Latest News from Japan Zone & Japan Store

A Golden Year? Or Money Down the Drain?

December 12, 2024 - tokyoguy

Futehodo

On December 12, two announcements were made that attempted to encapsulate the spirit of the year that is coming to an end. The kanji for ‘kin’ and the abbreviation ‘futehodo’ were selected as the character and word that best captured the zeitgeist of 2024.

At an annual ceremony held at Kiyomizudera temple in Kyoto, the head priest drew the kanji symbol for ‘kin’ which means gold or money. It was selected to represent several major events throughout the year – the medal-winning success of Japanese athletes at the Olympics in Paris; the achievements of baseball superstar Ohtani Shohei, who won the World Series with the LA Dodgers; the introduction of new Yen banknotes for the first time in 20 years; the registration of the Sado Gold Mine as a UNESCO World Heritage site; the ongoing cost of living crisis due to inflation; and the slush-fund scandals plaguing the ruling LDP (Liberal Democratic Party).

Meanwhile, ‘futehodo’, an abbreviation of the popular TBS drama series titled Futekisetsu nimo Hodo ga Aru! (Extremely Inappropriate!) about a time-traveling middle-aged PE teacher, was chosen as the buzzword of the year. The drama, which aired early in the year, features Sadao Abe as the teacher who time travels from 1986 to the present day, and finds himself struggling to deal with modern attitudes to things like gender discrimination.

Nippon Professional Baseball: Why are more players turning to MLB?

January 3, 2024 - tokyoguy

Why are more NPB players turning to MLB?

The two-league Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) is one of the most popular baseball competitions in Asia. Brimming with top-tier baseball players from Japan and other parts of the world, it’s avidly watched by millions of spectators across the continent. NPB is also considered the second-best baseball league in the world, behind the American Major League Baseball (MLB).

What’s more, you’ll often see live NPB matches on cable TV in different countries worldwide, which might come as a surprise for people who mainly follow the MLB leagues.

However, prominent Japanese baseball players often decide to go one step up and head to the MLB – the best professional baseball competition in the US and, most probably, worldwide.

Continue reading Nippon Professional Baseball: Why are more players turning to MLB? →

The Osaka IR’s Impact on the Japanese Gambling Scene

January 3, 2024 - tokyoguy

Rendering for the proposed IR project in Yumeshima, Osaka.

Japan is on the cusp of constructing its first integrated casino on Osaka’s artificial Yumeshima island. The ambitious project has been in the works for several years and is set to boost the Japanese economy by creating thousands of jobs and potentially trillions in revenue.

The Japanese government originally passed legislation to allow the construction of integrated resort facilities that would house casinos in 2018. The law was subject to a number of delays before it was put into effect in 2021.

Continue reading The Osaka IR’s Impact on the Japanese Gambling Scene →

A Taxing Year

December 13, 2023 - tokyoguy

The kanji for tax, zei, is chosen to represent 2023

If 2023 has been a taxing year for you in some way, well, Japan feels your pain. The kanji for ‘zei’, or tax, has been chosen as the character to represent the year that is coming to an close.

Every year in Japan a poll of public opinion is held to select a single kanji character that best represents the mood of the country in the year as it draws to an end.

The kanji is always revealed at a ceremony at Kyoto’s famous Kiyomizu temple, with a Buddhist priest drawing a huge calligraphy of the character.

This year the poll had almost 150,000 submissions. Runners up were the kanji for ‘hot’ and ‘war’, reflecting the ever-increasing summer temperatures and the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. In fourth place was the kanji for ‘tiger’, a reference to the Hanshin Tigers baseball team, who recently won the Japan Series.

(Photo: Kyodo)

The State of Crypto in Japan

October 11, 2023 - tokyoguy

A quick overview of Japan’s crypto market

When it comes to cryptocurrency in Asia, one of the biggest players is undoubtedly Japan. The country is considered one of the better crypto hubs on the continent, especially when compared to places like China. As the race for global crypto supremacy continues to heat up, more eyes will inevitably be on Japan. But what exactly is the state of crypto in Japan? And what trajectory is the country on?

One of the first things to note is that crypto is widely used in Japan. There are 3.72 million crypto wallets in Japan as of 2022. And this only seems to be growing as the Blockchain Association of Japan claims that this figure is closer to 6.8 million as of 2023. Either way, cryptocurrency has been embraced by Japanese consumers. 

And this large user base has not gone unnoticed by crypto companies, many of whom are opening up shop in Japan or expanding their offerings. Some major projects that operate in Japan include SushiSwap and bitFlyer. Just recently, Binance announced the launch of its Japanese arm with 34 tokens available for spot trading before bumping this number up to 100. Some of these tokens include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB), Cardano (ADA), and Dogecoin (DOGE). 

