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May 15, 2025
 

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Excitement for Nintendo's next console is high, but a vocal contingent of fans are voicing criticism over the company's pricing strategy.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
‘Drop the price’: Behind the pushback on Nintendo’s Switch 2
Nintendo games have never been cheap, but the company seems to be nickel-and-diming more than ever with its new console.
LIFE / Digital
Nintendo to launch the Switch 2 on June 5
The gaming giant's newest console will retail for ¥49,980 for its Japanese-only version and ¥69,980 for multilingual and multiregion support.
LIFE / Digital
'Better than real life': In China, virtual boyfriends are emotional aids
For many, virtual companions offer more than entertainment — they provide emotional fulfilment.
Releasing on March 20, Assassin's Creed Shadows excels in atmosphere and open-world gameplay but falls short of narrative expectations.
LIFE / Digital
Mar 19, 2025
Assassin’s Creed Shadows puts samurai style over substance
By Owen Ziegler
Ubisoft’s latest game is a gorgeous jaunt through feudal Japan entirely unworthy of the controversy surrounding it.
After nine years, the Square Enix Cafe is finally closing up shop.
LIFE / Digital
Mar 15, 2025
Square Enix Cafe had everything going for it, except the ability to adapt
By Isabelle Steen
On March 31, the themed cafe just steps from JR Akihabara Station will close for good.
In the most recent expansion to the long-running Warframe, Alpha Takahashi voices cyborg mechanic Aoi Morohoshi.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Feb 15, 2025
Alpha Takahashi: ‘The world of video games was tied to my upbringing’
By Samantha Low
The Tokyo-born actor has voiced Psylocke in Marvel Rivals, Hanako Arasaka in Cyberpunk 2077 and many more since breaking into the industry in 2013.
The bestselling Switch has a confirmed successor, but what little we know about the Switch 2 console so far raises some concerns about its longterm viability in a crowded gaming market.
LIFE / Digital
Feb 6, 2025
Making sense of Nintendo’s tight-lipped Switch 2 reveal
By Owen Ziegler
Nintendo will remain mum on details until April, but questions on how its new console fits into the modern gaming landscape abound.
Dress-up games and dating sims were once forgotten genres, but now expanded player bases are helping to generate major profits.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Feb 1, 2025
Gaming’s feminine side is starting to make big bucks
By Samantha Low
Two recent releases — a sci-fi dating sim and a souped-up dress-up simulator — are starting to change the conversation around previously dismissed genres.
Upon the release of Dragon Quest VII in 2000, hundreds of customers lined up outside stores in Tokyo to secure a copy of the new game. With a remake of a 1988 title, the rest of the world is understanding why Japanese gamers love the series so much.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 25, 2025
Japan’s love affair with Dragon Quest spreads worldwide
By Oliver Jia
The remake of a 1988 game serves as the latest chance for the rest of the world to learn why Japan loves Dragon Quest so much.
One of the brighest spots of Japan's indie gaming landscape in 2024 was Sonokuni, and with more incubators and other avenues of support springing up, there may be more games like it in the future.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Jan 21, 2025
Japan-made games part of a rising tide of indie greatness
By Samantha Low
With games developed by lone individuals rivaling the quality of major studios, it's time to reconsider what makes an indie game indie.

Transport ministry issues warning to Haneda Airport operator
The operator of Tokyo's Haneda Airport has been warned by the government over its inappropriate transactions.
Success of Chinese-made fighter jets against India raises alarm in Asia
Chinese J-10 fighter jets from the People's Liberation Army Air Force August 1st Aerobatics Team perform during a media demonstration at the Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, in November 2015.
One month on, Osaka Expo urged to boost heat and crowd control measures
A gate to the Osaka Expo site is crowded with visitors on Monday.
Xi defiance pays off as Trump meets most China trade demands
Then-Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visits a school in South Gate, California, in February 2012. Experts say Xi won big in his standoff with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Japanese retailers turn to California rice for cheaper alternative
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass eats California rice at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday along with Mitsuko Tsuchiya, vice president of retailer Aeon.
Sumo title contenders already emerging in early stages of Tokyo meet
Onosato (left) battles Abi on Day 3 of the Summer Basho in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Harmfully hot days for pregnant women in Japan nearly doubled over past five years
New research by a U.S. climate scientists’ group reveals that extreme heat has increased the risks of preterm births and other pregnancy complications in Japan, nearly doubling the number of days that are harmfully hot for pregnant women over the past five years.
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
Tokyo Stock Exchange wants stocks to be affordable for the average investor
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Nihonbashi. The exchange wants companies to lower the entry cost of investing in their shares.
Consumption tax set to dominate Upper House election debate
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Podcast

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

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after
Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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