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October 08, 2025
 

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MUSIC

Fuji Rock Festival turns the green slopes of Niigata Prefecture’s Naeba Ski Resort into a summer escape that offers soundtracks for every mood.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 22, 2025
JT picks: What not to miss at Fuji Rock 2025
Ready for Fuji Rock? Here are The Japan Times crew's recommendations for must-see artists at next weekend's three-day music festival.
Rain gear? Check. Chicken hat? Check
CULTURE / Music
Jul 19, 2025
What to pack if you are heading to the Fuji Rock Festival
For those headed to the Fuji Rock Festival, these essential items will go a long way in making your festival experience a rousing success.
Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Mei Semones incorporates Japanese lyrics into her music, which blends jazz and indie rock with bossa nova, math rock and a dash of early-1990s grunge, among other genres.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 26, 2025
Mei Semones is the rookie to remember at Fuji Rock
The singer-songwriter delivers her bilingual lyrics and artful blend of jazz and indie pop with quiet confidence.
Okinawan rapper Awich ruled the summer music festival circuit last year. Which act will prove to be the most memorable in 2025?
CULTURE / Music
Jun 23, 2025
Stage dive into summer: Japan’s best music festivals, month by month
The weather will be hot, but the concert calendar is looking even hotter.
The year so far is only proving that Mrs. Green Apple is the biggest band in Japan. Their success also seems to be hinting at a change in the musical landscape more broadly.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 5, 2025
Six months into 2025, J-pop is having a full-on identity crisis (and a great time)
Halfway through 2025, J-pop is in flux — swinging between AI absurdity, idol nostalgia and viral sugar highs.
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.
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?
Austrian singer Johannes Pietsch, known as JJ, celebrates with the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest trophy after winning the grand final at the St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel, Switzerland, on Sunday.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 18, 2025
On a high: Austria's JJ wins Eurovision 2025
After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel on 357 and Estonia on 356.
A Sony PlayStation 5 controller
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2025
Sony profit forecast flattens under ¥100 billion tariff burden
New Sony Chief Executive Officer Hiroki Totoki’s first task is to navigate the entertainment group though a new era of a tariff-wielding United States.
Apple Music personalities (from left) Ebro Darden, Kentaro Ochiai, Zane Lowe and Mino came together for a special recording in late April to discuss music and celebrate the newly opened Apple Music studio in Tokyo.
CULTURE / Music
May 8, 2025
With a new Shibuya studio, Apple Music bets big on Japan
Streaming numbers are up, world tours are growing, and now, Tokyo has a new studio aimed at amplifying Japan’s voice.
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.
Singer Aki Yashiro in Tokyo in 2012
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2025
Nude photos of deceased singer Aki Yashiro spark row in Japan
A record company is facing a backlash after announcing it would release a CD by the enka legend, who died in 2023, that will include nude photographs of her taken privately.
American rapper Post Malone performs at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 13.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Apr 17, 2025
Music, revolution and Y2K: Coachella 2025 takeaways
Highlights from the California music festival included an appearance from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and an increase in leather pants.
Lisa gestures to the camera at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Apr 17, 2025
Two members of K-pop group Blackpink go solo at Coachella festival
Lisa and Jennie showcased their unique hip-hop styles at the outdoor music concert on its first weekend.
Noriko Shakti has been living in Goa, India, since 2020 and specializes in the tabla, a traditional hand drum from the Indian subcontinent.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Apr 12, 2025
Noriko Shakti: ‘Music reflects my journey and learnings’
The India-based DJ and producer talks about bridging Indian and Japanese traditions in electronic music and advocating for women’s representation in the industry.
Rintaro Sekizuka runs a record store in both London and Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 8, 2025
Tokyo’s vinyl experts say overseas buyers are ‘sustaining the scene’
A weak yen makes rare vinyls a steal for tourists, and locals say it's all part of a circular musical exchange.
Festival organizers Smash revealed that local legend Tatsuro Yamashita is set to play Fuji Rock for the first time ever.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 21, 2025
Fuji Rock’s biggest lineup surprise? The debut of Tatsuro Yamashita.
The summer music festival also promises Vampire Weekend, Vulfpeck and Fred Again.. among the 60 acts named for its 2025 edition.
Mike Sunda at a concert in Haikou, China
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 20, 2025
Mike Sunda: ‘Creative production comes with a bigger responsibility than ever before’
Creative strategist Mike Sunda talks about his influences and the filming of Megan Thee Stallion’s “Mamushi” music video.
Spotify signage on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Jan. 2
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 27, 2025
Universal and Spotify ink multiyear deal
A joint statement said the two firms "will collaborate closely to advance the next era of streaming innovation."
Composer Toru Fuyuki died of aspiration pneumonia at a hospital in Tokyo on Thursday. He was 89.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 31, 2024
Toru Fuyuki, composer of 'Ultraseven' theme song, dies at 89
The "Father of Ultra Music" is known for his contributions to the special effects series, including the theme for "Return of Ultraman."
‘We have drawn lessons,’ Indian Army chief says of brief clash with Pakistan
Indian Army chief Upendra Dwivedi waves as he arrives to attend the ceremonial reception of Defense Minister Gen Nakatani in New Delhi in May.
Japanese immunologist among three Nobel medicine prize winners
Shimon Sakaguchi, an immunologist and distinguished professor at Osaka University, attends a news conference after winning the 2025 Nobel Prize in medicine, in Osaka Prefecture on Monday.
Spanish tourist injured in latest bear attack
Shirakawago, a U.N. World Heritage site in Gifu Prefecture
Americans and Canadians unite in battling 'eating machine' carp
A Fisheries and Oceans Canada team patrols the Grand River in Dunnville, Ontario, in search of invasive grass carp specimens on Sept. 25.
Trump hails 'wisdom and strength' of Japan's incoming prime minister
Sanae Takaichi, the newly elected leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, gives a news conference after the LDP presidential election in Tokyo on Saturday.
OpenAI’s Sora 2 is drowning in Japanese 'AI slop'
OpenAI has rolled out a social app powered by Sora 2, its artificial intelligence video generator, which was quickly flooded with videos featuring iconic Japanese intellectual property.
Trump has his eyes on the prize — but a Nobel win looks unlikely
A protester holds a sign with an image depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and the words "Nobel" written on it, as supporters and family members of hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, demonstrate to demand the immediate end of the war and the release of all hostages, outside the U.S. Consulate in Tel Aviv, on Sept. 2.
‘Takaichi trade’ stalls as political reality calls for wait-and-see approach
Tokyo stocks staged a powerful rally on Monday. On Tuesday, they rallied again, then retreated.
‘We have drawn lessons,’ Indian Army chief says of brief clash with Pakistan
Indian Army chief Upendra Dwivedi waves as he arrives to attend the ceremonial reception of Defense Minister Gen Nakatani in New Delhi in May.
How a family-run landscaper turned the Osaka Expo green
The team at Ryokukou Garden consists primarily of a single family, including Toshiki Tanisaki (second from right), who led the company's efforts at the Osaka Expo, Chikako Tanisaki (fifth from right), who performs daily maintanence at the expo, and Takeshi Tanisaki (fourth from right), who added a nursery to the family farm more than 50 years ago.

Podcast

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

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?
By Alex K.T. Martin

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