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October 23, 2025
 

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LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 7, 2022

I know Japanese. Why can’t I read signs in Hokkaido?

A lot of the readings for kanji on Japan's northernmost island are connected to the language and culture of the Ainu, who are indigenous to Hokkaido.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 4, 2022

The ‘timeless delicacies’ at the heart of the Mid-Autumn Festival

Mooncakes represent more than a delicious dessert. For some, they're a beloved link to their friends and family back home.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 29, 2022

Cherry blossoms, cranes and the language of Japanese symbols

The bald eagle of the United States and the orchids of China have deeper meanings in their respective cultures. What items do the Japanese give symbolic weight to?
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 7, 2022

In China's Shenzhen, nostalgia persists for the old days of Hong Kong culture

Before Shenzhen began to be transformed in the 1980s, Hong Kong's freewheeling economy represented a consumer haven for many from the mainland.
Journalist Shiori Ito's documentary "Black Box Diaries," which follows her own investigation into her sexual assault and struggle for justice, was one of 19 Japanese films that screened at the Busan International Film Festival this month.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 18, 2024

Japan-based features generate buzz at Busan International Film Festival

With 278 films on offer, Asia's largest film festival tackled heavy themes such as assisted suicide and struggles faced by migrants.
Tetsuya Chiba
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2024

Tetsuya Chiba becomes first manga artist to receive Order of Culture

The other six include cellist Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and environmental risk management expert Junko Nakanishi.
Studio Ghibli’s “Kiki’s Delivery Service” draws inspiration from Sweden’s medieval town of Visby as well as Stockholm for its vibrant setting of Koriko, a fictional city where the film’s titular character decides to use her powers as a witch to benefit the inhabitants of her new home.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 27, 2024

The Swedish heart of Hayao Miyazaki's ‘Kiki's Delivery Service’

Inspiration for the 1989 Studio Ghibli classic is still very evident in Visby, a picturesque town that captivated the animator on his first trip abroad in 1971.
Students from Agatsuma’s butoh workshop, also part of Sumi-Yume, will be joining her and professional butoh dancer Tomoshi Shioya for this weekend’s shows.
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 8, 2024

Butoh dances to the sounds of Hokusai’s hometown

Performances of the avant-garde dance form are part of a program dedicated to the revered artist and celebrating the local community in Sumida Ward.
Young Tibetan monks sit on a scooter as they arrive to take part in a protest march held to mark the 65th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, in the northern hill town of Dharamsala, India, on March 10, 2024.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 14, 2025

How China is erasing Tibetan culture, one child at a time

Education, especially in minority areas, is a politically sensitive topic. Tibetans who oppose the boarding schools risk imprisonment if they protest.
“The Elephant Man” and “Twin Peaks” director David Lynch became a favorite among Japanese moviegoers who flocked to new arthouse cinemas (known as “mini theaters”) popping up around the country in the 1980s and ’90s.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jan 23, 2025

How 'Twin Peaks' turned David Lynch into Japan's favorite weirdo

The director’s work thrived in the early days of arthouse “mini theaters,” and cherry pies and canned coffee fueled the nation's "Twin Peaks" mania.
France's President Emmanuel Macron gives a speech at the Louvre Museum, which he referred to as a "source of French pride."
CULTURE / Art
Feb 1, 2025

Louvre opens first fashion exhibition after shock memo about decay

In leaked correspondence with Culture Minister Rachida Dati, director Laurence des Cars said the museum was falling below international standards.
After a long wait, Beyonce proudly holds the one prize that has alluded her for many years: the Album of the Year award. "Cowboy Carter" also garnered the Best Country Album award.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Feb 3, 2025

Beyonce finally wins top album, as Kendrick Lamar sweeps Grammys' rap category

Beyonce made history at the Grammys as she became the annual event's most decorated artist while the night paid tribute to the community of fire-ravaged Los Angeles.
“Light Court” (2024) is based on the “Lightcourt” space at the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by metabolist architect Kisho Kurokawa (1934-2007).
CULTURE / Art
Feb 9, 2025