It is also worth looking into current crypto regulations in Japan. While cryptos are not legal tender or issued by the central bank, they are permitted for use and some commercial Japanese banks have embraced crypto’s underlying technology. Crypto use in the country falls under the jurisdiction of several agencies such as the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA). All exchanges that want to operate in Japan have to register with the FSA and follow all of its guidelines. Crypto income is classified as “miscellaneous income” by Japan’s National Tax Agency and the amount to be paid depends on how much was made through crypto. However, crypto income made from mining and DeFi lending, or trading must be reported to the agency and tax must be paid on it.

And what cryptos are Japanese people buying into? Currently, tokens like XRP and Bitcoin are favoured in Japan, as are others like Ether and Dogecoin. This is mostly unsurprising as these tokens are globally known and have a plethora of use cases. And while there are smaller tokens like MonaCoin that are very popular in Japan, the top tokens still dominate the market. 

When Japanese people hold these cryptos, they use them for a wide variety of purposes. Several businesses like Mezzo in Tokyo, Mint, T’s Kitchen, and Dot Raw accept cryptocurrency for their products and services and this fits right in with Japan’s crypto-loving population. Then there is cryptocurrency gambling, which has really taken off in the last few years. Online casinos like those featured in updated lists on business2community.com are increasingly accepting cryptocurrency. In fact, there is a growing crop of online casinos that only accept crypto for placing bets. And as more Japanese people are embracing crypto, we can only expect these to become more popular. 

Japan also looks to be making more strides in supporting the crypto industry on an institutional level. Just a few weeks ago, it was reported that Japan would begin allowing companies to raise funds using crypto instead of stock, which is good news for firms operating in the country. 

Japan has shown itself to be a welcoming country for the crypto industry thus far and if it continues on its current trajectory, it can achieve even more in the next few years.

Epic Showdown Sees Japan Crowned WBC Champs

March 22, 2023 - tokyoguy

World Baseball Classic Final - Trout vs Ohtani

It was an ending for the ages. The two very best baseball players of their generation, teammates with the Los Angeles Angels but now facing each in the final that would decide the best team in the world.

In the deciding game of the 2023 World Baseball Classic in Miami last night, centre-fielder and phenomenal power hitter Mike Trout was at the plate with his Team USA 3-2 at the bottom of the ninth inning. Facing him on the mound was Ohtani Shohei, who since moving to the Major Leagues in 2017 has taken the sport by storm as both pitcher and hitter – was there ever a more appropriate nickname than Sho-Time!

It was the kind of matchup and grand finale that TV networks dream about, and it didn’t disappoint, as Ohtani struck out Trout to see Japan crowned as WBC champions for the third time. Watch the highlights of the final here.

Japan Doubles in Size!

February 16, 2023 - tokyoguy

The Kujuku Islands off the coast of Nagasaki Prefecture

According to an upcoming report from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, the number of islands that make up the archipelago has increased from the 6,852 in a 1987 survey to the current total of 14,125.

The doubling in the number of islands is the result of many factors. Volcanic activity has indeed led to the creation of new islands. But the more mundane fact is that the change is mainly due to advances in mapping technology since the Japan Coast Guard carried out its previous survey 35 years ago. There’s also the fact that the 1987 survey only included islands with a circumference of at least 100 meters and excluded many islands in lakes and rivers.

Of the 7,000+ new islands, 1,479 are located off Nagasaki Prefecture in the south of Kyushu, one of Japan’s “big 4” islands. Tokyo has been encouraging local governments to give formal names to the many previously unidentified islands.

Setonaikai - Japan's Inland Sea
Setonaikai – Japan’s Inland Sea – is populated with hundreds of islands

None of the new additions are located in the East China Sea, a region where territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands are increasingly contested by the Chinese authorities.

The GIAJ report is expected to be issued in March.

A Curtain Call for Monkey Majik

February 2, 2023 - tokyoguy

Monkey Majik - Curtain Call

Popular Japan-based four-piece rock band MONKEY MAJIK recently released their latest album, ‘curtain call’, on January 25. Their 13th full-length studio album explores brand new musical possibilities for the future of MONKEY MAJIK, with 14 songs covering a wide variety of music styles – offering a chance to experience a whole new side to this veteran band as they enter the 23rd year since their formation.

Monkey Majik

With their mix of Japanese and English lyrics and their splicing of rap and pop, this is an album that only MONKEY MAJIK could make. Look out for standout track ‘This Is The Night (MONKEY MAJIK × GAGLE)’, a collaboration with the hip-hop unit GAGLE that embodies MONKEY MAJIK’s borderless style. Meanwhile, the cover artwork expresses the album’s musical breadth, based on the concept of “infinite change”.

The four-piece hybrid rock band based in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, comprises Canadian brothers Maynard (vocals and guitar) and Blaise (vocals and guitar), and Japanese rhythm section TAX (drums) and DICK (bass).

