An Asahi Shimbun poll released today showed that government support remains steady at around 62%, with voters generally happy with the efforts of the new government so far. Perhaps the most startling result of the November 14 and 15 poll was that only 16% of respondents said that the Cabinet should [...]

The Emperor of Japan marked 20 years on the throne on Thursday, and was greeted by tens of thousands at a private ceremony at the Imperial Palace. The Imperial Household is a very complex issue, especially in light of the vastly divergent views of Emperor Akihito’s father, the man that presided over some of Japan’s [...]

Japanese Box Office: Nov 7 to Nov 13

(Rank, Movie Name, Weekend Box Office (US$), Cume (US$) (Note: US$1=90.91 yen))

1. Michael Jackson’s This Is It, $3,933,319, $23,521,522

2. I Give My First Love to You, $2,098,940, $14,433,498

3. The Sun That Never Sets, $1,785,603, $16,167,125

4. Fresh Pretty Cure the Movie: The Kingdom of [...]

Oricon Singles Chart for the Week of Nov 2 – Nov 8:

(Rank, Artist, Song Name, No. of Units, Last week, Purchase Info.)

1. Kanjani 8, Kyujo Show!!, 271,516, NEW BUY

2. Yusuke, Icho, 109,719, NEW BUY

3. fripSide, only my railgun, 25,714, NEW BUY

4. BIGBANG,

Oricon Chart for Week of Nov 2 – Nov 8:

(Rank, Artist, Album Name, No. of Units, Last Week, Purchase Info.)

1. Bon Jovi, The Circle, 67,197, NEW BUY: JAPAN / OVERSEAS

2. Michael Jackson, This Is It, 66,657, 1 BUY: JAPAN / OVERSEAS

3. Sukima Switch, Nayuta to Fukashigi, 46,384, NEW [...]

Here are the top 10 non-news programs for the week of November 2 – November 8:

Week of Nov 2 to Nov 8

(Program, Channel, Time & Date, Rating)

1. Variety: Sho-ten, NTV, 17:30-18:00, Nov 8, 23.7

2. Drama: Tenchijin, NHK, 20:00-20:45, Nov 8, 22.2

3. Sport: 2009 Pro Baseball Japan Series Game 6, Asahi, 18:00-21:34, Nov 7, 21.6

4. Variety: [...]

Japanese Box Office: Oct 31 to Nov 6

(Rank, Movie Name, Weekend Box Office (US$), Cume (US$) (Note: US$1=91.74 yen))

1. Michael Jackson’s This Is It, $5,740,869, $10,321,821

2. The Sun That Never Sets, $3,046,190, $10,084,261

3. I Give My First Love to You, $2,763,159, $8,686,588

4. Fresh Pretty Cure the Movie: The Kingdom of [...]

I’ve been down with a persistent flu over the last couple of weeks, thus the scarcity of original articles here for a while. I’ve fallen a little behind with the ratings and rankings as well, which I should be able to fix and catch up with later today. My aim with this blog is to [...]

A little late this week, but here are the top 10 non-news programs for the week of October 26 – November 1:

Week of Oct 26 to Nov 1

(Program, Channel, Time & Date, Rating)

1. Variety: Sho-ten, NTV, 17:30-18:00, Nov 1, 27.1

1. Variety: Nep League, Fuji, 19:00-19:54, Oct 26, 24.5

3. Variety: Odoroki no Arashi SP, NTV, 19:00-20:54, [...]

The Japan Times has a poignant and heartbreaking article by an anonymous author, as he discusses his intensely personal trials as a foreign father in Japan whose wife has lost interest in their marriage. This article should be a must read for any man that is considering getting married or [...]