers are getting hard up for subject matter, Tuesday sees the premiere of the regular series "Sono Kao ga Mite Mitai" ("I Want to See That Face"; Fuji TV, 10 p.m.), which is hosted by the comedy duo Ameagari Kesshitai.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 3, 2011

Life's a breeze on far-out Miyakojima

Like tree rings, the islands of Okinawa contain cultures within cultures; ever more singular layers of age and time.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 1, 2011

'Fantastic Mr. Fox'

Wes Anderson, a director known for the laconic preppie chic of "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "The Life Aquatic," turns his hand to animation with "Fantastic Mr. Fox," an adaptation of an idiosyncratic children's tale by Roald Dahl. Cinema has been kind to Dahl, with inspired adaptations by Henry Selick...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 1, 2011

Designs on love, dreams and fun

The 20th century, with its emphasis on war and mass industrialization, favored the functionalism of modernism in architecture, design, and other areas. This saw such elements as decoration, embellishment, playfulness and humor pushed to the sidelines in design. The rise of a more consumerist economic...
CULTURE / Books
Mar 27, 2011

Love, war and betrayal in old Siam

THE TALE OF KHUN CHANG AND KHUN PHAEN: Siam's Great Folk Epic of Love and War. Translated and edited by Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit. Silkworm Books, 2010, 970 pp., $60 (hardcover) Those who like their novice monks prim and proper, taming desires, meditating and selflessly engaging in good deeds...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Mar 27, 2011

Time for JBA to give up charade on merger

Under normal circumstances things move at a snail's pace within the Japan Basketball Association. So it's anyone's guess if talks between JBA officials and their bj-league counterparts will pick up anytime soon and/or if any progress will be made in the months to come for the creation of a new "top league"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 25, 2011

Altz, Hotel Mexico to play weekend bash

A mid the continuing developments surrounding the March 11 earthquake, clubs and live venues, at least in Tokyo, are gradually getting back to their regular schedules, much to the relief of musicians and fans.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 25, 2011

'Time to Die (Japan Title: Komorebi no Iede)'

If the compensation of old age is wisdom, then 91-year-old Aniela (Danuta Szaflarska) has enough smarts to fill an iPad. In her case, however, that wisdom is neither spoiled by excessive intellect nor embittered by experience. She has simply reached that state where she knows only the things worth knowing....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2011

Electricity restored at reactor No. 2

Tokyo Electric Power Co. restored electricity to the power center of the Fukushima No. 1 power plant's No. 2 reactor Sunday afternoon and will attempt to turn on its cooling system and other safety equipment to get the upper hand on the nuclear crisis.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 18, 2011

'Somewhere'

Those who say that "Somewhere" is too slow and goes nowhere are probably missing the point. Sofia Coppola — the filmmaker behind this droll Hollywood fairy tale — loves the static state: She's a rare American woman who gives the impression of never having rushed anywhere her entire life. Behind her...
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Mar 17, 2011

Yokobue

Dear Alice, Last November, I went to Kyushu to see the Karatsu Kunchi festival. It was a wonderful spectacle, with huge, flamboyant floats pulled through crowded streets to the rhythmic accompaniment of drums, music and shouts of "Enya! Enya!" I loved it all, but if I had to designate one aspect as my...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2011

Finding a way to make industrial policy work

GENEVA — Industrial policy (IP) is back — or rather, back in fashion. Of course, it never really went away, even in countries formally adhering to free-market principles. But the postcrisis world — in which government intervention in the economy has gained greater legitimacy — will see more of...
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Mar 16, 2011

The mobile-Internet is a lifeline for people in postquake confusion

When the earthquake hit northern Japan on Friday, voice calls from mobile phones became immediately unavailable in order to leave room for emergency calls. However, in the Kanto area, mobile Internet connection was mostly kept on, and many people turned to the Web to exchange information.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Mar 12, 2011

Aichi firm unmasks its potential

A venture firm in Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, has developed technology to produce a mask bearing a shocking resemblance to the person ordering it, and they're taking off as gifts and for stage performances.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 11, 2011

A puppeteer of traditional Japanese arts

As a photographer, Hiroshi Sugimoto creates artworks that start off as visions from his imagination. His celebrated "Seascapes" series, for example, which features oceans and skies devoid of all traces of human activity, began with the notion of a vista that could be viewed today in the same way that...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 11, 2011

New dance-music label Diskotopia aims to bring Tokyo in step

Glance at the lineups of Tokyo's larger nightclubs on any given weekend and you'd be forgiven for feeling some deja vu. Mainstays such as Takkyu Ishino, Shinichi Osawa or Dexpistols are likely to be headlining, much as they have been doing for the past several years.

Longform

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