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CULTURE / Music
Dec 16, 2014

Rock, J-pop and dance: Albums we liked in 2014

The year-end album charts in Japan have a tendency to prop up the same acts year after year: Exile, anything that ends in a "48," and almost every group from the Johnny & Associates stable of boy bands. Writers at The Japan Times, however, spent the year looking past the charts to find a few gems lurking...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2014

U.S. soft power takes a hit in wake of report

It's a testimony to U.S. soft power that Washington persuaded so many allies to take part in a policy of torture that they must have known would one day blow up in their faces.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 13, 2014

From a hostess club to a mountain village: Five notable Japanese photo books of 2014

While selecting some of the best photography books released in 2014, I was struck by the range of specific places that Japanese photographers captured — from a pleasure district to a mountain village and an old rooftop. Photo books with such a geographic focus might be a good way to store up energies...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Dec 5, 2014

From umbrellas with feet to miniature ice-fishing polar bears, On: Design goes clever-quirky

Fishing for a good cuppa
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 22, 2014

Hihōkan: Japan's vanishing sex museums

The real world ends beyond a thick, black curtain. On the other side is one of Japan's last remaining hihōkan (sex museum, literally "treasure palace") in the faded resort town of Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture — a strange, dimly lit space of questionable morals and dated fantasies.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 13, 2014

'Narahara Ikko: Domains'

It has been 56 years since photographer Ikko Narahara's early masterpiece "Oukoku (Kingdom)" (1958) has been shown in Tokyo.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 4, 2014

Lawson stores add tens of millions of Amazon products

Lawson Inc. customers will be able to order items from Amazon Japan for later collection, under an enhanced tie-up announced Tuesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 1, 2014

Cultivating shrunken worlds in Bonsai-mura

Omiya is one of greater Tokyo's rare pockets of residential comfort that can accurately be defined as middle class — a trait it shares with places such as Chiba's Ichikawa Mama or southwestern Tokyo's Denenchofu district.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 25, 2014

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo: young blood

Ten years have now passed since Tokyo first strutted its stuff on the international catwalk and yet the metropolis still lacks the pulling power of rivals such as Milan, New York and Paris. As if the domestic industry didn't have enough on its plate, the wheels threatened to come off the spring/summer...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Oct 3, 2014

Modern takes on the mobile, wind chimes and more

It's time to revisit one of On: Design's favorite designers — Kouichi Okamoto, who designs under the name Kyouei.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 30, 2014

tofubeats calls on pals for his 'First Album'

Yusuke Kawai tries to start a para para dance halfway through his Sept. 5 DJ set, but the inside of an Apple Store isn't an ideal space for this endeavor. Kawai, who records under the name tofubeats, is performing a special show at the recently opened Omotesando store. Half of the floor eagerly watches...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 20, 2014

Glimpses of Lafcadio Hearn's Matsue

The Matsue-bound train I boarded at Okayama Station was pointedly named Yakumo, a reference to its destination's best-known former resident: Greek-Irish writer Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904), whose adopted Japanese name was Yakumo Koizumi.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 16, 2014

Diverse compilation delivers a serious message about nuclear power

Various artists "Atomic Bomb Compilation Vol. 2" (Self-released)
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Sep 12, 2014

Adventurous fashion abounds this month

Zadig & Voltaire is ready to rock in Aoyama
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Sep 11, 2014

Apple's new payment system could pose threat to wallets

The new Apple payment system has extraordinary promise. With Apple Pay, you might not need a wallet, and you can leave your credit and debit cards at home. In terms of ease and convenience, payment cards represented a big leap from the era of cash. Apple hopes its system will be a comparable leap from...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 11, 2014

There are gods behind the Idemitsu Museum of Arts

In 1942, Idemitsu, a native of the Munakata area of Fukuoka Prefecture, led the Munakata Shrine Fukko Kiseikai (Restoration Committee) and was instrumental in restoring the grand shrine's buildings, which were by that point in a derelict state.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 23, 2014

A Great Valley Under the Stars

A vibrant collection of subdued observation, the poems in this small volume, "A Great Valley Under the Stars," contemplate meaning everywhere — from a truck-stop toilet, over stones in the New Mexican desert and under the great expanse of sky referenced in the title.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 12, 2014

Crzkny unites artists against nuclear power

Electronic-music producer Kenji Takikawa's work took a major detour following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Aug 8, 2014

Collabs and makeovers for Tiffany, Kolor, Parco, Dempagumi, Vanquish

Tiffany gets tough
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Aug 1, 2014

Goods to spruce up the dining experience

This month's Kikof This month, we're focusing on perfecting the kitchen and dining room, kicking off with the aptly named Kikof, a covetable set of dishes and tableware.
EDITORIALS
Jul 31, 2014

Privacy rights and 'big data'

The government is moving to expedite the use of massive amounts of personal data — collected online or otherwise from a variety of sources — for commercial purposes on condition that the data is processed to ensure anonymity of the information.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 31, 2014

Lacquerware's overseas journey into the arts

Rejuvenating the traditional lacquer industry was done by emulating international exposition models, and they sold well. At the 1873 Vienna International Exhibition, lacquer by Zeshin Shibata and Taishin Ikeda received progress medals.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 5, 2014

Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories

It is noticeable that the tales in "Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories" by Ryunosuke Akutagawa change in tone and style alongside the mental state and interests of the writer. Akutagawa's most famed early works (including the titular story) are intricately woven setups for moral questions, whereas...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 22, 2014

Little reform since Snowden spilled the beans

Edward J. Snowden's revelations a year ago sparked a public debate about the protection of personal data from Internet surveillance. What his revelations have not done is bring about significant government reforms.
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jun 21, 2014

Inside and Other Short Fiction

The tagline on the cover of this provocative anthology pretty much sums it up in a nutshell: "Japanese women by Japanese women." Featuring eight short stories and a foreword by novelist Ruth Ozeki, "Inside and Other Short Fiction" is a gritty introduction to contemporary writers who explore the issue...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 17, 2014

Left Right Arms makes a bedroom escape

Sleepy solitude is a frequent theme in the dream-pop songs made by Tokyo-based artist Left Right Arms. The solo artist's first EP, self-released last year, was titled "A Sleep," while his second EP out a few months later included delicate songs such as "Out Of Bed" and "Cocoon," the latter of which is...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jun 9, 2014

Young designer opportunities, plus new lines for older brands

Designers, get ready to get crazy
CULTURE / Art
Jun 4, 2014

'Essays in Idleness: Enjoying Classical Literature Through Art'

The collection of essays "Tsurezuregusa (Essays in Idleness)" written by Yoshida Kenko in 1330-31 is considered as one of the three greatest zuihitsu (collection of writings) in Japan, along with "Makura no Soshi (The Pillow book)" by Sei Shonagon and Kamo no Chomei's "Hojoki (An Account of My Hut)."...

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.