His Holiness the Dalai Lama

The 14th Dalai Lama Celebrates 80th Birthday at the World Compassion Summit in Anaheim, California

BORN to a peasant family in northeastern Tibet in 1935, Lhamo Thondup was only two years old when he was recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama and renamed Tenzin Gyatso (shortened from Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso). From childhood, he was trained as a monk, and as a teenager, he became the head on Tibetan government in their fight against the occupying forces of the People's Republic of China. He has been the leader of the Tibetan government in exile since he fled to India in 1959. He has traveled the world to speak about peace, the welfare of Tibetans, the environment, Buddhism and science, women's rights and economics. In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet and became the first Nobel Laureate to be recognized for his concern for global environmental problems. From July 5-7, 2015, hundreds of well-wishers attended the three-day Global Compassion Summit to mark the spiritual leader's 80th birthday at the Anaheim Honda Center and the University of California, Irvine in Orange County, California. Special guests at the event included politicians, academics and celebrities who joined His Holiness for discussions related to global compassion, creativity and the arts, youth leadership and climate change. Tokyo Journal Executive Editor Dr. Anthony Al-Jamie spoke with a number of these special guests about peace, compassion and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. tj

Photograph by Kevin Baldes

The Beach Boys

America's Most Iconic Band's Mike Love Still Having Fun, Fun, Fun After Five Decades

As one of the most iconic pop-rock bands of the '60s, the Beach Boys' vocal harmonies are among the most unmistakable, innovative and enduring in the history of rock and roll. They were the only group able to challenge the Beatles' success in terms of their overall impact on the Top 40. The Beach Boys had over 80 songs chart worldwide, including 36 U.S. Top 40 hits, which is the most by any American rock band. Four songs reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The GRAMMY Award-winning group is one of the world's best-selling bands of all time, with worldwide sales exceeding 100 million records. Rolling Stone magazine listed them as the 12th greatest artist of all time in 2004. The California quintet's original lineup ー consisting of the Wilson brothers, Brian, Dennis and Carl, as well as their cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine ー was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. The group's lineup has changed over the years and two of the Wilson brothers have passed away, but in 2012, for the band's 50th anniversary, all of the surviving members briefly reunited for a new studio album and world tour. The Beach Boys are no strangers to Japan, having first performed in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto and Fukuoka in 1966. A look at the back cover of their 1966 album, Pet Sounds, reveals photos of the group in Kyoto, outfitted in traditional samurai costumes. Half a century later, the current lineup of the Beach Boys not only returned to perform six concerts at the new venue, Billboard Live Tokyo, but they also performed for the first time ever in Seoul, South Korea. Tokyo Journal Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie talked to original member, singer, songwriter and activist, Mike Love, about the band's legendary career, his love for transcendental meditation and his fondness for Japan.

CNN News Anchor Don Lemon

Breaking the News to the World

Don Lemon is the anchor of the weekday primetime show CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, as well as a correspondent for CNN's U.S. programming. After joining CNN in September 2006, Lemon has reported and anchored on-the-scene from many breaking news stories, including the inauguration of President Barack Obama, the deaths of Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston, the Sandy Hook Elementary School and Colorado eater shootings, the Boston Marathon bombing, the George Zimmerman trial, and the shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. He has also anchored the network's breaking news coverage of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the Arab Spring and the death of Osama Bin Laden. He earned a degree in broadcast journalism from Brooklyn College and also attended Louisiana State University, beginning his career at WNYW in New York City as a news assistant while still in college. In 2011, he released his memoir, Transparent, in which he discusses how he suffered from abuse, homophobia, racism and discrimination as a young child. Ebony named him one of the most influential blacks in America in 2009 and he has won multiple awards, including an Edward R. Murrow Award and an Emmy Award. Tokyo Journal Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie talked to Don Lemon about his career and outlook on journalism.

Nobel Prize Laureate Takaaki Kajita

Resolving the Neutrino Puzzle

The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded jointly to Japanese scientist Dr. Takaaki Kajita and Canadian scientist Arthur B. McDonald for the “discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass.” Modern physics uses the Standard Model, which defines three differerent types, or “flavors,” of a very small, elusive particle called the neutrino. In 1998, Dr. Takaaki Kajita detected neutrinos that were created in reactions between cosmic rays and the Earth’s atmosphere inside the Super-Kamiokande detector, an experimental facility in a Japanese mine. Measurements showed deviations, which were explained by the neutrinos switching between the differerent “flavors.” This is ultimately meant that neutrinos must have mass. As the Standard Model is based on the theory that neutrinos lack mass, this research meant that the model must be revised. Dr. Kajita was born in 1959. In 1981, he started his scientific career in the graduate program at the University of Tokyo, where he received his Ph.D. in physics in 1986. After graduating, he began working at the University of Tokyo’s International Center for Elementary Particle Physics. In 1988, he moved to the University of Tokyo’s Institute for Cosmic Ray Research and has served as its director since 2008. Tokyo Journal Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie talked to Dr. Takaaki Kajita about his contributions to the eld of physics.

