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December 21, 2024
 

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CULTURE

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Indian musician Zakir Hussain performs during a concert at the Indian Music Experience in Bangalore in 2019
CULTURE / Music
Zakir Hussain, peerless Indian tabla player, dies at 73
Considered a national treasure in his homeland, the percussionist brought classical Indian music to a global audience
CULTURE / Music
There's no room for wallflowers at Amapinight
From amapiano to dancehall, Japanese dancers and DJs are moving the masses with African beats at Tokyo's most energetic party.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
'Kohaku' still matters for J-pop bragging rights
The recently announced 2024 lineup underlines how capturing a year of J-pop in one broadcast bonanza is impossible these days.
The Tubassadors are (from left) Tomohiro Sosogi, Kazuto Shikada, Soen Tamura and Keisuke Nishibu.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 5, 2024
The Tubassadors hope to change the tuba’s tune
By Louise George Kittaka
Orchestras aren't known for tuba solos in their performances. However, this Tokyo-based quartet puts the instrument front and center.
Members of the rock band Bright Eyes Super-Duper perform a song using sign language at a venue in Nagoya on Sept. 15.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 27, 2024
Sign-language rock band marks 35 years in Japan
To keep rhythm for their performances, the members of Bright Eyes Super-Duper with impaired hearing feel the vibrations of the music.
The members of Mareo! (Francisca Silva, Ernesto Duboy and Camila Sanchez) are on their second tour of Japan. And among the performances this time around was a gig at an Osaka high school.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 21, 2024
Chilean trio Mareo! is on a lengthy tour to help grow its Latin-inspired sound in Japan
By Patrick St. Michel
Latin sounds are taking off in the world's biggest music markets, but this indie group thinks you need to be a bit more present in order to grab opportunities.
Annual festival Peter Barakan’s Live Magic! was born a decade ago when Barakan (left) decided to create a platform to share his love of roots music, which he attributes to growing up in 1960s England.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 11, 2024
Peter Barakan’s Live Magic! takes its final bow
By Matt Schley
The 11th edition of the annual blues, jazz and roots festival will also be its last, at least in its current form, but the core concept of the event will live on.
Cameron Lew, who makes music under the name Ginger Root, recently released “Shinbangumi,” an album that was influenced by the glimmering pop echoes of Japan in the 1980s as well as the nerviness of Devo, the loose rock-pop of Hall & Oates and even Haruomi Hosono’s ’70s explorations of exotica.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 5, 2024
Ginger Root expands on effervescent retro sound
By Patrick St. Michel
New release "Shinbangumi" comes after a whirlwind year for the American artist who blends glittering pop echoes of 1980s Japan with a mish-mash of Western influences.
Masayoshi Fujita moved to a quiet mountain village in Hyogo Prefecture after 13 years of living in Berlin, the hub of uber cool. His homecoming inspired his latest album, “Migratory.”
CULTURE / Music
Sep 29, 2024
Masayoshi Fujita’s ‘Migratory’ is an ode to nature and nurture
By Russell Thomas
The musician’s new environmental music album, created after his return to Japan after 13 years in Berlin, represents more than a physical homecoming.
Members of the K-pop group NewJeans are embroiled in a dispute with their corporate backers over their creative relationship with an executive producer.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 28, 2024
NewJeans’ ultimatum casts K-pop’s displays of labor in a new light
By Jon Caramanica
A YouTube live broadcast from the girl group raises age-old questions about labor practices in the Korean pop industry.

Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Couple stabbed to death near Tokyo
Two people were found stabbed on the premises of a private home and were later confirmed dead at hospital, the Chiba Prefectural Police have said.
43-year-old man arrested over Kitakyushu McDonald's stabbings
A McDonald's outlet in Kitakyushu where two teens were stabbed, one fatally, on Saturday. Police arrested a 43-year-old suspect on Thursday morning.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.
With rare Asia carrier deployment, France seeks greater interoperability
The flight deck of the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier during a stop at Changi Naval Base in Singapore in May 2019
Taiwan’s bullet train a testament to shinkansen’s export potential
A Taiwan High Speed Rail bullet train arrives at Nangang Station in the city of Taipei.
Looking for ways to be charitable in Japan? Give the gift of reading.
Book Santa is a program that delivers books to children in need for Christmas, but it also operates year-round.

Podcast

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

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

The celebrated artist ‘updating’ the kimono
The celebrated artist ‘updating’ the kimono

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