Tag - media-mix

 
 

MEDIA MIX

Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 24, 2015
Mika Mifune gets ready for some serious 'me' time
Historian Daniel J. Boorstin once defined a celebrity as someone who is "known for his well-knownness" — a person famous for being famous. Though many celebrities have talent and other attributes that draw attention, it is easier to gain notoriety passively by being related to someone who already...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 17, 2015
Snark levels were on full blast for 'Kohaku'
The 2014 edition of NHK's venerated song contest, "Kohaku Uta Gassen," broadcast on Dec. 31, was remarkable for several reasons, though the performance that generated the most remarks was the one by the equally venerated pop-rock group Southern All Stars, their first on the show in 31 years.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 10, 2015
Dull and authentic beats out polished TV
Another New Year's break, another two-week onslaught of inconsequential television programs based on the variety show model of comedians talking about themselves, watching videos of other people doing supposedly interesting things and playing games whose main entertainment function is humiliation. The...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 3, 2015
The highlights of Japanese media in 2014
My choices for the most significant public phenomena of last year are associated with traditional media rather than the social kind, which isn't to say these phenomena didn't impact social media and vice versa, only that TV, newspapers and magazines still affect our perception of the world.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 27, 2014
Abe isn't impressed with media criticism
The most talked-about media moment from the Lower House election on Dec. 14 was the victory interview Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave to Nippon TV.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 20, 2014
Weeklies walk a fine line in scandal reporting
In her regular column in the Dec. 11 issue of Shukan Bunshun, novelist Mariko Hayashi blasted the weekly magazines, including Bunshun, for failing to follow up on a scandal that, under normal circumstances, should have been right up their alley. The daughter of the late Osaka-based singer and TV host,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 13, 2014
Fight or flight: Narita's history of conflict
The recent increase in international flights in and out of Haneda Airport has clearly pleased Tokyo residents, who, since the late 1970s, have had to trek out to Narita International Airport in Chiba Prefecture when they wanted to go overseas.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 6, 2014
Cultural differences shade reactions to robots
It was only right that Disney's new animated feature, "Big Hero 6," opened this year's Tokyo International Film Festival, and that Disney animation head John Lasseter was on hand to introduce it. Lasseter has often said that his career has been greatly influenced by Japanese anime — in particular...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 29, 2014
Newspapers take sides on 'Abenomics'
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's dissolution of the Diet has become another point of contention between right- and left-leaning entities in Japan. One of the more revealing responses involved a website set up by a member of a nonprofit organization called Bokura no Ippo ga Nihon wo Kaeru (Our One Step Will...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 22, 2014
NTV's ideal announcer proves problematic
The current government wants women to demonstrate their full potential in the workplace, which means transcending gender roles and achieving occupational parity with their male counterparts.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 15, 2014
Tokyo continues to pull people in, which pulls the rest of Japan down
Earlier this month, the government pledged for the zillionth time to "revive" Japan's "regions." Local governments are in danger of vanishing in coming decades due to depopulation, and former Liberal Democratic Party No. 2 Shigeru Ishiba was put in charge of the regional revitalization ministry, which,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 8, 2014
Media culture is the driving force behind a lack of critical car-safety stories
Last month, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism released the results of tests to evaluate automatic braking functions that some automobile manufacturers now offer. The purpose of the tests, according to a report in the Asahi Shimbun, was to "provide consumers with a set of references...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 1, 2014
Debating the merits of lifetime employment
Some years ago I worked for a language-teaching service that offered in-house classes for companies. One client was a major electronics manufacturer, and many of the students were trained engineers assigned to the sales division.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 25, 2014
Blondes have more fun in NHK's morning drama
Two weeks ago I received a message from a reader who asked me to ask NHK why the public broadcaster had changed the name and the hair color of the female protagonist of its new daily 15-minute asa-dora (morning drama series) "Massan," which is based on the life of Masataka Taketsuru, the first person...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 18, 2014
A dark force targets youth at their jobs
In the ongoing discussion about workplace abuse, the media has advanced yet another new term. "Black baito" modifies the already popular phrase "black kigyō," which are companies that manipulate or ignore labor standards in order to get employees to work overtime without pay. "Baito" is an abbreviation...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 11, 2014
In-debt idols send wrong message to girls
Two weeks ago a female pop group called The Margarines debuted via a Tokyo news conference. Since Japanese show business has no shortage of young women who want to sing and dance in order to "fulfill their dreams," the new ensemble needed a gimmick.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 4, 2014
Tourists may not warm to Japan's welcome
A former colleague of mine always made it a point to tell people coming to Japan for a visit to bring lots of handkerchiefs because the public restrooms didn't have towel dispensers. I always took a more positive view and emphasized that public restrooms in Japan were everywhere and open to everyone,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 27, 2014
Scotland's independence referendum inspires an Okinawan discussion
As sometimes happens when a news story that has nothing to do with Japan becomes topical worldwide, the Japanese media tried to find a local angle for the Sept. 18 Scottish referendum. The coverage fell into two categories: greater autonomy for Okinawa, and the use of referendums.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 20, 2014
Abe's female Cabinet picks warrant a closer look
In a Sept. 5 Twitter post, university instructor Akiko Orita pointed out that four of the five women appointed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to his new Cabinet do not use their legal names. Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Sanae Takaichi, state minister in charge of abduction issues Eriko...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 13, 2014
Social media aids rehashing of historical hate
After rain caused deadly mudslides in Hiroshima Prefecture last month, rumors spread over the Internet about burglaries of evacuated homes by "foreigners," including Zainichi (ethnic Korean residents of Japan). Such rumors tend to accompany disasters, so Tokyo Shimbun talked directly to police in the...

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