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October 15, 2025
 

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CULTURE

Stage

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Entertainment news
“The Bathhouse of Honest Desires,” a Taiwanese-Japanese collaboration, was performed the first weekend of the Autumn Meteorite festival.
CULTURE / Stage
Autumn Meteorite stages a month of inventive theater in Tokyo
The inaugural performing arts festival brings a variety of shows, from monodramas to 20-people, multivenue ensemble productions.
CULTURE / Stage
Iyo Sky takes flight: How the ‘Genius of the Sky’ turned risk into art and fear into fun
After three memorable shows in 2024, WWE returns to Japan for back-to-back nights at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan this month.
CULTURE / Stage
A Japanese comedian walks into an Aussie bar … and stays there
Melbourne-based comedian Takashi “Waka” Wakasugi, who has only ever done stand-up in his second language, is fast becoming Australia’s favorite Japanese comedian.
Kabuki has been trying for years to attract a new generation of fans. One way to do this has been to adapt manga and anime franchises, such as “Naruto,” for the stage. 
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 3, 2025
The summer kabuki came roaring back
By Kris Kosaka
A hit film and shifting demographics are drawing new audiences to kabuki, sparking hopes for a revitalized future.
The second edition of the Tokyo International Comedy Festival will feature 60 shows across eight venues with a diverse array of talent on stage.
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 11, 2025
Tokyo International Comedy Festival doubles down on diversity and scale
By Moe Shimizu
The second edition of Tokyo’s stand-up festival has leveled up with even more bilingual sets, international guests and comedy specials than before.
In what is billed as the first major production in English of Hisashi Inoue's "The Face of Jizo,” the Japanese play will have performances at the Seymour Centre in Sydney both in English and in Japanese.
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 22, 2025
'The Face of Jizo': Hisashi Inoue's play staged in Sydney commemorates WWII victims
By Kris Kosaka
Billed as the first major English-language production of the play, "The Face of Jizo" also increases the variety of roles for Japanese actors in Australia.
Sung in Japanese, German and Ukrainian, “Natasha” is a multilingual opera with a multinational cast. Belgian soprano Ilse Eerens will originate the titular role, with Japanese mezzo-soprano Hiroka Yamashita as Arato and German baritone Christian Miedl as their trickster guide.
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 9, 2025
‘Natasha’ distills global zeitgeist on the opera stage
By Kris Kosaka
An original work commissioned by the New National Theatre, Tokyo, “Natasha” is a multilingual opera with a multinational cast from Japan, Germany and Belgium.
Miyako Yoshida, artistic director of the National Ballet of Japan, speaks during an interview on Tuesday in London.
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 25, 2025
National Ballet of Japan stages first overseas performance in London
Thursday's show was the first of a total of five performances scheduled through Sunday.
“Giselle” lead Yuriko Kajiya (center), performing with Connor Walsh as Albrecht, is one of six Japanese dancers at Houston Ballet.
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 9, 2025
Japanese dancers find a home abroad at Houston Ballet
By Alyssa I. Smith
Returning to Japan for the American ballet company's first international tour since 2022, several dancers speak about why they moved overseas.
Maria Seiren, known for winning the first-ever “Japan’s Got Talent” with her opera voice, has also been training in traditional noh theater, creating productions that combine opera, noh and even pop music.
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 28, 2025
Diva of dualities: Maria Seiren sings opera and noh in both a female and male voice
By Kat Joplin
The first-ever winner of talent show competition “Japan’s Got Talent” is having a stacked year with two noh and opera productions and her 10th anniversary album release.

Toyoko Kids: The lonely street children of Tokyo
Many young people who feel neglected at home flock to the Toyoko area to find a community where they can fit in.
Japan unveils new overtourism countermeasures
The majority of tourists in Japan tend to stay in Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto, resulting in overcrowding in popular tourist spots and a strain on transportation systems.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
South Korea couple beat same-sex barriers to parenthood
South Korean lesbian couple Kim Kyu-jin (left) and her wife, Kim Sae-yeon, pose with a "pregnant woman" badge during an interview in Seoul last month.
Opportunities await the bold in the Year of the Wood Dragon
2024 marks the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, with the year predicted to be a good time for fresh starts.
A frenetic diplomatic schedule looms for Japan’s next leader — whomever that may be
As horse-trading and speculation surge over who will be elected the next prime minister in parliament — the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Sanae Takaichi or a possible candidate put forward by a unified opposition — Japan’s next leader will be confronted with a quick succession of key diplomatic events.
Ghost of Yotei’s bloodstained fun sidesteps Ainu identity
Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to 2020's smash hit Ghost of Tsushima, is a violent, vengeful and engaging romp through 17th-century Hokkaido that fails to stick the landing on its most sensitive cultural material.
At Osaka Expo, gas giants promote a greener future. But is it a lot of hot air?
The Gas Pavilion had welcomed around 500,000 visitors by the end of August, making it one of the most popular exhibits at the Osaka Expo.
‘Takaichi trade’ starts unwinding as political calculus upended by Komeito exit
Less than a week ago, Sanae Takaichi seemed set to become Japan's first female prime minister.
‘Save the Ring’ calls intensify as Osaka Expo’s end nears
Visitors lounge on the grassy hill on the top of the Grand Ring during the 2025 Osaka Expo in the city of Osaka in May.

Podcast

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

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building
By Patrick St. Michel

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons
Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

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