The band released their debut single, fly, in 2006. Since then, they have created countless songs for commercials and theme songs for movies and TV shows, as well as collaborating with and composing songs for other artists. Following the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan’s Tohoku region, they were appointed Tourism and Goodwill Ambassadors of Tohoku, hosting the earthquake reconstruction support project, SEND Ai, the same year, and holding fundraising concerts and auctions as part of their continuing activities to aid rebuilding in Japan’s Tohoku region. In 2020, they celebrated the 20th anniversary and released the best-of album MONKEY MAJIK BEST -KACHO FUGETSU- in January 2021. They plan to hold a tour of Japan from February titled MONKEY MAJIK LIVE TOUR 2023 ~ THE HITS ~.

Marty’s Mega Big in Japan

October 21, 2020 - tokyoguy

Former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman

Tokyo-based guitarist and onetime Megadeth member Marty Friedman has released a new version of his 2018 song ‘The Perfect World’ featuring guest vocals by +α/Alfakyun. The singer, who is famed for her extraordinarily versatile vocal technique and wide register, brings a new interpretation to Friedman’s hit song that will appeal to fans of the original and newcomers alike. 

Friedman commented, “There is no limit to +α/Alfakyun.’s voice, and she can do all sorts of things, so we were able to really change the atmosphere of the original.”

‘THE PERFECT WORLD (feat. Alfakyun.)’ music video

‘THE PERFECT WORLD (feat. Alfakyun.)’ is the only track with vocals to be included on Friedman’s otherwise fully instrumental album ‘TOKYO JUKEBOX 3’, which is released on October 21, 2020. The album is the third in Friedman’s series featuring guitar covers of recent Japanese hit songs, and it includes his cover of ‘Gurenge’, the opening theme to globally popular TV anime ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba’. As with the other songs on the album, Friedman’s cover of ‘Gurenge’ showcases his uniquely characteristic guitar skills and his creative talent as not only a master musician but also a composer and producer. Friedman’s cover brings a Western twist while retaining the song’s distinctly Japanese flavor, and its video on YouTube has racked up hundreds of thousands of views around the world.

The striking cover photo for ‘TOKYO JUKEBOX 3’ shows Friedman dressed in a kimono, complete with colorful makeup, showcasing Friedman’s unique reinterpretation of Japanese culture while also giving fans a surprising and exciting new look to enjoy.

Having risen to fame as the lead guitarist of legendary heavy metal band Megadeth when it boasted sales of over 13 million albums worldwide in the 1990s, Friedman is now a household name in Japan, with credentials not only in the world of music but also in television, film, literature and commercials. Before moving to Japan in 2004, Friedman taught himself Japanese and famously placed second at Arizona State University’s Japanese Debating Competition. In 2005, he became a regular member on the legendary rock variety program ‘Hebimeta-san’ broadcasted by TV Tokyo, surprising not only heavy metal fans in Japan but also around the world, as videos of his performances surfaced online. 

This was followed by regular appearances on the TV show ‘ROCK FUJIYAMA’, which became popular worldwide. Since then, Friedman has appeared in many TV programs from national public broadcaster NHK and other stations, while also contributing as a regular columnist for a magazine and a newspaper. He published his first book, whose title loosely translates as ‘It’s All Good! I Came to Japan for J-pop’, which became a bestseller. He has also made appearances in films such as ‘Gu Gu, the Cat’ and ‘Detroit Metal City’.

DUNE – With a Japan Zone Twist

September 30, 2020 - tokyoguy

Dune - Timothee Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson

If, like me, you’re old enough to remember the original 1984 movie adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic novel, you’ll likely have an opinion about the upcoming remake of Dune. In my case, it’s a sense of optimism that the new movie –due for a December 2020 release if Covid-19 permits – will be a much more solid and faithful telling of a really compelling story.

The cast looks impressive (no Sting!), with a mixture of veteran and youthful stars. Timothee Chalamet may be Hollywood “flavor of the month” but he’s a very solid and versatile actor, and director Denis Villeneuve has already proven his chops by pulling off what nobody though possible – a really strong Blade Runner sequel that some claim even surpasses Ridley Scott’s original.

So what’s the Japan Zone angle? Glad you asked.

One of the movie’s locations was Budapest, Hungary. And it was to the Origo Film Studios in Budapest that we shipped a large order of jikatabi footwear in the spring of 2019. As was the case after we provided footwear for previous Hollywood blockbusters (47 Ronin with Keanu Reeves, Wolverine with Hugh Jackman, and the most recent Star Wars reboot) we looked and looked to see if the jikatabi were actually used, but given that feet are usually either out of shot or in the distance, it’s remarkably difficult to spot them.

So, it was with a sense of excitement that I checked out the recently released trailer and promo photos for Dune. Boots are in view, but as yet no definitive jikatabi shots. Still, it looks like a movie definitely worth checking out. And they’ve even included a bit of classic Pink Floyd in the soundtrack!

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