Yuki Harada's contemplative artworks ponder vanishing

The artist spent time researching Japanese migrants who left Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures for Hawaii, and the U.S. island state often features in his art.
The Marquis de Sade’s original rolled manuscript called Le Rouleau de la Bastille of “Les 120 jours de Sodome ou l’ecole du libertinage” (“The 120 Days of Sodom, or the School of Libertinage”) is displayed before being auctioned in Paris in November 2017. 
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2025

The Marquis de Sade’s guide to cancel culture

The Marquis de Sade’s legacy proves that even the most reviled figures can outlast cancellation.
Jose Ando purposefully wrote his Akutagawa Prize-winning novel “Dtopia” to be accessible to an audience beyond Japan and to spark conversations about race, gender and the effects of modern entertainment.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 27, 2025

Jose Ando's rapid rise from first pages to the Akutagawa Prize

Just three years after dedicating himself to writing, the author won Japan's top literary award for his novel "Dtopia," which offers a fresh perspective on identity and diversity.
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

As the singer explores Tokyo, she reflects on identity and her latest album, “Blood On the Silver Screen.”
Digital artist Polygon1993 revels in the physicality of nostalgic technology, making art out of materials such as miniature CDs, holographic prints layered with plexiglass shards and a giant custom-made floppy disk.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 8, 2025

Online art scene eager to go offline, at least for the moment

From Beeple exhibiting a physical version of an NFT artwork to Polygon1993’s custom-made giant floppy disk, digital media artists are bringing their work into the physical world.
Boy band Epex is set to play an event at a 1,000-capacity hall in Fuzhou, Fujian province.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Apr 30, 2025

China’s first K-pop concert in years signals efforts to mend ties

In the middle of a trade war, China extends a cultural olive branch to its Korean neighbors.
Kotoba Slam Japan runs regional competitions to select a representative for the annual World Poetry Slam Championship, which will take place in Mexico at the end of the month.
CULTURE / Stage
May 9, 2025

Japan’s slam poetry scene is all about raw vulnerability

Slam poetry is a rarity in Japan, but the scene is full of energy and potential that the poets have been bringing to the world slam poetry stage for 10 years now.
Vocaloid idol Hatsune Miku and kabuki actor Nakamura Shido II first performed together in 2016. This month, they’re reviving the show for the Osaka World Expo.
CULTURE / Stage
May 17, 2025

Traditional performing arts are plugging into modern audiences

Noh and kabuki are getting an image update by teaming up with pop culture figures such as Vocaloid idol Hatsune Miku and DJ Ken Ishii.
Mixue, a Chinese bubble tea chain, has become the world’s largest food and beverage chain, with tens of thousands of stores all over Asia. The company is just one example of the increasing reach and popularity of Chinese cultural exports across the globe.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 23, 2025

How China’s soft power is rewriting Asian culture

Chinese cultural exports are becoming increasingly popular across the world and especially Asia. Do they promote cross-border understanding or are they tools for propaganda?
Rock band Mrs. Green Apple performed an emotional rendition of hit song “Darling” on the final night of the Music Awards Japan.
CULTURE / Music
May 29, 2025

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.
Anime director Shunsuke Nakashige accepts the anime of the year award for “Solo Leveling” at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
CULTURE / Film
May 30, 2025

Anime's big night out is getting bigger — and more surreal

The soft-power spectacle at Crunchyroll's awards ceremony in Tokyo underscores anime's expanding global influence.
At Mount Zine’s gallery in Komazawa, Setagaya Ward, one wall is for exhibiting, while another is for zines for sale.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 21, 2025

A buzzing zine scene across Japan packs passion in multiple formats

In a world now dominated by digital media, small handmade books are a return to analog media and offline connection.
A Japan day ceremony at the Osaka Expo featuring Myaku-myaku on Thursday in the city of Osaka
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2025

Best-selling singer Misia and Hello Kitty celebrate Japanese culture at Osaka Expo

