Category Archives: Uncategorized

We rarely have anything positive to say about the late Shinzo Abe, but with his state funeral happening tomorrow we wanted to point out at least one good thing he did. This year marks the 50th anniversary of normalized relations … Continue reading →

Here is a link to our April media column for the Number 1 Shimbun, which is about the push in Japan for “nuclear sharing” and reopening nuclear power plants in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

For this month’s Number 1 Shimbun we wrote about the government’s bid to make the Sado gold and silver mine a UNESCO heritage site. Link to the column is here.

Ian Thomas Ash’s documentary about foreign detainees in Japan’s immigration facilities is a pointedly activist work. In interviews Ash has said that his main purpose was to make the Japanese people understand what their government is doing in their name, … Continue reading →

Though Clint Eastwood has never officially stated when he plans to retire as a director, it seems to be that he once said something about leaving acting behind, but I may have imagined that. In any event, having entered his … Continue reading →

For the second year in a row I have decided to forego a ten best list, since I didn’t see nearly enough of the movies released in Japan in 2021 to make any sort of authoritative judgment on which were … Continue reading →

Over the past month I’ve read many reviews saying that 2021 was an especially great year for music. Given how much longer it took me to compile the following list, I would tend to agree, but we each approach our … Continue reading →

The Utoro district of Uji city in Kyoto Prefecture holds a great deal of historical significance for Zainichi Koreans, meaning permanent residents of Japan with Korean background. During World War II, the area was home to workers who had been … Continue reading →

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, which is about a Korean documentary I recently saw that explored K-pop fandom from the viewpoint of a real K-pop fan who interrogated her devotion to a certain musician after he was convicted of rape. … Continue reading →