All posts tagged: Japan

Ancient volcanic eruption brought population collapse and coastal growth to Japan

Ancient volcanic eruption brought population collapse and coastal growth to Japan

Published by Jenni Sidey

Population models suggest the Kikai-Akahoya eruption brought severe regional decline alongside continued growth on some northern coastlines. Southern Kyushu was already undergoing demographic and settlement changes before the eruption about 7,300 years ago. Migration, maritime resources and new social connections may explain recovery, but these remain interpretations requiring further archaeological tests. Some communities declined sharply after one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the Holocene, while others continued growing surprisingly close to the devastation. A reconstruction of prehistoric Japan’s population patterns suggests that catastrophe produced no single outcome. Conditions before the eruption, access to recovering ecosystems and possible movements of survivors all shaped what followed. The evidence complicates an archaeological debate often framed as either total collapse or straightforward survival. The international study, reported in Science Advances, examines the Kikai-Akahoya eruption about 7,300 years ago. Enrico Crema of Cambridge University led the analysis, with Lund University archaeologist Peter Jordan as senior author. Their team modeled changes in archaeological radiocarbon dates across Japan. They then compared the reconstructed trends with pottery, tools, settlement evidence and volcanic …

The ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Filmmakers Terrified Bystanders With Their Monster Sounds

The ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Filmmakers Terrified Bystanders With Their Monster Sounds

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Actor Seth Green—yes, that one—has seen Godzilla Minus Zero and says it’s awesome. While introducing the New York Comic Con panel for the 39th film in the Godzilla franchise, Green stressed that the filmmakers behind the movie “have created kaiju that feel physically real and, trust me, emotionally terrifying.” While a lot of that terror came from the work of Oscar-winning visual effects artist Tatsuji Nojima, some it came from the shrieking of Godzilla and his three-headed nemesis, King Ghidorah. Those roars were the work of sound designer Natsuko Inoue and her team, who created the monsters’ outsize vocalizations by rolling speakers to the top of an outdoor dam—much to the horror of people nearby. “There were people having a picnic, maybe people just taking a stroll,” Hisafumi Takeuchi, who also worked on sound for the film, said during the panel. “The person walking their dog, though—they had the worst time, because the dog was freaking out and barking back at us.” Since the creatures are imaginary, getting their screams to sound realistic is essential …

‘Chaotic’ Asian Games threaten Japan hopes of hosting Olympics again

‘Chaotic’ Asian Games threaten Japan hopes of hosting Olympics again

Published by Sam Flores

“HARSH CITICISM” Hirokazu Arai, a professor specialising in sports psychology, told AFP that Japan may struggle to escape the shadow of the Asian Games for some time to come. “If Japan were to bid for the Olympics again, trust in Japan may have fallen and it might be harder to win a bid,” he said. “And within Japan, people may take the view that if these kinds of things are going to happen, we don’t need the Olympics.” Many in Japan have questioned the value of hosting major sporting events as they grapple with the fallout from the graft-stained and pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics. Cost overruns, corruption and COVID-19 all tainted the public’s memory of the Games, which took place largely behind closed doors in 2021, a year later than planned. Japan was praised by some, however, for getting the Games on in unprecedented circumstances. The country subsequently dropped the idea of hosting the Winter Olympics in the northern city of Sapporo because of a lack of public support. Hashimoto, who also served as president of …

Monster Mayhem Rules in Thrilling Sequel

Monster Mayhem Rules in Thrilling Sequel

Published by Daniella Wilson

Writer, director and VFX wizard Takashi Yamazaki three years ago reinvigorated Japanese production titan Toho’s seven-decade kaiju franchise with Godzilla Minus One, which delivered amply on monster mayhem with sophisticated (and Oscar-winning) effects, but perhaps more importantly, grounded the creature feature in affecting humanistic drama. By dividing the film’s attention between mass destruction and the raw pain of post-WWII trauma, reconstruction and societal reintegration — not to mention the atomic allegory — Yamazaki boldly reimagined the property while honoring the roots of the series’ 1954 original. That same meticulously balanced duality is evident in the director’s approach to the scaled-up sequel, Godzilla Minus Zero, an equally thrilling jolt of marauding monster action anchored by tender themes of family, friendship, camaraderie and personal courage. These are characters about whom we come to care deeply, and Yamazaki trusts his audience to know the value of time spent observing human relationships, ennobling the horror with tangible emotional stakes. Following its world premiere at the New York Film Festival, GKIDS will release the film in the U.S. Nov. 6. …