The expo’s national day celebrating its host country spanned culture from contemporary to ancient, in a ceremony featuring calligraphy and gagaku and more.
Rural, a three-day techno festival, was held July 18 to 21 at Nowhere Camp in Fukushima Prefecture.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 30, 2025

How Japan made techno its own

Once inspired by Berlin and Detroit, Japanese techno now moves on its own wavelength — deep, immersive, and unmistakably local.
A <i>shunga</i> work by Utagawa Toyokuni (1769-1825) is on display at an exhibition of erotic Japanese art in the Kabukicho red-light entertainment area in the Shinjuku district of central Tokyo.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 8, 2025

Traditional Japanese erotic art exhibition puts female pleasure in focus

An erotic form of ukiyo-e, shunga is often dismissed as mere pornography. An exhibition in Kabukicho aims to highlight its artistry.
One notable section of the “Prism of the Real: Making Art in Japan 1989-2010” exhibition is a predominantly pink room featuring works that explore the lives of Asian women, such as Minako Nishiyama’s “The Pinku House”and footage of Lee Bul’s performance “Sorry for suffering — You think I’m a puppy on a picnic?”
CULTURE / Art
Sep 19, 2025

‘Prism of the Real’ makes two turbulent decades tangible with art

Born of a partnership between The National Art Center, Tokyo and M+, the show reveals how artists across borders grappled with a changing world.
Ari Bayuaji's artwork of the benevolent Bali god Barong is on display in a glass case on the ground floor of Hollywood Beauty Plaza.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 2, 2025

Artist Ari Bayuaji materializes monsters from ocean plastic

From his series “Weaving the Ocean,” the demon Rangda is on display at Go for Kogei 2025, while the more benevolent Barong sits in a glass case in Roppongi.
Director Park Chan-wook and the cast of his latest film “No Other Choice” attended the Busan International Film Festival’s glittering opening ceremony where the film’s lead actor, Lee Byung-hun, served as host.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 2, 2025

Revamped Busan film festival turns 30 with expanded cinematic showcase

Since its inception, BIFF has been a launchpad for Asian cinema. This year, it grew bigger and brighter with a new Competition section, 90 world premieres and high-profile guests.
Rare female yakuza walks path to redemption in Japan
Retired yakuza Mako Nishimura sorts fallen leaves during a clean-up activity at the Gifu Gokoku shrine in Gifu Prefecture on Sept. 28.
Takaichi makes history as Japan’s first female prime minister
Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi reacts to applauding lawmakers after being elected prime minister at the Lower House on Tuesday.
Japanese man sentenced to eight years after rare public accusation of rape
Riho Fukuyama (center) and her husband Yoshiki Fukuyama (left) speak to the media with their lawyer (right) outside the Toyama District Court in Toyama on Tuesday.
Woman arrested for pepper spray assault on Yamanote Line
Emergency vehicles arrive at the JR Otsuka Station in Tokyo Monday following a report that a woman had allegedly injured passengers with pepper spray inside a train on the Yamanote Line.
North Korea fires off ballistic missiles one day after Takaichi named PM
People watch a TV news report about North Korean short-range ballistic missile launches, at the main railway station in Seoul on Wednesday.
In pictures: The day Japan’s glass ceiling finally cracked
Takaichi, surrounded by LDP influencers
London exhibition perhaps sumo's most successful trip abroad
With the recent sumo jaunt to London being essentially a goodwill exercise, <i>rikishi</i> were far more outgoing and relaxed than normal.
Nakatsu keeps its cool as gentrification looms
Shunsuke Takahashi, owner of the cafe Hood by Vargas, says the Osaka neighborhood of Nakatsu feels brighter and calmer with the influx of new businesses.
Japan's first female PM promised more women in her Cabinet. She picked two.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi poses with members of the newly formed Cabinet on Tuesday night.
Who is Minoru Kihara, Takaichi’s new 'cool-headed' spokesman?
Minoru Kihara (second from left) attends a Lower House plenary session on Tuesday in Tokyo.

Podcast

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

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.
By Thu-Huong Ha and Mike Fu

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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

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