Japan's life-size 18m Gundam statue can move (a little)
Besides Fila apparel capsules, the 40th anniversary of Gundam is also being celebrated with a life-size, moving statue. While it won't go on display for the public until later this yea…
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Recent articles — page 89
Browse recent articles in the Akihabara archive.
When Imitation is Not Flattery: Copyright Tactics in the Digital Age | TABlog | Tokyo Art Beat
“Congratulations on your new collaboration!”Imagine that you are an American artist who uses sticky notes in your artistic practice. In many countries, including the U.S. and Japan, copyright pr…
Working Timeline of 5G in Japan
2015March: NTT DoCoMo announces that it will conduct a three-way 5G technical collaboration with China Mobile Communications Corporation and KT Corporation. Huawei and Mitsubishi Electric a…
Japan's public broadcaster sets its 8K schedule for the Tokyo Olympics
The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic games are still on schedule to take place this summer, and Japan's public broadcaster has been planning for years to make sure its an 8K showcase event. Spe…
Japan prefecture to stop hiring female 'tea squad' for meetings
A local government assembly is attempting to shake up Japan’s conservative workplace culture by ending the custom of employing women to serve tea at meetings. Few official gatherings in Japan ha…
Wild and Mythical New Bricolage Paintings by Yusuke Asai
Installation view at Wulong Lanba Art Festival, ChinaBorn in Tokyo in 1981, the artist Yusuke Asai (previously) continues to travel the world, creating wild and unrestrained art with whatever canvas …
What the kimono's wide-reaching influence tells us about cultural appropriation
Allyssia Alleyne , CNN Written byRecently, the conversation around cultural appropriation in fashion has been unavoidable. They were the antithesis of the garments that defined European fashion,…
The Sake Master Reviving a Long-Forgotten Local Rice
Every year for decades, scientists at the Hiroshima Prefectural Agriculture Gene Bank have planted a small patch of hattanso rice. Hiroshima’s rice fields are fecund with Hattanso’s descendants,…
Hideo Kojima’s Strange, Unforgettable Video-Game Worlds
In Death Stranding, you assume the role of Sam Porter Bridges (Reedus), a delivery man working in a postapocalyptic America that has dissolved into scattered communities in underground bunkers and ci…
Japan’s intriguing love of paper
Transaction charges and a lack of customer demand mean few shops in his area accept cashless payments, he says. Part of the reason it’s so stubbornly prevalent, he thinks, is Japan’s tradition o…