Author: Hersey Shiga

PEOPLE Years ago, I used to hang out with world-renowned conductor Seiji Ozawa, but I hadn’t seen him for a long time….

PEOPLE Moving on, I’d like to thank a lot of really good people for their hospital visits and support. These included a…

PEOPLE Nobody likes health problems, but let’s face it. They’re all a part of life. Needless to say, I’ve had my share…

PEOPLE Paramount brought in director Martin Scorsese and actor Leonardo DiCaprio to promote The Wolf of Wall Street and Warner Brothers had…

PEOPLE GRAND HYATT’S SAYONARA CHRISTOPHE, WELCOME ANTONIOThe most rewarding thing about writing this column is getting to meet and know so many…

PEOPLE Ran into Indonesian Ambassador Muhammad Lufti and his Austrian wife, Bianca, in the Ritz Carlton Hotel lobby recently and was really…

PEOPLE Min-On Brings Cuba to Japan “Oops They Did It Again.” As I mentioned before, Soka Gakkai’s Min-On concert association is a…

PEOPLE After 8 years in Japan, British Air’s Vishal Sinha and his family have relocated to New Delhi where he’ll continue as…

PEOPLE Infinity Memorial for Kazuo Ogawa On May 1st, 2011, so many of us lost a wonderful friend, world renowned jewelry designer…

PEOPLE It was really great seeing beautiful and dynamic Australian model Miranda Kerr, who took time out of her almost non-stop working…

PEOPLE Forum for Sarah Brightman’s “Dreamchaser” concert tour. Her ex-husband Andrew Lloyd Webber (Evita, Phantom of the Opera, etc.) is right on…

PEOPLE Paramount’s GI Joe PromotionKorean Superstar Byung-Hun Lee was in Japan with top Korean Director John M. Chu to promote the SF/Martial…

PEOPLE Toko Shinoda’s 100th birthday celebrations Toko Shinoda, Japan’s Grande Dame of beautiful Abstract Expressionism was honored with two gatherings last month…

PEOPLE Catching up with Joel Schumacher “My life’s an open book,” Joel said, starting proceedings at an open table with journalists outside…

PEOPLE Film/Music Celebs in TownThe number of Hollywood stars visiting Japan really dropped after the 3/11 tsunami/earthquake. I’m happy to report they…

PEOPLE As always at this time of the year, there were a lot of special TV shows. Our British friends continue to…

PEOPLE Firstly, Happy New Year and my sincerest best wishes that 2013, the year of the snake, is a really good one…

PEOPLE Just got a postcard from friends and former Tokyoites Ron and Maria Anderson, who were traveling in Asia. After 10 years in…

PEOPLE It was a sporty couple of weeks after I spent considerable time with many Formula One drivers before their race on…

PEOPLE I’d like to say so long to one of our fellow passengers, Hilton Hotels’ Oded Lifschitz. After six years in Japan…

PEOPLE Sad to hear that Christian Hassing, GM of the Mandarin Oriental will be leaving soon after eight years here. His new…