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September 26, 2025
 

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STREAMING

“The Summer Hikaru Died” is a slow-burn horror and a coming-of-age narrative, but its thematic layers and queer undertones open conversations about friendship and belonging.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Sep 6, 2025
Dark folklore meets teenage angst in ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’
Slow-burn horror in the countryside coupled with queer undertones makes for a memorable anime adaptation.
Headlining the second day of YouTube Music Weekend is Vocaloid artist Kikuo, who, with 1.46 million YouTube subscribers, is one of the most popular artists in the genre.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 29, 2025
YouTube Music Weekend is where Japan’s internet-born performers go global
YouTube's three-day weekend of online performances features a medley of Vocaloid, hyperpop, rock and pop artists in a supportive, cultural festival atmosphere.
Virtual singer Kaf got her start in 2018 by posting songs and covers to YouTube. Now, after having performed live shows at major venues including Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan, she is turning to voice acting and starring in the new anime series “Kamitsubaki City Under Construction.”
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Aug 28, 2025
Virtual singer Kaf's music becomes magic in 'Kamitsubaki City Under Construction'
After evolving from an online presence into a live performer, Kaf has now stepped into voice acting as part of a multimedia project built around a supergroup of virtual artists.
Sanrio characters Kuromi (left) and My Melody star as rival bakers in a big contest in Netflix’s “My Melody & Kuromi.” When mystical forces threaten their world, the pair team up to find a solution.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Aug 27, 2025
From foil to fan favorite, Kuromi embodies Sanrio’s darker side of cute
Once My Melody’s mischievous antagonist, Kuromi is now outshining her pastel-pink counterpart, with a rebellious personality that resonates with today’s audiences.
Japan's Shohei Ohtani delivers a pitch against the USA during the World Baseball Classic final at LoanDepot Park in Miami on March 21, 2023.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Aug 26, 2025
Baseball-hungry Netflix to carry World Baseball Classic in Japan
The news comes as Netflix is reportedly on the verge of entering the MLB fray by picking up the U.S. rights for the Home Run Derby
The Kyoto District Court on Thursday delivered a guilty verdict on the founder of video-sharing service FC2 over obscene videos that appeared on the platform.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 21, 2025
Founder of video platform FC2 found guilty of hosting obscene videos
A Kyoto court sentenced Riyo Takahashi, 51, to three years in prison — suspended for five years — and fined him ¥2.5 million.
Filmmakers interview the general manager of a Bald Men's club for an upcoming Flix Oven documentary that will be available via the streaming platform Samansa.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Aug 14, 2025
Samansa bets on commuter cinema
As attention spans get shorter, a Japanese startup is banking on short films as easily digestible entertainment.
Max Holloway (left) fights against Dustin Poirier at UFC 318 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on July 19.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 12, 2025
Paramount wins exclusive U.S. rights to UFC in $7.7 billion deal
Streaming service Paramount+ will carry the complete U.S. slate of 13 numbered UFC shows and 30 "Fight Night" events.
A scene from the Taiwanese television drama "Zero Day Attack," which will stream in Japan from Friday.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 12, 2025
Taiwanese drama 'Zero Day Attack' on Chinese invasion to stream in Japan
The cast includes Japanese actors Issei Takahashi, who appears in the third episode, and Asami Mizukawa, who makes an appearance in the fifth episode.
The ESPN logo at the Super Bowl LIX media center at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans on Feb. 5.
SPORTS / Football
Aug 6, 2025
ESPN, leaping to streaming, holds hands with the NFL
ESPN will receive the NFL Network and other assets in exchange for a 10% equity stake.
Residential buildings in Cairo. The Japan Foundation will begin distributing Japanese movies online for free in all 54 countries in Africa on Tuesday, with many users in north African countries such as Egypt.
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2025
Japan Foundation to distribute Japanese movies in Africa
The move comes ahead of the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD 9, to be held in the city of Yokohama Aug. 20-22.
Apple is reportedly challenging current Formula One broadcaster ESPN for the sport's U.S. television rights next year.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Jul 9, 2025
Apple eyes U.S. Formula 1 broadcast rights after movie success: report
