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April 04, 2025
 

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COMEDY

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 / 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.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 22, 2017
Standing up to alienation on Tokyo's comedy scene
Japan is an easy place to foster self-delusion, and a failure at comedy is like a bucket of ice water to the face.
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 16, 2017
Comedian Jimmy Carr talks about sensitivity, universal jokes and the best sound he can hear at a stand-up show
"OK, let's kick off with a question for you, in time-honored tradition," Jimmy Carr says to me at the outset of our interview. "Do many comedians make it over to Japan?"
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 26, 2017
Study to look at whether laughter is in fact the best medicine
An Osaka-based medical facility is looking to investigate whether laughter is indeed the best medicine, and whether it can be effective in treating cancer.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Nov 21, 2016
Pikotaro's 'PPAP' sets Guinness World Record
Comedian Pikotaro's music video 'Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen' has been recognized as the shortest song ever to make the U.S. Billboard Top 100 singles chart.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 20, 2016
Japanese comedian Pikotaro's video 'PPAP' cracks the Billboard Hot 100
Comedian Pikotaro’s music video “Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen,” abbreviated as “PPAP,” that recently went viral on social media has entered the weekly U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at 77th.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 14, 2016
Shinoharu Tatekawa makes sure that 'rakugo' isn't lost in translation
Comic Shinoharu Tatekawa hopes to win over some new fans this month when he performs a rakugo set in English.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Nov 25, 2015
Japanese woman wins BBC newcomer comedy award
Japanese stand-up comedienne Yuriko Kotani won this year's BBC Radio New Comedy Award for aspiring comics last Friday, beating five other finalists at the Comedy Store in London with a five-minute act blending humor and sarcasm.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Nov 22, 2015
Improv pioneers Pirates of Tokyo Bay plan big bilingual birthday bash
The Pirates of Tokyo Bay, who claim to be the capital's only bilingual comedy group, have been bridging cultures through humor since 2010.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Nov 11, 2015
Mr. Cherry, Japan's No. 1 record-breaker, is 'officially amazing'
Cherry Yoshitake has broken more world records than any other Japanese person, but there's every chance you've never heard of him.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
May 20, 2015
YouTuber Ken Tanaka tweaks the nose of our obsession with identity
The best way to talk to (and about) the entertainer and artist Ken Tanaka is to discuss his YouTube videos, of which there are many, and which vary wildly in terms of popularity, production and themes. But first, some biography:
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 8, 2015
Atsugiri Jason: 'Don't worry about what other people think of you'
Comedian Jason Danielson on bad puns, hidden cameras and thick-sliced bacon
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 22, 2014
The annual pain and pleasure of punished comedians
Japan is a country of traditions. You take off your shoes when you go indoors. You rinse your body before entering the bath. And you sit around the house with family on Ōmisoka (大晦日, New Year's Eve) and do nothing but watch television and eat food before going to the jinja (神社, shrine) at...
Events / Events In Tokyo
Jun 26, 2014
Everyone's having a laugh in Kinokuniya
Rakugo, a traditional form of comic storytelling in Japan, deals with anecdotes about human nature. Described as a "performance of imagination," it is usually done on an empty stage with the artist kneeling on a large cushion and acting out the roles of all characters in the tales, expressing their actions...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 7, 2013
Patrick Harlan: 'Learn to laugh at yourself'
“Everything in moderation, including moderation.” These are words I strive to live by. Don't work, play, eat or think too much.
As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more U.S. firms say retailers turning away products
Empty shelves with "Buy Canadian Instead" signs are seen in the American Whiskey section of the BC Liquor in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 10.
U.S. tourist arrested after bringing a handgun into Japan
Hyogo police believe the handgun a U.S. tourist inadvertently brought into Japan slipped through security procedures at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture.
Trump unveils 10% global tariff, with Japan levy set at 24%
Trump tosses a MAGA hat to the crowd during an event in which he unveiled new tariffs in the White House on Wednesday.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
Japan promises 'bold and speedy' response to Trump’s surprise 24% tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump unveils new U.S. tariffs at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.

Podcast

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

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
By Johan Brooks

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