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January 20, 2025
 

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CULTURE

TV & Streaming

Film
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In season two of "Squid Game," protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) returns to put an end to the deadly competition.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
The unnervingly timed return of ‘Squid Game’
The show’s themes of wealth disparity and exploitation of power resonate far beyond South Korea, tapping into a universal vein of unease about the unstable systems we live under.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Isekai anime offers a key to understanding globalization
The fantastical genre wherein characters are dropped into unlikely worlds — and sometimes bodies — can be read as an allegory for the structure of the contemporary anime industry.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
‘Unbound’ breaks NHK period drama tradition with a hero of the common folk
Public broadcaster NHK marks its 100th anniversary by flipping the script on its long-running period drama series.
Midori Kato has been voice acting the character Sazae Fuguta in the TV animation series "Sazae-san" since it started in 1969.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Dec 30, 2024
Still sounding young at 85, Midori Kato is the voice of old Japan
By Motoko Rich and Hisako Ueno
The voice actor is the last original member of the cast of “Sazae-san,” a cartoon series that premiered in 1969 and never quite joined the modern world.
“Shogun,” created by American channel FX and made by a joint American-Japanese team, utilized the strengths of both Japan and Hollywood to create a bona fide smash that critics adored. 
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / 2024 in Review
Dec 7, 2024
2024 was the year Japanese TV found its prestige
By Patrick St. Michel
The triumph of “Shogun” at the Emmys served as an exclamation point for an industry taking big swings and opening up to trans-Pacific partnerships.
Hiroshi Kurosaki’s Netflix series “Beyond Goodbye” centers on a woman (Kasumi Arimura, left) who discovers her dead lover’s heart saved the life of a quiet pianist (Kentaro Sakaguchi).
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Nov 29, 2024
Hiroshi Kurosaki looks beyond Japan for heart-wrenching drama
By Mark Schilling
The director’s Netflix series relies on lush visuals and truths about love and loss to appeal to an overseas audience.
Ryoma Takeuchi (right) is perfectly cast as Kazuma Kiryu, a Jack Reacher-esque character of impermeable physicality in Amazon Prime’s new series “Like a Dragon: Yakuza.”
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Oct 25, 2024
Amazon’s ‘Like a Dragon: Yakuza’ pulls its biggest punch
By Owen Ziegler
Amazon’s new series based on the long-running Ryu Ga Gotoku games flattens the quirkiest elements of the Kamurocho red-light district for a run-of-the-mill crime drama.
Comedian Yuriyan Retriever takes on the role of Japan’s most hated heel, Kaoru “Dump” Matsumoto, in “The Queen of Villains.”
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Sep 20, 2024
Yuriyan Retriever is Japan's biggest heel — and proud of it
By James Hadfield
The comedian takes on the role of Kaoru “Dump” Matsumoto, a real-life rule-breaking brawler in women’s professional wrestling, in Netflix's “The Queen of Villains.”
Anna Sawai (left), winner of the outstanding lead actress in a drama series award, and Hiroyuki Sanada, outstanding lead actor in a drama series for "Shogun," at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Sep 18, 2024
Japanese are jubilant over 'Shogun' — even without having watched the series
By Natsuko Fukue
"Shogun" is only available via Disney's streaming platform, which is relatively new in Japan. Nonetheless, people are buzzing with excitement over the show's Emmy wins.
Hiroyuki Sanada and the cast and crew of "Shogun" accept the award for best drama series at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Sep 16, 2024
‘Shogun’ and the painstaking art of ‘getting it right’
By Thu-Huong Ha
The Emmys-sweeping period drama went to great lengths to achieve historical accuracy — but that's just one piece of a bigger puzzle.

Chinese buyer of Okinawa Island to make visit in summer
Yanaha Island in Okinawa Prefecture as seen from a ferry.
Protesters storm South Korea court after it extends Yoon's detention
A motorcade believed to be carrying impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeo arrives at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, South Korea, late Saturday.
German ambassador warns of Trump plan to redefine constitutional order, document shows
German Ambassador to the U.S. Andreas Michaelis has described U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's agenda for his second White House term as one of "maximum disruption."
AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo win U.S. approval for breast cancer drug
Daiichi Sankyo's headquarters in Tokyo
TikTok shuts down U.S. access as Trump seeks app's reinstatement
After months of legal tussles, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that would ban TikTok in the name of national security.
For tourists in search of seasonal sights, Yamagata makes its case
For some time away from Tokyo's suffocating urban sameness, Yamagata Prefecture is home to a soothing array of natural abundance.
A slow dive into ‘a moment and an eternity’ with Ryuichi Sakamoto
From the mid-2000s onward, Ryuichi Sakamoto created a number of installation works, often in collaboration with Shiro Takatani, of multimedia art collective Dumb Type.
The efforts to bridge the disaster information gap, 30 years on
Roxana Oshiro and her husband gather their belongings in front of their house in Furukawacho, in Kobe's Suma Ward, after the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995.
Japan looks to up the ante with more money and partners in military aid program
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo hold a joint news conference in Taguig City, Metro Manila, the Philippines, on Wednesday.
Possibility of Nankai Trough megaquake now 80%, government panel reports
A map of the hypocentral region of an anticipated Nankai Trough earthquake

Podcast

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

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go
By Kazuaki Nagata and Richard Meyer

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mission sustainability vol.14 : Unicharm Corp.Unicharm recycles diapers back into diapers
mission sustainability vol.14 : Unicharm Corp.Unicharm recycles diapers back into diapers

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