The report follows the strong box office performance of Apple's high-octane racing film "F1: The Movie."
Though Netflix remains the dominant choice globally for anime viewers, Amazon Prime Video has also invested heavily in anime, steadily adding titles to their catalogue.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 9, 2025
Once a niche, anime is now mainstream content for Netflix and other streaming services
Today, more than half of Netflix’s global users watch anime on its service, with shows such as “Sakamoto Days” proving to be massive hits.
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.
Otakukon, an anime, manga and cosplay meet in Harare, Zimbabwe, last August. Japan should take advantage of decades worth of hugely popular cultural content by taking the big swings in bringing its own stories to global audiences.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 1, 2025
Japan can ride the anime wave to become the new soft superpower
It's time for Japan to better leverage anime's global popularity, reaching international audiences via streaming platforms while opening the door to other cultural exports.
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.
Netflix has announced it will start streaming "Hotaru no Haka" (Grave of the Fireflies), an animated film produced by Studio Ghibli, from July 15 in Japan.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 16, 2025
Netflix to stream Studio Ghibli's 'Grave of the Fireflies' in Japan
It will be the first work by the Japanese anime powerhouse to be streamed on Netflix in Japan.
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.
Toma Ikuta plays a former hit man who wakes from a coma to exact vengeance on a gang of masked criminals in “Demon City.”
CULTURE / Film
Feb 28, 2025
‘Demon City’: Live-action manga adaptation is ultra-violent — and ultra-dull
Seiji Tanaka’s Netflix film about a former hit man determined to avenge his family is relentlessly unsatisfying.
Netflix reality series “Offline Love” follows five men and five women as they spend 10 days in Nice, France, finding romance.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Feb 18, 2025
‘Offline Love’ ditches digital dating and puts old-school romance to the test
Netflix Japan's new reality series whisks its participants to a picturesque seaside city in France and leans into nostalgia for a simpler time.
Toyoko Kids: The lonely street children of Tokyo
Many young people who feel neglected at home flock to the Toyoko area to find a community where they can fit in.
Japan unveils new overtourism countermeasures
The majority of tourists in Japan tend to stay in Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto, resulting in overcrowding in popular tourist spots and a strain on transportation systems.
South Korea couple beat same-sex barriers to parenthood
South Korean lesbian couple Kim Kyu-jin (left) and her wife, Kim Sae-yeon, pose with a "pregnant woman" badge during an interview in Seoul last month.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Opportunities await the bold in the Year of the Wood Dragon
2024 marks the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, with the year predicted to be a good time for fresh starts.
As Japan keeps buying gas, Aboriginal Australians pay the price
Paulina “Jedda” Puruntatameri with Antonia Burke and Tiwi fisher Clinton offshore of Melville Island, one of the Tiwi Islands, in Australia's Northern Territory. Together with other Tiwi, Jedda has been campaigning for years to stop Australian company Santos and its backers, including Japanese investors, from drilling for natural gas at the Barossa gas field.
Who’s who in the LDP presidential race?
(Clockwise from top left) Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi; former foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi; Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi; former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi; and former minister of state for economic security Sanae Takaichi
Tax-advantaged investments no lost cause for U.S. residents of Japan
While some American taxpayers assume they are ineligible to participate in Japan’s tax-deferred savings schemes, certified public accountant Rick Gundlach says that this is no longer the case.
Aichi Triennale’s message from the world: Free Palestine
“Between Currents and Bloom,” an eye-popping crocheted seascape by Indonesian artist Mulyana, dazzles with Instagram-ready cuteness while recalling a vibrant ocean now threatened by warming seas.
Twice-a-year injection could make HIV prevention easier, developer argues
Jared Baeten, Gilead Sciences' senior vice president and virology therapeutic area head, hopes regulatory approval elsewhere for lenacapavir as a preexposure prophylaxis — for reducing the risk of contracting HIV — could lead to real discussions toward ending HIV in Japan.

Podcast

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

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan
By Christoph Sponsel

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

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