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July 04, 2025
 

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RAP

“Hypnosismic — Division Rap Battle — Movie” centers on groups of male rappers from neighborhoods around Tokyo and Japan at large.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2025
‘Hypnosismic — Division Rap Battle — Movie' lets viewers remix the narrative
Armed with LED-lined gloves and their smartphones, audiences take control of the action for Japan’s first interactive movie.
Hip-hop duo Creepy Nuts' uptempo “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” quickly became a TikTok favorite after its release days into 2024, which helped turn the song into a Billboard Japan Hot 100 topper for 19 weeks before rising up viral streaming charts around the world.
CULTURE / Music / 2024 in Review
Dec 27, 2024
Bling-Bang, baby: The J-pop soundtrack of 2024
Japanese music made waves globally, fueled by Coachella debuts, TikTok virality and unexpected hits like Creepy Nuts' "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born."
Ten people are suspected of forcibly entering a club in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on Dec. 17 last year and assaulting a male security guard.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 6, 2024
Alleged operator of anonymous X account arrested over club assault
Z-Ri, a pun on the name of the kung-fu actor Jet Li, is an influential account that posts about the inner workings of Japan's underworld.
R-Shitei (left) and DJ Matsunaga have scored the biggest hit of the year so far in Japan with “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born.” The track is inspired by the Jersey club style of music, right down to the squeaky chair sample.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 3, 2024
Is Creepy Nuts' catchy, rapid-fire 'Bling-Bang-Bang-Born' the song of the year?
The fast-paced ode to a style called Jersey club is everywhere in Tokyo, and it may just be the rap duo's key to international success.
Atarashii Gakko! released its third album, “AG! Calling,” on June 7. The group is currently touring Asia with songs from the new release featured in its set
CULTURE / Music
Jun 21, 2024
Atarashii Gakko! schools crowds overseas on just how bananas J-pop can get
With appearances at major festivals, on U.S. television and new album "AG! Calling," this sailor-suited rapping four-piece is on quite a roll.
Tokyo-based artist Jumadiba says he forgoes the label of simply “rap” for his music because the Japanese rap scene isn’t confined to a particular sound.
CULTURE / Music
May 16, 2024
Japanese rap creates its mecca in Pop Yours
The two-day music festival showcases Japan's growing and diversifying hip-hop scene through local acts such as Awich and Jumadiba.
Kendrick Lamar has long been cast as the authentic and artistic representative of modern rap.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
May 10, 2024
Japanese MCs jump in on the Kendrick Lamar-Drake rap beef — and pick a favorite
The way artists here have joined the feud between two of rap's biggest names says more about hip-hop beefs in Japan than you realize.
Tupac Shakur
CULTURE / Music
Sep 30, 2023
Suspect in rapper Tupac Shakur's 1996 slaying charged with murder
The charges marked a breakthrough for a long-unsolved case that was a defining moment in the history of rap music.
Rappers Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa perform during the Hip Hop 50 Live concert, marking the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip hop, at Yankee Stadium in New York City on Friday.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Aug 13, 2023
Hip-hop stars helm marathon birthday party
Thousands of people partied deep into the night Friday as part of an all-star Bronx bash celebrating 50 years of hip-hop, featuring trailblazers including Run-DMC, Nas, Lauryn Hill and Snoop Dogg.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 19, 2023
Las Vegas police search home in Tupac murder case
The best-selling hip-hop artist behind hits such as 'California Love' was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas at the age of just 25, and his killers have never been caught.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 15, 2022
Rap takes over Super Bowl halftime, balancing celebration and protest
At Super Bowl LVI, rap finally got the spotlight . . . in perhaps the 20-somethingth year of hip-hop occupying the center of American pop music.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 21, 2021
Rapper Daichi Yamamoto gets personal about breakups, his biracial background and a love of jazzy beats
Japanese rappers are beginning to share more about their own experiences in their tracks, an approach Daichi Yamamoto says is upping the standards for domestic hip-hop.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 4, 2020
Okinawan rapper Awich rejects your constructs
As a young girl, Awich would sit in awe at her father's tales of war on Okinawa. Little did she know it would inspire her to tell her own tales as a successful rapper.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 28, 2020
Chelmico breezes through 2020 with optimistic music for somber times
The rap duo's upbeat new album, “Maze,” kicks off with a topsy-turvy track that's the opening theme of a popular anime and has inspired a dance meme.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 5, 2020
South Korea-born rapper Moment Joon details immigrant experience in Japan on debut album
On his formidable debut album, “Passport & Garcon,” South Korea-born rapper Moment Joon lays claim to his present home in suburban Osaka with unusual specificity.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 19, 2020
Growing up in poverty and broken homes, Kawasaki youths find savior in rap
Weathered signs from five years ago stand forlornly on a bank of the Tama River in Kawasaki, politely asking visitors to refrain from laying any more flowers of condolence so they don't accidentally catch fire.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 21, 2019
Two injured as gunmen ambush French rapper Booba's video shoot
At least two people were injured after gunmen ambushed a video shoot involving French rapper Booba, authorities said on Wednesday, in the latest incidence of violence marring the suburbs of Paris.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Apr 3, 2019
Rapper Nipsey Hussle killed over dispute with suspect: LA police
Los Angeles police on Tuesday said the man named as a suspect in the fatal shooting of rapper Nipsey Hussle allegedly killed him two days ago over a personal dispute that was not gang-related.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 8, 2019
Rapper Chanmina is blurring the lines of genre and nationality
Everyone has moments where they have to choose between two paths that will lead to drastically different lives. For Mina Otomonai, it came during her second year of high school when she strongly considered moving to South Korea to pursue a career in music. Her friends convinced her to stay in Japan....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 19, 2017
Zombie-Chang's 'Gang!' reveals an unexpected new side
Chaos breeds a lot of surprises but the biggest shock coming out of genre-blending artist Zombie-Chang's latest album, "Gang!", is the flashes where she sounds like someone capable of being a mainstream pop performer.
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Onosato's yokozuna promotion causes rare quirk in new sumo rankings
Newly promoted yokozuna Onosato holds a copy of the latest banzuke ranking in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, on Monday.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Over 900 earthquakes strike Tokara islands in space of two weeks
A screenshot shows many quakes occurring in the Tokara islands over the past 30 days, in this image taken from the U.S. Geological Survey website.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

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

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