Menu
Search
 
June 04, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

CULTURE

Music

Film
Books
Art
Music
TV & Streaming
Stage
Entertainment news
Rock band Mrs. Green Apple performed an emotional rendition of hit song “Darling” on the final night of the Music Awards Japan.
CULTURE / Music
Songs, stars and strategy: Japan debuts its newest awards ceremony
From viral hits to legacy tributes, Japan's 'answer to the Grammys' delivers a celebration of J-pop's past and present at its inaugural event in Kyoto.
CULTURE / Music
With a new Shibuya studio, Apple Music bets big on Japan
Streaming numbers are up, world tours are growing, and now, Tokyo has a new studio aimed at amplifying Japan’s voice.
CULTURE / Music
Sasuke Haraguchi’s provocative soundtracks for digital natives
The 21-year-old electronic producer and artist taps into the chaotic nature of modern online life.
Ado opened her Sunday night concert at the 2025 Osaka Expo with “Shin Jidai” (New Genesis)” after a rain-soaked lead-up to the show’s 7:45 p.m. start.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 18, 2025
Japan wanted a cultural do-over. Ado gave it one.
By Patrick St. Michel
The 22-year-old J-pop singer cast a spell on the first weekend of the Osaka Expo
Mori Calliope fan Taylor Jones holds a penstick as fans await entry to the historic venue Hollywood Palladium for a sold-out concert by Virtual YouTuber Mori Calliope.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 14, 2025
Digital divas: Can Japan's virtual YouTuber craze crack America?
By Tomohiro Osaki, Paula Ramon and Gilles Clarenne
VTuber agency Cover Corp. recently opened a U.S. office to accelerate business in North America.
Margot Magniere and Theo Poyer returned to Japan after pandemic-era restrictions were lifted and decided to stay for a while.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 11, 2025
The band that turned a pandemic lockdown into a Tokyo dream
By Patrick St. Michel
On “Grand Voyage,” French pop act Tapeworms tap into Japanese cultural nostalgia and picopop.
Sasami has had a connection to Japan since childhood as her mother's side of the family is Zainichi Korean and has lived in Japan for years. The musician grew up listening to city pop and watching Japanese TV.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 5, 2025
Sasami is in her pop era, and she’s not overthinking it
By Patrick St. Michel
As the singer explores Tokyo, she reflects on identity and her latest album, “Blood On the Silver Screen.”
Motoaki Tanigo, whom fans affectionately refer to as “Yagoo,” is the CEO and founder of tech company Cover Corporation, which runs Hololive, an industry-leading virtual YouTuber talent agency.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 21, 2025
Virtual idols, real fans: Hololive’s bet on the future of pop
By Patrick St. Michel
Hololive CEO Motoaki Tanigo, whom fans affectionately refer to as “Yagoo,” has global ambitions for his virtual YouTuber sensations.
Ichiko Aoba’s latest full-length album, “Luminescent Creatures,” weaves in sounds mimicking whale songs and wind to express her fascination with the natural world and its interconnectedness.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 7, 2025
Ichiko Aoba’s intimate sonic fantasy born from dreams
By Patrick St. Michel
The singer-songwriter turns her subconscious into songs about the natural world and its interconnectedness on “Luminescent Creatures.”
Festival organizers Smash revealed that local legend Tatsuro Yamashita is set to play Fuji Rock for the first time ever.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 21, 2025
Fuji Rock’s biggest lineup surprise? The debut of Tatsuro Yamashita.
By Patrick St. Michel
The summer music festival also promises Vampire Weekend, Vulfpeck and Fred Again.. among the 60 acts named for its 2025 edition.

How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
Japanese baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima dies at 89
Shigeo Nagashima (left), then the manager of the Tokyo Giants, waves to fans with players and coaches during a victory parade in central Tokyo in 2000. Nagashima died at the age of 89 on Tuesday.
Lee Jae-myung projected to win South Korean presidential election
Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's candidate in South Korea's presidential election, speaks during his final campaign event in Seoul on Monday night ahead of Tuesday's vote.
U.S. Marine in Okinawa pleads not guilty to sexual assault
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki (center) takes part in a joint patrol by the U.S. military and the Okinawa Prefectural Police in the city of Okinawa in April in response to a series of sexual assault and other incidents involving U.S. service personnel.
Two Japanese nationals killed in Dalian, China
A case in which two Japanese nationals were killed in China’s northeastern city of Dalian last month is still being investigated, with local police saying the incident arose from a business dispute between acquaintances.
‘A garden is a grand teacher’: The Kamakura Gardener nurtures via YouTube
American Robert Jefferson runs a YouTube channel called The Kamakura Gardener that invites viewers to enjoy the pleasures of gardening, cooking and slow living.
Waves of umami: Awaji Island's culinary trove
Silversea Cruises' culinary program takes guests on a rich gourmet experience at wellness retreat Zenbo Seinei, where the local produce is presented in an eight-course meal.
Hegseth to prioritize China and more allied spending in Asia — but questions remain
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives for a trilateral meeting between Japan, the U.S. and Australia at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday.
'Godzilla The Art Exhibition' reimagines film icon as monstrous muse for modern art
Artists offer their own interpretations of Japan's most famous monster at "Godzilla The Art Exhibition."
Atsuko Okatsuka brings big 'dad' energy to new special
Atsuko Okatsuka tries out some of the jokes from her new special, “Father,” at the Tokyo Comedy Bar in Shibuya in January.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Muji has been sustainable from the beginning
Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

Latest News

South Korea's Lee Jae-myung vows to unite country in presidential win
1 hour ago
Lee Jae-myung projected to win South Korean presidential election
10 hours ago
'Aces up the sleeve': Ukraine drone attacks in Russia shake up conflict
11 hours ago
Trade war cuts global economic growth outlook: OECD
11 hours ago
U.S. tariff uncertainty very high and sentiment 'deteriorated,' says BOJ's Ueda