Tag - j-pop

 
 

J POP

Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 28, 2013
The Powers behind American Pop Art
Brash, bold and unabashedly low-brow, much of Pop Art took inspiration from the imagery of popular culture to forge what many consider to be the preeminent art form of the mid-20th century.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 31, 2013
'American Pop Art: From the John and Kimiko Powers Collection'
John and Kimiko Powers began collecting American Pop Art from its early beginnings in the 1960s. Noted for their patronage of artists, the couple's collection is now one of the most comprehensive of the Pop Art movement.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 17, 2013
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu "Nanda Collection"
"Am I an adult? Or am I a kid?" sings Kyary Pamyu Pamyu on "Furisodation," a song about the Harajuku blogger-turned-model-turned-pop-star turning 20 earlier this year. That's the question that looms over all of her sophomore album, "Nanda Collection."
CULTURE / Music
Jun 7, 2013
British, U.S. music no longer dominates world
When John Lennon declared that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, it didn't seem that far-fetched. It was 1966, and rock 'n' roll was the new religion sweeping the globe.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
May 28, 2013
Revamped 'Shin Megami Tensei IV,' a new 'DoDonPachi Saidaioujou' and collectable merchandise
Most collectible statues are a few inches or perhaps 30 cm tall. Typically, they are not life-size. But this is no typical statue.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 18, 2013
Kis-My-Ft2 "Good Ikuze!" (Avex Trax)
Odds are, Japan Times reader, that you do not like Kis-My-Ft2. Maybe you've been unable to escape the bleating "Wanna Beeee!!!" while out strolling in Shibuya, or maybe they lost you at, "From the people who brought you SMAP and Arashi!" So this review should be quick, right? A nice hatchet job with...
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Apr 10, 2013
Pop tourism gains traction
Pre-flight shopping at Narita airport a couple of weeks ago, I passed a mannequin sporting a light-blue necktie and a turquoise wig with pig tails dangling down to its mini skirt. The vision spoke volumes: It was Hatsune Miku, of course, Japan's holographic, animated virtual pop star, beloved fashion...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 7, 2013
There's no battering the Tempura Kidz spirit
The members of Tempura Kidz have danced in front of thousands of strangers at sold-out venues across Japan, including Tokyo's famed Budokan and the Summer Sonic festival. Yet on a Thursday night in a Harajuku office building, the teenage quintet is nervous.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Feb 1, 2013
AKB48 member's 'penance' shows flaws in idol culture
The image of a young girl in front of a camera, her head recently shaved, sobbing into the lens is one that's guaranteed to shock. But when that girl is a key member of idol group AKB48, the reaction is bound to be stronger.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2013
AKB48 idol begs for fans' mercy after breaking dating ban
A member of AKB48 stirs up an online frenzy by getting a crew cut and posting an apology for breaking the all-girl group's rule against romantic relationships.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 21, 2012
Hatsune Miku goes highbrow
On her own, Japanese pop superstar Hatsune Miku can't sing. Nor can she rap, dance or DJ. She is drug- and alcohol-free because she can't indulge in either, and she can't have affairs or engage in offstage shenanigans fit for YouTube scandals or tabloid headlines. Now entering her sixth year as a beloved...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Dec 3, 2012
Japan's top 10 buzzwords for 2012
Here they are: the top 10 phrases and words that made waves in 2012.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Jun 27, 2012
Today’s J-blip: Perfume daifuku
A small traditional sweet shop in Nippori offers updated, flavorful renditions of the Japanese sweet daifuku.
EDITORIALS
Jun 10, 2012
Exporting 'Japanland'
The government's Cool Japan strategy of promoting the country abroad has taken another step as the trade ministry plans to recreate trendy districts of Tokyo in cities across the globe. The plan is aimed at promoting Japan and encouraging exports by organizing areas for Japan-style shops, restaurants...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 18, 2012
Will the world soon wake up to the scent of Perfume?
When the Nippon Budokan was built in 1964, its architects probably never envisaged it one day resembling a massive nightclub filled with hundreds of laser beams in every shade of neon as three women in lightup minidresses danced like finely tuned robots to the sound of the bassiest bombast imaginable....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Dec 23, 2011
2011 trends: Korean boom spreads to a new generation
The love of all things Korean continued to grow in 2011, and along with it, a bit of a backlash.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Oct 31, 2011
AKBaby invites fans to breed with their favorite pop idols
Any AKB48 fan's wet dream: the chance to have a baby with their favorite pop idol.
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Oct 28, 2011
Entrepreneurs make Korean ikemen the dish du jour
Cute, young Korean man-flesh is on the menu now, as Tokyo establishments cash in on the continuing hanryu boom.

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’