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Hollywood blockbusters took over the movie industry in the 20th century, but Kitano Takeshi became the leading Japanese film director. He rose in the international movie world and lead the Japanese movie industry to a new heights in the current decade. In this century, Hollywood has created many remakes of original Japanese horror movies. Popular ones include The Ring (Ringu 1998), Tinseltown (2002), and The Grudge (Juon 2003)

Just like the United States, japanese fashion changes from time to time. Japanese men and women still wear kimonos when they have traditional events. Japanese business men and women wear suits and in their casual time they wear jeans and t shirts. Fashion is more extreme in Tokyo and Kyoto.

Anheuser-Busch's sexy "Bud Girls" commercials aren't successful in raising Japanese sales because they're unrealistic in the Japanese culture.

This page link is about the history of Japanese music. It speaks of the most prominent musical artists of a few time periods before the present. The info pertaining to these artists refers to their backgrounds and how they started and became popular. It also mentions a few of the most popular styles of music during those periods.

Japanese musics past 1990 has lessened the the focus on traditional orchestrations of imi uta, and other older types of Japanese music. The country and its emerging musicians from younger generations have developed more technologically produced work, like the digitally composed genre dubbed "J-Pop", which combines catchy, computerized rhythms with lyrics applicable to other aspects of entertainment in Japan, like the production of anime.

The Japanese journalist, Takeharu Watai, produced "Little Birds" in 2005. This documentary is based on the Iraq war, from the point of view of the people who live in Baghdad. Watai was suggested to display the film to Congress and the President. Because it is spoken through a different perspective, rather than US soldiers, strong American nationalists are open to a different view of the war. Akihiro Nonaka, a representative of Asia Press International,said, "'Growth in antiwar momentum in the United States contributed to realizing the screenings of 'Little Birds' there'" (qtd. in Asia Media Archives par. 12). Since his documentary became an international hit, Watai was urged to make a sequel.

Japanese pop (or J-pop) is greatly influenced by the Western world. The term is widely used in Japan to describe many different musical genres including pop, rock, dance, rap, and soul. J-pop's history is heavily influenced by the jazz music during the early Showa period. After the Imperial Army halt of the performance of jazz music during World War II, new musical styles flooded into the country when the US soldiers occupied the country. Different types of styles came through since then, including rock-and-roll, City Pop, New Music, and R&B. Currently, R&B and Hip Hop influences in Japanese music are the strongest ever.

This sheds some light on the Rock scene in Japan. You would never have thought that in Japan people listen to rock. This site offers some background info on when and how Japanese Rock started and how it developed over the years.

Echoing Japan's progress in the 197O's, the film industry is under a bust. Compared to the box office sales in 2008, 2009 seems to be foreshadowing a decline and an economy repression. It was surprising to find out that foreign movies are in a decline in sales as well. The industry's progress already prompted Distributors Wise Policy and Movie-Eye Entertainment to cancel their pieces of works midway through. Japan is also insisted on investing into making 3-D films because critics say that it would prove to be beneficial.

Considered a "landmark book, playing a pivotal role in defining discussions of modernity in..." Japanese literature. Composed by Japanese writer, Karatani Kojin. "In his analysis, such familiar terms as "origin, modern, literature, " and "the state" reveal themselves to be ideological constructs." Seems a must read. Preview of text is available on Google books, along with overview and book reviews.

Japan is considered one of the cornerstones of the fashion industry. They have different styles, like street wear, formal wear, "fringe" styles, and more! Even Paris Hilton, Victoria Beckham, and Beyonce have all promoted some of their products.

This page discusses the fall and rebirth of the Japanese film industry in modern times. The industry fell in the nineties, where Japan faced the biggest drop ever. The rebirth was due to increased funding from television companies and others, as well as the rise of talented new directors and actors, the opening of multiplex theaters, and the decline in quality of a lot of Hollywood films.

This article has more history on Japanese Pop\n

The majority of their "fashion majors" are women in their 20s. Their biggest concern now is color. "Japanese fashion today is all about adding color." Some of their latest fashions can be seen as "bizarre." Although some don't appreciate the new styles and colors of the fashion, there are others that show lots of enthusiasm in the clothes they wear. I guess it all depends on personality!

This website has numerous speeches and statements by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama about different situations that deal with the Japanese government.

This blog shares various forms of modern day Japanese advertising.

Contrasting the other article on modern Japanese music, there are some musical traditionalists who honor the cultural styles that were prevalent decades before. However, instead of using the same instruments passed down several generations, there seems to be an emergence of Western, orchestral and symphonic instruments being thrown into the ensemble, offering a richer sound that has been prized at annual music festivals. This is an expression of tradition being honored, but also "upgraded" with the assimilation of other voices in the music.

This article talks about Daisuke Takahashi and both his failures and his accomplishments. He is a Japanese ice skater who recent took the bronze medal in the Olympics. The years 2008-2009 weren't his best of times because of injuries and low placing at different competitions. His recent win at the Olympics has been the highlight of his career and things are looking much better for him now. He is now known as the first man to earn an Olympic medal for Japan.