Keep your eyes out for the April issue of Tokyo Weekender magazine on the shelves around Tokyo—we hope you can pick your copy up soon, or stay tuned and read our features as we post them online during the month.
You can also get the full magazine through the Apple Newsstand, which will bring a native reading experience to the iPad, or through Magzster.
April 2015 Editor’s Note
Blink and you’ll miss it. Cherry blossom season has just arrived here in Tokyo, and with it another resetting of some of the city’s many calendars—financial and academic years are launched anew in the fourth month. It’s just one more reminder, if we ever really needed it, that time here sometimes runs a bit out of joint with the rest of the world.
Our cover story catches us up with a multitalented, polyglot actor who has set his sights on success not just in his native land, but on the global stage. You can see Dean Fujioka on the new US show “The Pinkertons,” but the Fukushima-born star also has a lot to say about a much more challenging role that he recently brought to the screen. We find out why Fujioka chose to take on the role of an infamous killer, and just what he thinks the Japanese entertainment industry could learn from its US counterpart.
Women’s professional wrestling in Japan may have picked up some of its initial tricks from international grapplers, but it is clear that it has long since outstripped anything else being done overseas. Joshi puroresu, as it’s known here, has a fascinating history and more than a few colorful characters who make action inside—and outside—the ring interesting.
Although taking off from Tokyo in the heart of sakura season is the last thing on our minds, the conversation we had with Club Med Japan’s CEO Mori Seguchi had us eyeing a trip to one of the country’s two resorts—or their five-star flagship on the Maldives—for the coming Golden Week holidays.
And finally, lest we be dazzled by the brief show of pinks around town, let’s not forget about the dark-suited salarymen who provide Tokyo with its usual hues, muted as they may be. Photographer Bruno Quinquet has been capturing the city’s corporate workers in a fascinating series of images over the years, and his pictures just might give you another perspective on the inner lives of these fellows we often take for granted.
Until next time—kampai!—and see you around town.
Image: © Bruno Quinquet
