Mark Tasker

Mark Tasker16.07.2020

Yuriko Koike was elected for a second term as Tokyo Governor on the 5th of July under the strangest of circumstances. Whether you see it as fortuitous timing, adept media management, or skillful political manipulation will depend greatly on your political leanings, but one thing is for sure — there was only one candidate in […]

Mark Tasker23.06.2020

There is a scene near the end of Hirokazu Koreeda’s Shoplifters where the film’s ragtag band of outcasts decamp to the seaside. It is not explained which beach they visit, but it’s fair to speculate it is either Chiba, Izu or Shonan, the most popular areas for Tokyo’s daytrippers. It is the first-time we see […]

Mark Tasker08.06.2020

Yakushima (屋久島) is undoubtedly best-known to modern visitors through its connection with the 1997 Hayao Miyazaki animated film, Princess Mononoke. He visited the island for inspiration for his historical fantasy film and its environmental message is stark and affecting — a warning to a modern generation teetering on the edge of climate Armageddon. The beauty […]

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Mark Tasker

Koike 2020: Masking a disaster

Kamakura: a Lightness of Being

Yakushima: Walking With Miyazaki

The End of an Era

Coming Face to Face with Terrorism in the Russian Empire

What Beliefs Does the Orthodox Church Have About Birth Control?

On the Birthday of Leonid Brezhnev