Tag: Television

New Year in Japan has many traditions, from the food to household decorations. Television is part of the ritual of Oshogatsu, perhaps most famously the NHK music show Kohaku. Another perennial ...

The weekly tabloid Shukan Post recently published a ranking of female celebrities based on their TV commercial earnings. In addition to television advertising, the magazine calculated its ranking ...

The return to Japanese TV screens last week of the 32-year-old unmarried TV "talent" Becky was a major event for the entertainment industry. Her homecoming after weeks of exile attracted 24% of the ...

As Japan deals with a massive rise in inbound tourism, a rather ugly side to the country's popular culture is rearing its head. Part of this is due to pure ignorance and part is an ingrained belief ...

If we're honest, Japanese television is not acclaimed for its sophistication or journalistic integrity. And the coverage of the recent Lower House election last weekend did little to boost that ...

The results have been announced of a survey by Video Research of five commercial TV broadcasters in Kanto (the area including Tokyo and Yokohama), Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe etc) and Nagoya. The ...

People are marrying later and having less children. In Japan people are turning more and more to "marriage consultation" and "spouse hunting" services to find that special someone. Although these ...

I ❤️ cock. Not the kind of thing you would normally expect to see on the costume of a kids' TV show host, right? But this is Japan and weird stuff happens sometimes, especially on ...

Another year, another packed calendar of trends. What were some of the main ones that caught our eye throughout the past twelve months? Olympics Tokyo was awarded the 2020 Olympic Games ...

Every year the publisher Jiyukokuminsha picks the word or phrase that has apparently created the most hype or buzz during the past twelve months. You can read an excellent overview of the buzzword ...

Nippon TV's Song for Japan might seem like a typical singing contest except for the fact that none of the contestants are Japanese. It's a contest that is exclusive to foreigners, presumably for the ...

A colleague recently brought back the customary omiyage souvenir from their Obon summer vacation to Miyagi prefecture and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the traditional mochi sweets packaging ...

It's not often that I roll out the R-word -- and when I do, it is generally due to the incredible short change that black people or other Asians get in Japanese popular culture. Usually the silliness ...

While people make charitable donations for (arguably) many different reasons, this year, the annual 24 Hour Television themed "Love Saves the Earth" -- which will be aired on August 24th and 25th -- ...

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself? How would you describe yourself? I can't remember how many times people asked me these questions. Whether it was during job interviews or random ...