Search - culture

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Oct 11, 2021

Netflix hit show 'Squid Game' spurs interest in learning Korean

Duolingo reported a 76% rise in new users signing up to learn Korean in Britain and 40% in the United States over the two weeks following the show's premiere.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 2, 2021

Netflix drama prompts a new look at SDF bullying

A South Korean drama alerts Japan to problems in the country's military, but some say Japan doesn't have to look abroad for such kinds of behavior.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2021

Library named after alum Haruki Murakami at Tokyo's Waseda University

The university will open the Waseda International House of Literature, also known as the Murakami Haruki Library, on Oct. 1 at its campus in Tokyo.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2021

Xi’s celebrity crackdown no match for Universal Studios in China

A commentary published widely in state-run media last month warned against 'fan culture” and 'worshiping Western culture.”
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 3, 2021

China cracks down on showbiz for 'polluting' society and youth

Beijing's latest moves come in the wake of celebrity scandals, but also targets entertainment portraying 'effeminate' behavior and other content deemed 'warped.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jun 28, 2021

Discrimination and inertia slow use of Ainu grants, two years after launch

The first law recognizing the Ainu ethnic minority as an Indigenous people took effect in May 2019, with that legislation designed to protect and promote their culture through subsidies.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 28, 2020

He was a rising jazz pianist from Tokyo. Then his NYC dreams were shattered.

He came to New York from Tokyo to make it as a jazz musician, and he did, landing gigs in several touring bands and leading a trio of his own. He was elegant but never flashy on the piano, always well prepared and on time.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 12, 2020

'The Japanese Sake Bible': Sake production is 'a business that's all about families'

“The Japanese Sake Bible” delves deep into the history and culture of Japan's national drink, as well as the stories of the people who make it.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 4, 2020

Race against rain to save historical homes of Beirut

Built in 1920, the house that Riad Asad’s family has called home for decades outlasted 15 years of civil war but took what could be a fatal blow in last month's mammoth, port-side explosion.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 23, 2020

Staying real for the sake of art: Museums and festivals proceed with caution

Japan's artistic institutions stress the importance of in-person exhibitions and events after months of closures and COVID-19-related fears.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
May 11, 2020

Yuriko Kotani embraces Britain’s penchant for irony and dark comedy

Standup comedian's comparisons of Japan and the United Kingdom have not only have delighted English-speaking audiences across the world, they have also helped her embrace her identity.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos
May 11, 2020

How the coronavirus widens a cultural divide

If you'd like your Japanese colleagues to come around to your way of thinking, you'll need to convince them in a way that's common in the culture.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 29, 2020

Staying in style: Tokyo's best and brightest hostels

Hostels are no longer on the lower rung of the accommodation ladder. Tokyo's burgeoning hostel scene is brimming with new additions, from the cutting-edge to the repurposed and timeless.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Jan 19, 2020

New opportunities sown from the need to evolve

Having lived in Japan since 2002, Nicolas Floquet feels integrated and comfortable in this country he considers home.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 11, 2020

Yuko Kikuchi: Celebrating Japan's hybridity

As a professor of art and design, Yuko Kikuchi has some surprising things to say about mingei (Japanese folk art).
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 13, 2019

Japan's love of the hanky is nothing to be sneezed at

Whether plain, screen printed, embroidered or even lacey, the humble hanky is virtually forgotten in the West. So why is it in Japan, very few will leave home without one?
Japan Times
GLOBAL INSIGHT / Mauritius report 2019
Aug 29, 2019

Cultural charms create memories to last a lifetime

As a dream vacation destination popular for decades, Mauritius was once as famous for its high-profile guests as its incredible scenery and hospitality. That has changed in recent years, and rising tourist figures will thrill investors chasing big returns on tourism projects
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 18, 2019

A better way to teach kids foreign languages

To get results, language learning should be fun, eye-opening and meaningful.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 14, 2019

Trade spat sees K-pop caught in the middle

The Japanese debut performance of Korean pop group Stray Kids planned for next month should be an unquestionably good thing. The fledgling male outfit has been gaining steam since emerging in 2017, with its nine members having already played shows in Southeast Asia, Australia, the United States and Europe....
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Aug 11, 2019

Via language, song and nature, young Taiwanese reconnecting with indigenous roots

The Truku elders of Taiwan still dream about their mountain home four decades after bulldozers tore it down — a classic symptom of trauma as community members struggle to accept their loss.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jul 20, 2019

Mane attraction: Coastal parts of Fukushima Prefecture have a long-standing love of horses

Hundreds of armor-clad participants on horseback parade through the streets of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, during the Soma Nomaoi festival on a typically blistering hot day at the end of July every year.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Jul 14, 2019

An American ninja in Nagoya

A gig as a ninja isn't what most dancers have in mind when they go out for an audition, but John Patrick Jandernoa is finding a perfect fit for his particular skill set.
Tech entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist Masayoshi Son made his fortune by becoming a bridge between California's technology culture and Japan.
COMMENTARY
Oct 31, 2024

Masayoshi Son may be the oddest of the oddball billionaires

Masayoshi Son made his fortune by becoming a bridge between Californian tech culture and Japan.
Staff work at a sake brewery in Fukushima Prefecture in October. Sake, a traditional Japanese alcoholic beverage made from grains and water, holds deep cultural significance in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 5, 2024

UNESCO panel recommends sake brewing for intangible cultural heritage list

A UNESCO intergovernmental committee meeting in December is expected to make a final decision on its inclusion in the Representative List.
The Japan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale is located in the Giardini, a historic park in the Italian city.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 6, 2024

Venice Biennale: 70 years of bringing Japanese art to the world

The Venice Biennale has been an international showcase for Japanese art for over seven decades. This year, Yuko Mohri is representing Japan at the prestigious event.
(From left) JR East President Yoichi Kise, Kabuki actor Onoe Kikunosuke, and Shochiku President Toshihiro Takahashi at a joint news conference at the Kabukiza theater in Tokyo on Monday
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2024

JR East and Shochiku to collaborate on regional revitalization

Under the 10-year agreement, the two companies will bring to life programs rooted in regional traditional culture

Longform

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