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October 08, 2025
 

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CULTURE

Music

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Nodoka Okisawa conducts the Saito Kinen Orchestra to perform Benjamin Britten's opera "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Matsumoto Performing Arts Center in August for the 33rd edition of the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival.
CULTURE / Music
Nodoka Okisawa is carrying the baton for Seiji Ozawa in Matsumoto
Japanese conductor Nodoka Okisawa embraces both tradition and renewal at a festival that still embodies Ozawa’s spirit.
CULTURE / Music
Finding jazz in J-pop: Patrick Bartley’s musical second language
The J-Music Ensemble leader translates Japanese culture into a classic American musical tradition.
CULTURE / Music
Mei Ehara’s third album finds clarity in the noise
The Japanese singer-songwriter turns the concept of a McGuffin into her most direct work yet, sharpened by a U.S. tour with Faye Webster.
Polish pianist Hania Rani took the audience on a synth odyssey at the first Japan edition of Unsound Osaka over the weekend.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 11, 2025
Unsound turns Osaka into a laboratory of avant-garde music
By James Hadfield
Long-running Polish music festival Unsound channels Expo ’70 at its first Japan edition.
Musician Haruna Kimishima, better known as Haru Nemuri, confronts Japan’s politics, nationalism and censorship on her recent output.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 5, 2025
Haru Nemuri’s radical new album refuses easy listening
By Patrick St. Michel
Haru Nemuri’s “ekkolaptomenos” fuses philosophy, pop and protest, confronting Japan’s politics while navigating visa fears and DIY touring.
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
By Patrick St. Michel
YouTube's three-day weekend of online performances features a medley of Vocaloid, hyperpop, rock and pop artists in a supportive, cultural festival atmosphere.
Sakurazaka46, the idol pop outfit formerly known as Keyakizaka46, wrapped up an an 11-night nationwide tour this month.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 29, 2025
Sakurazaka46 wants the world to dance along
By Patrick St. Michel
The 33-member idol group takes its spectacle-heavy performances on the road — and abroad.
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 22, 2025
Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it
By Patrick St. Michel
Summer Sonic 2025 showcased Japan’s pop power: Mrs. Green Apple, Hikaru Utada and rising stars outshone the festival’s headliners.
Metal-meets-idol trio Babymetal is sure to bring spectacle to this weekend's Summer Sonic.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 13, 2025
The early bird gets the bangers at this year’s Summer Sonic
By Patrick St. Michel
This year’s festival makes its biggest moves before noon, with Japan’s top acts and K-pop stars commanding early slots.
Kid carts and strollers were a common sight at the Fuji Rock Festival this year.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 4, 2025
The families that rock together at Fuji
By Mark Thompson
Taking children to Fuji Rock is a rite of passage that should be supported.

‘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.
Takaichi, the LDP’s first female president, is far from an ‘overnight success’
Newly-elected Liberal Democratic Party chief Sanae Takaichi greets her fellow LDP members on Saturday at party headquarters.
‘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.
Eat your balloons: The culinary theater of Grant Achatz comes to Tokyo
Avant-garde chef Grant Achatz and his team from Alinea are in Tokyo for a three-week residency.
Japan’s first foreign wine investor plants its roots in Hokkaido
Intrigued by Japanese wines, Burgundy winemaker Etienne de Montille decided to explore Hokkaido's wine scene, eventually setting up his outpost in Hakodate in 2017.

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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