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November 24, 2024
 

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COMEDY

Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 22, 2019
Learning to say 'yes, and...' both on and off the stage
Twenty-five years ago, Chris Wells, a 27-year-old American raised in Missouri, faced Jun Imai, a young Japanese method actor from Tokyo who was on his way to becoming a leading authority on improv in Japan. "We met at an improv show in Tokyo," Imai says. "We had two teams against each other: a gaijin...
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jun 6, 2019
Japan's king of comedy, Yoshimoto Kogyo's Hiroshi Osaki, expands his realm
It has been 10 years since Hiroshi Osaki took the reins at Yoshimoto Kogyo, and in that time Japan's oldest and arguably most influential entertainment agency has veered down several different paths. While comedy remains at the forefront of the company's activities, as it has for over a century, these...
Japan Times
CULTURE
Feb 5, 2019
Game for a laugh: Learning to become a manzai comedian
As I stand in the cramped wooden gangway at the side of the stage, going over my lines in a frantic whisper, I am reminded of something that American comedian Patrick Harlan had told me when we first met four months ago.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 3, 2019
Comedian Akira Ohashi 100% reveals his naked ambition
His naked tray act may not be to everyone's liking, but Akira Ohashi is too focused on the positives to worry about that. The Saitama-born, 44-year-old comedian, who is better known by his stage name Akira 100%, clearly loves being in the public eye, and after more than two decades struggling to make...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 22, 2018
London film fest resurrects comedic universality of Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy, perhaps the greatest comedy double act in cinema history, returned to London on Sunday, twiddling their bowler hats to a delighted West End crowd as they arrived for the world premiere of the biopic "Stan & Ollie.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Oct 18, 2018
Twitter speaks: That joke isn't funny anymore
An Aug. 16 episode of Tokyo MX's variety show "Hirukyun!" found comedian Ken Horiuchi (better known as Horiken) joining the hosts in the studio. Over the course of his stay, he launched the other TV talent and stage hands into a wall of cardboard boxes, before throwing some at people too (including staff...
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 18, 2018
China's version of 'Saturday Night Live' pulled amid crackdown on content
China's version of U.S. satire show "Saturday Night Live" has temporarily been pulled from a domestic video site amid a crackdown on content ranging from online blogs to livestreams.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 20, 2018
'One Cut of the Dead': A zombie flick that brings indie filmmaking back to life
Both budgets and box-office prospects for Japanese indie films have been declining for years. As the former approaches the zero mark, so do recognizable actors and other standard indicators of quality. Audiences, smelling amateurism, stay away.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2018
'Enokida Trading Post': A slacker film goes for lazy laughs
Japan has long had an image as a country of workaholics, dedicating their lives to the almighty yen. But recent Japanese movies, especially at the lower end of the budget spectrum, are full of furiitā ("freeter," a fairly young part-timer or freelancer) trying to decide what to do with their lives....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 6, 2018
Stormy Daniels plays cameo role in 'Saturday Night Live' sketch
Adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with President Donald Trump, played herself in a sketch on U.S. comedy show 'Saturday Night Live' in which she warns Trump that "a storm's a-comin baby."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 25, 2018
'Love × Doc': A rom-com on doctor's orders
When successful Japanese scriptwriters direct films, they tend to try too hard, cramming in characters, gags, plot twists and a blizzard of cuts. Sometimes, the busyness works, as in Koki Mitani's "Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald," a 1997 screwball comedy about a chaotic radio broadcast that delivers on its...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 31, 2018
'Country of cowards': Comedy duo's political satire stands out in gun-shy Japan
In what was perhaps a make-or-break moment for their careers, comedy duo Woman Rush Hour did something on prime-time television in December that most of their fellow comedians try their best to eschew: They talked about politics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 6, 2017
'52Hz, I Love You' upends the stereotype that Asian cinema can't do romantic musicals
Once upon a time (a decade ago), the unspoken consensus in the movie world seemed to be that Asians couldn't do love stories, much less musical love stories. Happy, soaring, blockbuster types that would send audiences home with goofy smiles and humming a tune from the soundtrack? Not happening.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Nov 29, 2017
The consummation of cool is a funny business for comedian Ike Nwala
Turn on the TV in Japan and you're likely to see a black face from time to time. Rarely will it be in a drama, but on game shows, variety and comedy shows, even some commercials. I wouldn't say we're commonplace, but we're out there. And, honestly, I used to dread every instance. Still do, actually,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 15, 2017
Known for seeking thrills on TV, Daisuke Miyagawa goes for laughs in 'The Stand-In Thief'
Need someone to chase pigs in Thailand? Daisuke Miyagawa's your man. How about punching watermelons in Australia? Miyagawa's your man.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jun 21, 2017
New magazine offers convicts hope of escaping from a life of crime
To prevent those with criminal convictions from committing further offenses after leaving correctional facilities, a job magazine for people with a history of crime or delinquency will be distributed at prisons and juvenile training schools nationwide starting mid-July.
U.S. aircraft carrier returns to Japan carrying navy’s ‘most capable fighter’
U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Fred Kacher speaks to reporters shortly after the arrival of aircraft carrier USS George Washington at Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Friday.
After Shohei Ohtani bump, Iwate ironware maker sees brighter future
Kaito Kikuchi's decision to send superstar Shohei Ohtani one of his company's traditional ironware tea kettles has paid off with a surge of interest from general consumers.
Japan approves ¥21.9 trillion stimulus plan
The policy chiefs of the Democratic Party for the People, Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito — Makoto Hamaguchi (left), Itsunori Onodera (center) and Mitsunari Okamoto — shake hands after reaching an agreement on an economic stimulus package on Wednesday.
Woman dies after train collides with car in Tochigi
A Moka Railway train car
Japan will spend ¥325 million in government funds on Princess Yuriko's funeral
Princess Yuriko waves during the New Year's public greeting at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in January 2019.
133-year-old Kyushu railway station remains to be partially preserved
The remains of the original Moji Station in Kitakyushu
After Shohei Ohtani bump, Iwate ironware maker sees brighter future
Kaito Kikuchi's decision to send superstar Shohei Ohtani one of his company's traditional ironware tea kettles has paid off with a surge of interest from general consumers.
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

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A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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