Former AKB48 star Mayu Watanabe retires from show business, citing health issues
Mayu Watanabe, a former member of the popular Japanese all-girl idol group AKB48, has retired from the entertainment industry due to health reasons, her agency said Monday. Watanabe, 26, has left the agency, saying health issues would make it difficult for her to continue working ...
Daiki Tsuneta: From the top of the charts to the great unknown
King Gnu frontman, Daiki Tsuneta, heads for further glory as he pushes forward with his side project, Millennium Parade.
Ayumi Hamasaki TV drama stays on the right side of absurdity
A new drama series highlighting the life of the J-pop star at her peak has fascinated viewers with its hammed-up acting and over-the-top antics.
Pikotaro turns viral hit into anti-virus anthem
During tumultuous times, sometimes the best advice comes from toddlers. “At my 1-year-old daughter’s nursery school, they have a handwashing song. She kept singing and washing her hands, and encouraged me and my wife to wash our songs along with the song, too,” Kazuhito (aka ...
'PPAP' star Piko Taro and pop group Arashi release hand-washing songs
Comedian Pikotaro, best known for his viral hit song "Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen," and boy band Arashi have released songs encouraging people to wash their hands amid the coronavirus pandemic. "I have a hand, I have a soap. Uh! Wash! Wash! Wash! Wash!" Pikotaro repeats, adopting the same ...
Ensuring live music survives the pandemic
While the COVID-19 pandemic has all but shut down Japan's live music scene, innovative acts and labels are still reaching fans in the country.
Intersection: Bridging the Pacific through the medium of J-pop
Intersection's four dual-heritage members say they want Japanese music listeners to be more open to international culture and people with more diverse backgrounds.
‘33⅓ Japan’ has nerdy but accessible tales of albums and artists
With the "33⅓ Japan" series, music aficionados bring classic Japanese albums and artists to life in nerdy, but accessible, prose.
Popular boy band Arashi is calling off a concert scheduled for this spring in Beijing due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus, their agent has said. "Members of Arashi had been looking forward to seeing local fans, but we reached this conclusion after making ...
Singer Noriyuki Makihara allegedly admits to taking drugs again after his 1999 conviction
Singer-songwriter Noriyuki Makihara, who has been arrested on suspicion of illegal drug possession, has confessed he began using drugs again sometime after his 1999 conviction for a similar case.
Pop singer Noriyuki Makihara again arrested over drug possession
Police arrested pop singer Noriyuki Makihara, 50, for alleged illegal stimulant possession, investigative sources said Thursday. According to NHK, police found 0.083 gram of stimulant at his condominium in Tokyo's Minato Ward in April 2018. Later police concluded Makihara himself owned the substance, which led ...
Japanese students take idol worship to a whole new level
Take a look at the world of Unidol, in which teams of Japanese university students emulate the moves of pop groups in a battle to be the greatest idol copy dance club.
