Search - entertainment

 
 
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Mar 23, 2014

When it comes to tourism, image is everything

The new Osaka Government Tourism Bureau is the latest effort by a Kansai entity to re-brand itself as Japan gears up for a bigger piece of the tourism pie.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / TRAVEL INSIDER
Mar 18, 2014

New United flight; Flying on the Internet; Korean Air anniversary

New United flight
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 1, 2014

Trite TV drama about children's home misses a chance to edify and entertain

Groups including the National Council for Children's Group Homes and Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto have accused NTV of 'violating human rights' and displaying 'prejudice against the children as well as the staff who are working in these childcare institutions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 26, 2014

Flying high, but not quite buzzing

I have vivid childhood memories of two circuses: Ringling Brothers and Shrine. The latter was a delightfully shabby affair held in an old auditorium where audiences sat on concrete bleachers that were occasionally adorned with tacky plastic chairs. There were lots of animals, and the holding areas outside...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 8, 2014

NHK drama takes a wild stab at a dying art

The hero of 'Uzumasa Limelight' has made his living for half a century as a kirare-yaku in sword-fighting movies. Kirare-yaku have a specific role: Their job is to die on screen.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 6, 2014

Sony sees ¥110 billion loss, to cut 5,000 jobs

Sony Corp. reverses its forecast for the full year from a ¥30 billion net profit to a ¥110 billion loss and says its electronics division will likely spend another year in the red.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2014

Tokyu launches Shibuya info page

Private railway Tokyu Corp. has opened a new Facebook page in five different languages to cash in on foreign interest in Shibuya, the soul of Japanese entertainment and youth fashion.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 6, 2014

Making the invisible visible at the Japan Media Arts Festival

In 1965, artist Nam June Paik (1932-2006) attached a strong magnet to the top of a television. The crisp image, overpowered by the magnet, folded onto itself in beautiful geometric waves. But it wasn't meant to be beautiful; it was an attack.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 1, 2014

Pursuit of happiness

The merry residents of Japan have long sought to attain the 'pleasantest of all diversions
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2014

Indie designer Kanai carves out niche with analog board games

In an age when every toddler fiddles with electronic game consoles and smartphones, Seiji Kanai says his passion lies in creating analog board games.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 30, 2014

'Dakishimetai: Shinjitsu no Monogatari (I Just Wanna Hug You)'

Of Japanese medical melodramas there is no end. Targeted largely at the female audience, they appear on the lineups of Toho and other major distributors with the regularity of cherry blossoms in April.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jan 25, 2014

In Davos, gripping kabuki with little substance

Afriend asks via email: "Did you see the video of Abe in Davos?"
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jan 24, 2014

Kabuki reviews shed light on Edo theater culture

Seven compilations of acting reviews for kabuki shows performed in Nagoya during the Edo Period have been found in the storeroom of Misono-za, an old theater in the city that is under renovation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 15, 2014

'Kaz' Kumagai brings tip-top tap to town

"Anyone can enjoy being be a tap dancer in their daily life; all you have to do is casually make a rhythm with your feet when you're walking down the street," Japan's leading exponent of the art, Kazunori Kumagai, insists — seemingly oblivious to the gulf between him and most of the rest of clod-hopping...
Japan Times
LIFE
Jan 11, 2014

The return of Godzilla, the king of kaiju

'Godzilla' first appeared in cinemas across the country in November 1954 but its story line was heavily influenced by an incident eight months earlier at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2013

Sony exploring sale of Gracenote audio-recognition service

Sony Corp., looking to shed units to focus on fewer products, hired Frank Quattrone's Qatalyst Partners to explore a sale of its Gracenote audio-recognition software business, two sources said.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Dec 2, 2013

Tokyo: What do you think of Japan's national broadcaster, NHK?

Beloved voice of the nation or loathed drain on household finances? Vox pops from around the capital suggest a bit of both.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 16, 2013

Amano: tracing Japan's arc through its ads

Though Yukichi Amano's field of expertise was advertising, he used his weekly newspaper columnsto comment on popular culture in general, and frequently provided other media outlets with his personal take on social trends.
BUSINESS
Nov 12, 2013

Mitsui Fudosan, partners said seeking OK for Odaiba casino-resort complex

Mitsui Fudosan Co., the nation's largest property developer, is seeking approval for an entertainment complex and resort in Tokyo with construction firm Kajima Corp. and Fuji Media Holdings Inc.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 5, 2013

Hostess exists rather happily on the edge

With international repertoire's share of the music market down to about 15 percent, it has never been harder to break foreign acts in Japan. And given the shrinking market for non-Japanese music, it seems quixotic to set up a company specializing in bringing foreign repertoire into the country — especially...
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Oct 31, 2013

Waseda students teach you how to have fun

University festivals are probably not the first place foreign residents in Japan would seek out entertainment, but as evidence of the existence — despite many reports to the contrary — of a certain joie de vivre among the nation's young, they are hard to beat. And the hardest to beat is surely Waseda-sai,...
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 29, 2013

DeNA plans push beyond games

DeNA Co., the Tokyo-based company whose service lets people play games on mobile phones, is seeking to expand its e-commerce and mobile entertainment businesses and is mulling acquisition opportunities.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 4, 2013

Pianist Ai Kuwabara to live out her dream on stage at Tokyo Jazz Festival

Pianist Ai Kuwabara is waxing nostalgic at the offices of her record label, East Works Entertainment, in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Aug 29, 2013

Obama criticized for delivering predictable rhetoric amid historic backdrop

President Barack Obama began with a recapitulation, an attempt to recall in lyrical fashion who came to Washington in 1963, where they came from, how they got here and why they made the journey.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 19, 2013

Samsung, Sony set pre-emptive strikes

Samsung Electronics Co. and Sony Corp. reportedly plan to unveil new devices next month as two of Asia's biggest technology companies try to showcase their products before Apple Inc. releases new iPhones and iPads.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 18, 2013

Sony to release flagship Xperia smartphone in September: sources

Sony Corp. will launch a flagship smartphone for its Xperia brand next month that features imaging technology developed for its cameras and ultrahigh definition TVs, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Longform

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