Author Archives: philipbrasor

Woman Rush Hour

Posted on February 1, 2018 by philipbrasor

In today’s Japan Times there is a feature about the comedy duo Woman Rush Hour, who were all over the media in December because they won the grand prize in a high-profile TV comedy competition. I had planned to write … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Jan. 28, 2018

Posted on January 28, 2018 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix about a special issue of Aera dedicated to the end of banking. The headline is slightly misleading, since it implies that AI will be the death of the banking industry, and while that’s true to … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Jan. 21, 2018

Posted on January 21, 2018 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, which is about resistance to the solicitation of “volunteers” for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. As stated at the beginning of the piece, the ostensible reason for the all-volunteer character of the staffing plan is to … Continue reading →

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Lenny Kravitz, Nov. 1998, The Japan Times (as “Merle Pangloss”)

Posted on January 20, 2018 by philipbrasor

I recently realized that almost all of the music reviews I wrote for the Japan Times in the 90s are not available on the Internet, so I will remedy that by slowly, methodically posting them here on my blog. I … Continue reading →

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Best Albums 2017

Posted on January 6, 2018 by philipbrasor

As there was no one record that monopolized my attention this year—nothing I wanted to hear compulsively, like Heartthrob or The Truth About Love in past years—I found myself shuffling through a lot more new music than I usually do, … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Dec. 31, 2017

Posted on January 1, 2018 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, which is a roundup of the year. One thing I didn’t mention but which I probably should have is the sumo assault scandal. The reason I didn’t was because I, myself, didn’t think it had … Continue reading →

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Best movies 2017

Posted on December 30, 2017 by philipbrasor

Every year my movie-watching regime becomes more rarefied owing to tighter schedules and diminished monetary inducement. Nowadays, however, I can often make up for the films I miss at press screenings by seeing them later at my local multiplex, on … Continue reading →

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December 2017 albums

Posted on December 12, 2017 by philipbrasor

Here are the album reviews I wrote for the December issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo on November 25. Beautiful Trauma -P!nk (RCA/Sony) Meaning of Life -Kelly Clarkson (Atlantic/Warner) In our mind there is no better mainstream … Continue reading →

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December 2017 movies

Posted on December 7, 2017 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the December issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo on Nov. 25. The Age of Shadows Set during the Japanese colonial period of the 1920s, Kim Jee-woon’s double agent thriller … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Dec. 3, 2017

Posted on December 3, 2017 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, which is about Japan’s difficulties in becoming an arms exporter. The gist of the piece is that there is still a certain reluctance to call a spade a spade, and thus arms sales are spun … Continue reading →

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