Japanese brand ASICS and SNKR, one of AAW brands, host creative workshops at The Avenues
The workshop offered two immersive experiences: a hands-on sneaker customization session led by artist Abrar Zenkawi, where guests had the chance to design their pair in their unique style, followed by a Master the Art of Matcha session—an engaging activation where participants learned the craft of making matcha with the expert team at Match Matcha. These sessions were designed to encourage participants not just to move their bodies, but to "move their minds"—reflecting ASICS' expanded mission of inspiring mental creativity alongside physical movement.
SNKR Store, operated by Ali Abdulwahab Al-Mutawa Commercial Co. (AAW), has been a specialty sneaker destination in Kuwait since 2012. It is known for curating exclusive and limited-edition footwear from global brands. As a brand that thrives on blending fashion, functionality, and community, SNKR continues to push boundaries through unique brand collaborations, which reflect its commitment to transforming retail spaces into hubs of creativity and personal expression.
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Kuwait Times
5 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Japanese star convicted of indecent assault in Hong Kong
Japanese actor Kenshin Kamimura arrives at the West Kowloon law courts for the verdict in his sexual assault case in Hong Kong.--AFP photos A Hong Kong court on Wednesday found J-pop artist Kenshin Kamimura guilty of indecent assault after he harassed a woman working as his interpreter at a restaurant earlier this year. Kamimura, 26, is a former member of the boy band ONE N'ONLY, which expelled him shortly after the allegation. Fans queued to get into court for hours before the hearing, and some broke down in tears upon learning Kamimura had been convicted. The court heard Kamimura touched the woman's thighs multiple times despite her objections, and invited her to go to the bathroom with him. Magistrate Peter Yu found he had assaulted her, adding his behavior 'clearly shows disrespect for women'. The incident took place in March during a celebratory dinner, after a fan meet for which the woman had been working as an interpreter for Kamimura and others. The Japanese star was fined HK$15,000 ($1,900). Fans of J-pop idol Kenshin Kamimura wait outside the West Kowloon Law Courts in Hong Kong. Kamimura, who is also known as an actor in the Japanese drama 'Our Youth', hugged his court translator upon hearing he would be fined without facing jail time, media reports said. Kamimura got 'what he deserved', Yu said, adding that 'had the victim not refused to remain silent and courageously come forward, she would have suffered an unpleasant experience in silence'. But ardent fans inside and outside the court were in tears. Chan, a 30-year-old screenwriter and fan who gave only her last name, said she had come from northern China to watch the court session. She told AFP before the verdict that the trial has had a negative impact on Kamimura's image, and had incited 'public outbursts of vitriol against the artist'. — AFP
Arab Times
13-08-2025
- Arab Times
Japanese pop idol Kenshin Kamimura convicted of indecent assault but avoids jail in Hong Kong
HONG KONG, Aug 13, (AP): Japanese pop idol Kenshin Kamimura was found guilty of a charge of indecent assault on a female interpreter in a Hong Kong court on Wednesday before some emotional fans. Kamimura, a former member of a Japanese boy group named ONE N' ONLY, was arrested in the southern Chinese city in March. In the same month, his contract was terminated due to a serious compliance violation. In April, he pleaded not guilty. He allegedly touched the interpreter's thigh repeatedly during a celebratory dinner at a restaurant. During the trial last month, the interpreter testified through a live video link that Kamimura had invited her to a bathroom elsewhere. After she dismissed the request and told him she had a boyfriend, Kamimura continued to touch her thigh, she said. The defense argued the interpreter exaggerated her claims, and the alleged bathroom invitation might not have been based on improper motives. Judge Peter Yu handed down the conviction on Wednesday, saying Kamimura touched the interpreter in a caressing manner that implicitly carried a sexual undertone and had indecent intent. After the verdict was announced, a few of Kamimura's fans wept in the courtroom. But Kamimura looked relieved when the judge issued a fine of 15,000 Hong Kong dollars (about $1,900) and no prison term. The maximum penalty for the charge is 10 years of imprisonment. The singer's supporters, including some from Japan and mainland China, formed long lines inside the court building to secure a seat in the main courtroom before the hearing. Others from mainland China who attended said they were not fans but wanted to learn more about the case, especially after seeing criticism of the female interpreter online. University student Betty Zhong from the Chinese city of Shenzhen said she was not a Kamimura fan but had attended the court hearings in Hong Kong because a friend likes the J-pop idol and she wanted to know what happened. She said she was surprised Kamimura was charged during a visit to Hong Kong. "News reports are not so comprehensive. When I come here, I can understand it holistically and the explanations from both sides,' she said. Kamimura is also an actor who appeared in several TV dramas, including the boys' love series "Our Youth' and the popular drama "Ossan's Love Returns.'