Japan Breaks The ‘Debt Causes Inflation’ Narrative

Japan Breaks The ‘Debt Causes Inflation’ Narrative

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by Michael Lebowitz via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, A dollar today buys nearly twice as many Japanese yen as it did fifteen years ago. Crude oil, in yen terms, is up roughly 70% year to date. Food prices are similarly elevated. Japan imports most of the energy and much of the food it consumes, paying for it in dollars that keep getting more expensive. Those facts alone should lead us to conclude Japan has an inflation problem. As if those factors weren’t enough, add their debt overhang, with the narrative that mounting government debt is inflationary. If that logic holds in the US, it should apply with even more force in Japan, where government debt is nearly double ours as a share of the economy, and where the yen carries none of the dollar’s reserve-currency privilege to cushion its borrowing needs. A collapsing currency, heavy import dependence, and the developed world’s heaviest debt load. Surely that’s a recipe for an inflation crisis. Instead, Japan’s latest data shows headline CPI at 1.9% and core at 1.7%, both below …

Takashi Miike’s Iffy Franchise Entry

Takashi Miike’s Iffy Franchise Entry

Published by Daniella Wilson

The first in a planned series of international sequels, Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo gets things off to a mostly inauspicious start, despite enlisting the magnetic Shun Oguri as the latest incarnation of the seedy, morally hollow detective to whom the films owe their title. It’s closer in terms of plot machinations to Abel Ferrara’s 1992 original with Harvey Keitel than to Werner Herzog’s wildly eccentric 2009 follow-up, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, a snug fit for Nicolas Cage’s gonzo extremes. But that doesn’t mean the choppy narrative ever gathers much steam. What’s surprising is that prolific Japanese cult director Takashi Miike, known for explosions of operatic violence, gore and perversion in breakthrough films like Auditon and Ichi the Killer, delivers a franchise entry that aspires to be a hardboiled crime thriller but lacks the electricity to build suspense or even tension. While devout Miike-heads might feel sated by the one or two amped-up set pieces and the characteristic strain of dark humor, this is by far the weakest of the three Bad Lieutenants. Bad …

Bank of Japan raises interest rates to 31-year high

Bank of Japan raises interest rates to 31-year high

Published by Sam Flores

TOKYO, Sept 18 : The Bank of Japan raised interest rates to a 31-year high on Friday and signalled its readiness to keep pushing up borrowing costs, joining other major central banks in fighting persistent inflation pressures driven by soaring oil costs. The widely expected move, which was the first hike in three months, takes interest rates closer to levels the BOJ deems neutral to the economy, marking another step away from decades of ultra-low rates that cemented the yen’s status as a cheap global funding currency. It follows rate hikes by its European and US peers, highlighting central banks’ focus on global inflation risks caused by the Iran war-induced energy cost spike, expansionary fiscal policies and surging demand for AI investment. At the two-day meeting ending on Friday, the BOJ raised its policy rate to 1.25 per cent from 1 per cent by a 7-2 vote. Dovish board members Toichiro Asada and Ayano Sato dissented to the decision. “Wholesale inflation remains elevated and price pressures from business-to-business trading has started to spill over into …

Emma D’Arcy Just Brought This Japanese Menswear Darling to Its First Red Carpet

Emma D’Arcy Just Brought This Japanese Menswear Darling to Its First Red Carpet

Published by Jenni Sidey

“What’s always interesting with Emma is that they tend to do things that other people aren’t doing,” says stylist Rose Forde. The Emma that Forde is referring to is her client, House of the Dragon star Emma D’Arcy. At the Emmys, instead of going the standard route with a big-name fashion house, they wore a louche, flowy suit from the rising Japanese menswear label Soshiotsuki. “We work with some of the biggest luxury houses for Emma, but we’re not always led by that,” Forde explains. “Emma always wants to champion new, interesting perspectives.” Kevin Mazur/Getty Images If you’re plugged into menswear circles, you’ve probably heard of Soshiotsuki. Despite the Emmys marking the brand’s red carpet debut, founder Soshi Otsuki has become one of the most critically acclaimed designers in recent memory for his distinctive, genre-bending tailoring that calls to mind both ’80s-era Japanese salarymen and ’90s Giorgio Armani. Last September, Otsuki was awarded the prestigious LVMH prize. “I think they needed to trust that our intentions were going to fit theirs,” says Forde, about the …

Eight Must-See Islands for Art Lovers

Eight Must-See Islands for Art Lovers

Published by Jenni Sidey

No work, no chores, no stress. . . A far-flung island may be the perfect place to hide from day-to-day responsibilities. If you’re an art lover looking to get away, but lazing in the sun with an exotic drink isn’t quite your style, you will be happy to know that there are some destinations—from the Seto Inland Sea to the Mediterranean, designed to quench your thirst for culture and contemplation. Below, a look at eight islands around the world that are certain to please art aficionados. Source link