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October 31, 2025
 

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CULTURE

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Liam Gallagher commanded the stage with effortless charisma during Oasis' Tokyo Dome set on Saturday.
CULTURE / Music
Oasis returns to Japan after 16 years — and fans can still sing every word
The British rockers' Tokyo Dome set included such favorites as "Wonderwall," "Live Forever" and "Champagne Supernova."
CULTURE / Music
Oasis returns to Tokyo: Rain, rapture and rock
Oasis’ first Japan shows since 2009 drew roughly 110,000 fans to Tokyo Dome over the weekend.
CULTURE / Music
Japanese rock fans can't agree on kurayamisaka
The September release of the band's debut album has dominated Japan’s indie-rock conversation for weeks, with listeners debating over its “shoegaze” classification.
South Korean singer Chanyeol made his Japanese-language solo debut with the EP “Hibi,” which features six tracks inspired by his love of Japanese music.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 23, 2025
K-pop idol Chanyeol does J-pop his own way on ‘Hibi’
By Adam Davidson
The South Korean singer explores his creative growth on a Japanese-language EP inspired by a desire to put his own spin on J-pop.
Nodoka Okisawa conducts the Saito Kinen Orchestra to perform Benjamin Britten's opera "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Matsumoto Performing Arts Center in August for the 33rd edition of the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 28, 2025
Nodoka Okisawa is carrying the baton for Seiji Ozawa in Matsumoto
By Chiho Iuchi
Japanese conductor Nodoka Okisawa embraces both tradition and renewal at a festival that still embodies Ozawa’s spirit.
American saxophonist Patrick Bartley is the leader of J-Music Ensemble, a jazz-fusion band specializing in instrumental covers of Japanese music.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 25, 2025
Finding jazz in J-pop: Patrick Bartley’s musical second language
By Ryne Hisada
The J-Music Ensemble leader translates Japanese culture into a classic American musical tradition.
Singer-songwriter Mei Ehara confronted the pressure of creating her third album by taking inspiration from a literary device that merely serves as a trigger for a plot. The resulting album is “All About McGuffin.”
CULTURE / Music
Sep 12, 2025
Mei Ehara’s third album finds clarity in the noise
By Patrick St. Michel
The Japanese singer-songwriter turns the concept of a McGuffin into her most direct work yet, sharpened by a U.S. tour with Faye Webster.
Polish pianist Hania Rani took the audience on a synth odyssey at the first Japan edition of Unsound Osaka over the weekend.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 11, 2025
Unsound turns Osaka into a laboratory of avant-garde music
By James Hadfield
Long-running Polish music festival Unsound channels Expo ’70 at its first Japan edition.
Musician Haruna Kimishima, better known as Haru Nemuri, confronts Japan’s politics, nationalism and censorship on her recent output.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 5, 2025
Haru Nemuri’s radical new album refuses easy listening
By Patrick St. Michel
Haru Nemuri’s “ekkolaptomenos” fuses philosophy, pop and protest, confronting Japan’s politics while navigating visa fears and DIY touring.
Headlining the second day of YouTube Music Weekend is Vocaloid artist Kikuo, who, with 1.46 million YouTube subscribers, is one of the most popular artists in the genre.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 29, 2025
YouTube Music Weekend is where Japan’s internet-born performers go global
By Patrick St. Michel
YouTube's three-day weekend of online performances features a medley of Vocaloid, hyperpop, rock and pop artists in a supportive, cultural festival atmosphere.

Takaichi buys time and builds trust with ‘near-perfect’ Trump summit
U.S. President Donald Trump walks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during a visit to the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
Trump trims fentanyl-linked China tariffs after 'amazing' Xi meeting
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping greet each other as they arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base, next to the Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell
Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Kyushu banzuke sets the stage to cement 2025’s sumo narratives
Onosato ahead of his bout against Aonishiki at The Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Oct. 18
Takaichi pushed back on U.S. request to ban Russian gas imports, sources say
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reportedly turned down a request from the U.S. to cease imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia.
At Japan Mobility Show, BYD gears up to conquer Japan's EV market
BYD Auto Japan President Atsuki Tofukuji unveils the Racco at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Oasis returns to Tokyo: Rain, rapture and rock
Fans wait to get into the Oasis show at Tokyo Dome on Saturday. While lining up in the rain, some broke into impromptu versions of the British rock group's hits.
Kyushu banzuke sets the stage to cement 2025’s sumo narratives
Onosato ahead of his bout against Aonishiki at The Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Oct. 18
Tokyo Film Festival opens with global stars and a spotlight on Asian storytelling
Director Junji Sakamoto (left) walked the Tokyo International Film Festival red carpet with Sayuri Yoshinaga (center) and Non (right), who both play mountaineer Junko Tabei, the first woman to summit Mount Everest, in the biopic "Climbing for Life."
Spanish artist and Japanese writer duos diversify the manga talent pool in Japan
"Menheim” is a dark fantasy manga with a story that centers on a girl’s quest to find a cure for her ill brother.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo
Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo

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