Kuwait Times
12-08-2025
- Kuwait Times
Italian Brainrot: The AI memes only kids know
In a Japanese shop selling pocket-money trinkets, there is a rack of toys, stickers and keyrings based on a global crew of AI-generated characters that almost every child knows about -- and very few adults. A walking shark in oversized sneakers, an orange with muscular arms and a twirling 'Ballerina Cappuccina' with a mug for a head are among the strange stars of the online phenomenon called Italian Brainrot. 'At first it's not funny at all, but it kind of grows on you,' 16-year-old Yoshi Yamanaka-Nebesney from New York told AFP. 'You might use it to annoy someone and find that funny.' The name nods to the stupefying effect of scrolling through mindless social media posts, especially over-the-top images created with artificial intelligence tools. Shouty, crude and often nonsensical Italian voiceovers feature in many of the clips made by people in various countries that began to spread this year on platforms such as TikTok, embraced by young Gen Z and Gen Alpha members. The dozen-plus cartoonish AI creatures have fast become memes, inspiring a stream of new content such as 'Brainrot Rap', viewed 116 million times on YouTube. A YouTube Short titled 'Learn to Draw 5 Crazy Italian Brainrot Animals' -- including a cactus-elephant crossover named 'Lirili Larila' -- has also been watched 320 million times. 'There's a whole bunch of phrases that all these characters have,' said Yamanaka-Nebesney, in Tokyo with his mother Chinami, who had no idea what he was talking about. School-age Italian Brainrot fans can be found from Kenya to Spain and South Korea, while some of the most popular videos reference Indonesia's language and culture instead. 'I went on trips with my boys to Mexico' and people would 'crack jokes about it' there too, Yamanaka-Nebesney said. This photo illustration shows a small bag of novelty merchandise for the online phenomenon called Italian Brainrot, containing collectable cards and a small figure of Frulli Frulla (center), purchased from a shop in Tokyo. 'Melodic language' Internet trends move fast, and Italian Brainrot 'hit its peak maybe two months ago or a month ago', said Idil Galip, a University of Amsterdam lecturer in new media and digital culture. Italian -- a 'melodic language that has opportunities for jokes' -- has appeared in other memes before. And 'there are just so many people in Indonesia' sharing posts which have potential for global reach, Galip said. A 'multi-level marketing economy' has even emerged, with AI video-makers targeting Italian Brainrot's huge audience through online ads or merchandise sales, she added. Nurina, a 41-year-old Indonesian NGO worker, said her seven-year-old loves the mashed-up brainrot world. 'Sometimes when I pick him up from school, or when I'm working from home, he shouts, 'Mommy! Bombardino Crocodilo!'' -- a bomber plane character with a crocodile head. 'I know it's fun to watch,' said Nurina, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. 'I just need to make him understand that this is not real.' Some videos have been criticized for containing offensive messages that go over young viewers' heads, such as rambling references in Italian to 'Bombardino Crocodilo' bombing children in Gaza. 'The problem is that these characters are put into adult content' and 'many parents are not tech-savvy' enough to spot the dangers, warned Oriza Sativa, a Jakarta-based clinical psychologist. Tung Tung Tung Sahur The best-known Indonesian brainrot character 'Tung Tung Tung Sahur' resembles a long drum called a kentongan, which is used to wake people up for a pre-dawn meal, or sahur, during Ramadan. Indonesia has a young, digitally active population of around 280 million, and 'Tung Tung Tung Sahur' is not its only viral export. This summer, video footage -- not AI-generated -- of a sunglass-wearing boy dancing on a rowboat during a race at a western Indonesian festival also became an internet sensation. Noxa, the TikToker behind the original 'Tung Tung Tung Sahur' clip, is now represented by a Paris-based collective of artists, lawyers and researchers called Mementum Lab. 'Noxa is a content creator based in Indonesia. He's under 20,' they told AFP. 'He makes fast, overstimulated, AI-assisted videos.' 'He doesn't call himself a 'contemporary artist', but we think he's already acting like one,' said Mementum Lab, which is focused on complex emerging issues around AI intellectual property, and says it is helping Noxa negotiate deals for his work. Noxa, in comments provided by the collective, said the character was 'inspired by the sound of the sahur drum I used to hear'. 'I didn't want my character to be just another passing joke -- I wanted him to have meaning,' he said. Cultural nuances can be lost at a mass scale, however, with one 12-year-old tourist in Tokyo saying he thought 'Tung Tung Tung Sahur' was a baseball bat. And the generation gap looks set to persist. 'What's that?!' laughed a woman as she puzzled at the row of Italian Brainrot dolls. 'It's not cute at all!' — AFP
