jay

I've been in Japan for 14 years now, learned the language, and manage to get by pretty well. I call this an inside outsider's view because that's the reality here. As long as I've been here, as much as I've learned and experienced, I'm still an outsider... and that's fine. That's Japan... a country full of inside outsiders.

Lady Gaga in Japan Does Press Conference with Anime Eyes

Lady Gaga recently showed up at an MTV Video Music Aid Japan event recently with her eyes closed the whole time. The pop star showed up wiearing sunglasses but surprised the crowd when she removed them. She had anime style eyes painted on her eyelids and did the entire press conference with her eyes closed […]

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Paris Syndrome, Japanese Tourists, and Modern Journalism

There is news going around that seems to reference a 5 year old BBC article that calls up 20 year old research and has been recycled into an article on the internet that points out that nearly a dozen (nearly a dozen! That could be 10 whole people or more!) Japanese citizens are treated for

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Hitoshi Matsumoto’s Films – Saya Samurai Trailer and Big Man Japan for Hollywood Remake

Hitoshi Matsumoto of the comedy duo Downtown, recently told fans he had a big announcement to make. Known for having a playful and almost sadistic sense of humor at times, fans didn’t know what to expect until he announced that his film, “Big Man Japan” (Dai-Nipponjin in Japanese) was picked up for a remake by

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Japanese Satire News Site Similar to The Onion

I was recently asked if Japan has anything similar to “The Onion” which is a humorous website that publishes satirical stories or parodies of current events. Although The Onion is already quite well known, one of its charms is that it publishes stories that are well-written and close enough to reality to give a person

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Google Streetview Japan Photographs Comedian Takehiro Kimoto from TKO

Fans of Japanese comedy know TKO well. The manzai pair can often be seen on TV. The members of TKO are Takayuki Kinoshita and Takehiro Kimoto, both also have popular blogs on Ameblo where Kimoto has confirmed that it is indeed him that was captured by the Google Streetview car camera in Setagaya Ward and

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Mari Yaguchi and Masaya Nakamura Marry

With a huge height difference on display, 192 cm tall Masaya Nakamura and former Morning Musume member Mari Yaguchi who reaches all of 145 cm on a good day got married. Newzjapan reported the pending nuptials around which were announced around New Year’s. (Mari Yaguchi to Marry Masaya Nakamura). The official date of the marriage

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Saturday Night Live Japan Set To Air Beginning July 4th 2011

If you are a fan of Saturday Night Live, the iconic, long-running skit and stand-up comedy show broadcast live from New York with the opening catch phrase… “Live From New York – It’s Saturday Night!”… Then get ready to hear “Live From Tokyo – It’s Saturday Night!” Japanese veteran comedians Akashiya Sanma and Koji Imada

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Top 10 TV Japanese Shows Parents WANT Their Children to Watch

A previous post listed the 2011 Japanese tv shows that parents don’t want their children to watch as voted by members of Japan’s national PTA association. The flip side of the list are tv shows Japanese parents want their children to watch. Some of these are a lot of fun as well. Here is the

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Top 10 Japanese TV Shows Parents Don’t Want Kids to See

This is a part of the annual poll conducted of members of Japan’s National PTA Association. It lists the top 8 Japanese TV shows that members think kids should not see. Topping the list for the 8th year in a row is a favorite among non-Japanese residents in Japan, followed by other perennials and even

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#RealJapan hashtag for Twitter and Media Representations of Japan

Well, I took advantage of a late night to do some light internet reading. Although I don’t often read news about Japan in English, tonight I was in the mood so I checked some of my RSS feeds for interesting articles. I came across a few that I don’t really want to link to, but

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24 Hour TV Marathon Runner for 2011 Will Be Kazuo Tokumitsu

Every year, Nihon Terebi, also known as the Nippon Television Network has a 24 hour telethon. The telethon, known as 24 Hour TV (Love Will Save the World) always features an entertainer as a marathon runner. The marathon runner’s training and story are featured throughout the weeks leading up to 24 Hour TV, and during

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Johnny’s Entertainment Introduces the Latest Johnny’s Boy Band – Kis-My-Ft2

Yes. The band is called Kis-My-Ft2 or Kis-My-FtII. It’s Johnny’s latest entry into the boy band market in Japan. Johnny’s is the entertainment company responsible for SMAP, TOKIO, Arashi, Kinki Kids, V6, Kat-Tun, and Hey! Say! JUMP. The newest venture tries to put the names of the members into some recognizable form (as was done

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