culture

YouTube in Japan had an identity crisis in 2018. The video-sharing site only grew in importance this year, as the top creators associated with the platform achieved acceptance by the country's mainstream media gatekeepers while famous names migrated over. But, at the same time, the ...

With the end of the year drawing closer, the pressure is on to figure out how to greet the Year of the Boar. If the dwindling number of viewers staying in to watch NHK's annual music showcase "Kohaku Uta Gassen" is any indication, more ...

The British Museum said Wednesday it will hold from May the largest exhibition of manga ever to take place outside of Japan, showcasing original Japanese manga and other items influenced by the genre. The exhibit from May 23 through Aug. 26 will introduce the historical ...

As manga artist Go Nagai celebrates the 50th anniversary of "Shameless School," first published in the debut edition of Shonen Jump magazine, Netflix releases his "Devilman Crybaby" as an anime series.

The Heisei Era commenced after two gods fell in rapid succession. The first, Emperor Hirohito, was no longer officially a god, having repudiated his quasi-divine status under the terms of Japan's surrender in World War II, but he remained god-like in stature. His January ...

Dramatizing the flow of time in the form of an art installation, Seiko Watch Corp. is taking part in the Designart Tokyo 2018 event through this weekend, featuring its flagship watch brand Grand Seiko. The installation was first exhibited in Milan in April, which was ...

A stupendous full autumn moon, bright orange and fat, flashes intermittently between the nondescript high-rise flats and offices on the drive to Charles de Gaulle Airport. It's an apt and beautiful reminder of one of the events that we, a group of Tokyo-based editors ...

Have you ever thought about where your trash goes after it's tossed into a basket and whisked away by the garbage truck that shows up like clockwork every week? If not, comic Shuichi Takizawa says now is the time to think about it. Though he may ...

Whatever happened to Domo-kun, the furry brown monster with the jagged maw? When I first got to Japan I used to see him everywhere. Now Chiitan, the masochistic Otter who reps the city of Susaki in Kochi Prefecture, stacks my social media feeds with ...