Former Heavyweight Champion George Foreman on Muhammad Ali

From Fighting to Peace and Compassion

On June 3, 2016, Muhammad Ali, three-time heavyweight champion and one of the most significant and renowned sports figures of the 20th century, passed away at the age of 74 after a long ght against Parkinson’s syndrome. The self-proclaimed greatest boxer of all time, famous for his ability to “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee” in the ring, was also known for his efforts to promote peace and compassion outside the ring. His 1967 stand against the Vietnam War transcended the realms of faith and politics and resulted in Ali being arrested, found guilty of draft evasion charges and stripped of his boxing titles. However, he successfully appealed in the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned his conviction in 1971. After retiring, he devoted his life to charitable work by promoting world peace and condemning bigotry — two things that all faiths could relate to. He met with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and successfully negotiated the release of American hostages, served as a United Nations Messenger of Peace in Afghanistan, walked with Malcolm X, exchanged jokes with the Dalai Lama and lit the torch opening the 1996 Olympics.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough for Marin Miyamiya

Japan's Youngest Mountaineer to Conquer Mount Everest and the World's Seven Summits

While most Japanese university students spend their time wondering what part-time job to get or preparing for exams, Marin Minamiya, a political economy student at Tokyo's elite Waseda University, is testing her physical, mental and emotional boundaries while also breaking world records. On October 1, 2015, the 18-year-old became the world's youngest female to successfully ascend the world's eighth highest peak, Mount Manaslu in Nepal. She also became the youngest Japanese person to successfully climb a peak above 8,000 meters. By March 2016, she had already skied to the South Pole, climbed the highest peaks in Antarctica (Vinson Massif ), the Australian continent (Carstensz Pyramid) and Russia (Mount Elbrus). In May 2016, she became Japan's youngest to conquer Mount Everest and since then climbed North America's highest peak, Mt. Denali, becoming Japan's youngest to complete the Seven Summits ー the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. Just prior to her Mount Everest expedition, Tokyo Journal Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie talked with Marin Minamiya about the ups and downs of mountaineering and what lies ahead for the young adventurer.

Sumire Matsubara

Rising Star Returns to Her Japanese Roots

Simply known by her first name, Sumire Matsubara is a Japanese actress, singer, dancer and model. The daughter of entertainers Junichi Ishida and Chiaki Matsubara, Sumire moved to Honolulu, Hawaii at the age of seven after her parents’ divorce, as her mother wanted to shield Sumire from the press and start a new life. After her second year in the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Musical Theatre and Acting program at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Sumire returned to Tokyo to begin her career in the Japanese entertainment industry. Sumire has appeared in stage productions and on television throughout Japan, as well as in commercials, magazines and corporate events/parties. She also has begun appearing in U.S. television and film, including a guest role on the CBS drama Hawaii Five-0 as well as her upcoming Hollywood lm debut in The Shack, in which she will play the “Holy Spirit” alongside Sam Worthington and Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer. In 2015, she was the recipient of the Rising Star Award at the Asian World Film Festival. Tokyo Journal Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie met with Sumire to talk about her experiences with culture shock and her hopes to break stereotypes.

Charlotte Kate Fox

The American Dream in Japan

New Mexico native Charlotte Kate Fox made waves in Japan as the first non-Japanese heroine of the NHK television broadcaster's asadora [morning drama] series Massan (2014- 2015), taking on a challenging Japanese-language role with no prior Japanese experience. The role in the series, based on the Nikka Whisky Distilling Co.’s founder and his Scottish wife, made Fox a household name across Japan and launched her career in Japanese television, film, music and theater. Fox has also tackled roles back in the U.S., recently starring as Roxie Hart in Chicago on Broadway before touring with the international production to Japan. Tokyo Journal Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie sat down with Fox to talk about her experience living and working in Japan as well as her role in Chicago.

Designs Inspired by Vessels

In Japan, a “vessel” is a metaphorical term referring to the sheer size of a building, or even the heart of a person. Throughout my career, I’ve often created designs inspired by a “vessel.” This picture was taken at the Kyoto National Museum on October 9, 2015 at a Noh performance on the opening night of a fashion exhibition celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Rinpa school of Japanese painting. The costumes I designed were based on the Nishijin brocade, a traditional textile of Kyoto, and they were inspired by the “vessel” of the museum venue.

Categories

Japanese Entertainmant / Food in Japan / Japanese Pop Culture / Japan Travel