Designers at Japan Fashion Week target growing Asian market
Reuters -- Mar 19
From a phoenix-themed collection by a Japanese designer who has clothed Lady Gaga to touches of traditional Mongolian decorations, designers showing at Japan Fashion Week set their sights firmly on Asia and its huge market.
Chinese consumers have become the world's leading buyers of luxury goods and account for one quarter of this market globally with demand growing, according to a report by consulting firm Bain & Co.
The fashion extravaganza showcasing the autumn and winter collections of 2013/14 kicked off at the weekend but Japanese brands took to the stage on Monday with Masanori Morikawa and his self-directed label, "Christian Dada".
Morikawa has created several pieces for American pop star Lady Gaga including a pink dress reminiscent of an origami crane for her 2012 "Born This Way Ball" tour.
This time he turned to Asia for inspiration with an edgy, androgynous collection titled "Fenghuang," which is Chinese for the mythical bird phoenix, pairing long, loose pants with richly embroidered lace on shirt sleeves for men and women.
Leather pants and jackets mingled with down-paneled trousers and shirts in plain, solid colors of black, white, red, blue and gold, which Morikawa said represented the nature of the phoenix.
The euro zone came under pressure from other rich economies on Monday to press on with a banking union and Japan was urged to follow up on massive central bank stimulus with structural reforms and measures to tackle its budget deficit. (Reuters )
Japanese cabinet ministers welcomed the Group of Eight summit's stance on Tokyo's sweeping stimulus policies as a vote of confidence in the government's strategy to end 15 years of entrenched deflation and revive a lackluster economy. (Reuters )
Tokyo District Court decided on Monday to open planned examinations of three witnesses who are former senior members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult and now death-row inmates, during an upcoming trial of another former senior Aum member. (Jiji Press )
Police said Monday that eight people were arrested in Tokyo's Okubo district on Sunday after two groups clashed over recent outbursts of anti-Korean hate speech in Tokyo. (Japan Today )
Police said Monday they have arrested a 64-year-old woman in connection with the murder of her 59-year-old partner in Seki, Gifu Prefecture. (Japan Today )
Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Monday announced the bust of a massage parlor in the Gotanda area of Shinagawa Ward on charges of prostitution. (Tokyo Reporter )
Saitama Prefectural Police on Monday announced the arrest of 31 suspects connected with special criminal groups for violent incidents that took place earlier this year. (Tokyo Reporter )
Tokyo Metropolitan Police last week arrested the manager of a beauty products company that defrauded women recruited on the social-networking site Mixi. (Tokyo Reporter)
The Japanese word "choju," meaning longevity, implies, with its kanji, joyous celebration of long life. Intrinsically, it is a joyful thing for people to live long. But if a society has many people who age in solitude, isolated from their families and local communities, it cannot be called choju. It should rather be called "roka shakai," or a society that weakens as it ages. (Yomiuri )
Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito has ended his official visit to Spain after a trip to a Christian pilgrimage site in the northwest. His visit marked the 400th anniversary of relations between the 2 countries. (NHK )
Police said Sunday they have arrested two men who allegedly pushed a 43-year-old man off the platform onto the tracks on Saturday morning at JR Oimachi Station in Tokyo. (Japan Today )
Police have arrested a 28-year-old man has been arrested for providing a service that illegally put high school girls in contact with men for the purpose of prostitution. (Japan Today )
Osaka Prefectural Police on Friday busted a transvestite in bar in Minami Ward for operating illegally. At 11:15 p.m., officers took Anna Ueda, 34, the manager of club Chu-, into custody for violating the Law Regulating Adult Entertainment Businesses after discovering two employees serving one customer alcohol and food. The club did not have a license to provide such services. (Tokyo Reporter)
The euro zone came under pressure from other rich economies on Monday to press on with a banking union and Japan was urged to follow up on massive central bank stimulus with structural reforms and measures to tackle its budget deficit. (Reuters 
) 
Japanese cabinet ministers welcomed the Group of Eight summit's stance on Tokyo's sweeping stimulus policies as a vote of confidence in the government's strategy to end 15 years of entrenched deflation and revive a lackluster economy. (Reuters 
Tokyo District Court decided on Monday to open planned examinations of three witnesses who are former senior members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult and now death-row inmates, during an upcoming trial of another former senior Aum member. (Jiji Press 
A black-rind watermelon grown in Hokkaido drew a ¥300,000 bid Monday in the year's first watermelon auction. (Japan Times 
Police said Monday that eight people were arrested in Tokyo's Okubo district on Sunday after two groups clashed over recent outbursts of anti-Korean hate speech in Tokyo. (Japan Today 
Police said Monday they have arrested a 64-year-old woman in connection with the murder of her 59-year-old partner in Seki, Gifu Prefecture. (Japan Today 
Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Monday announced the bust of a massage parlor in the Gotanda area of Shinagawa Ward on charges of prostitution. (Tokyo Reporter 
Saitama Prefectural Police on Monday announced the arrest of 31 suspects connected with special criminal groups for violent incidents that took place earlier this year. (Tokyo Reporter 
Four people were injured in a series of attacks by at least two bears on Saturday and Sunday in Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture. (Japan Today 
Tokyo Metropolitan Police last week arrested the manager of a beauty products company that defrauded women recruited on the social-networking site Mixi. (Tokyo Reporter) 
The Japanese word "choju," meaning longevity, implies, with its kanji, joyous celebration of long life. Intrinsically, it is a joyful thing for people to live long. But if a society has many people who age in solitude, isolated from their families and local communities, it cannot be called choju. It should rather be called "roka shakai," or a society that weakens as it ages. (Yomiuri 
Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito has ended his official visit to Spain after a trip to a Christian pilgrimage site in the northwest. His visit marked the 400th anniversary of relations between the 2 countries. (NHK 
Police said Sunday they have arrested two men who allegedly pushed a 43-year-old man off the platform onto the tracks on Saturday morning at JR Oimachi Station in Tokyo. (Japan Today 
Police have arrested a 28-year-old man has been arrested for providing a service that illegally put high school girls in contact with men for the purpose of prostitution. (Japan Today 
Osaka Prefectural Police on Friday busted a transvestite in bar in Minami Ward for operating illegally. At 11:15 p.m., officers took Anna Ueda, 34, the manager of club Chu-, into custody for violating the Law Regulating Adult Entertainment Businesses after discovering two employees serving one customer alcohol and food. The club did not have a license to provide such services. (Tokyo Reporter) 