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Nakazakicho may be just a few minutes outside the major commercial district of Umeda, but it certainly doesn't feel that way.
LIFE / Travel
Jul 27, 2024

The dancer keeping Osaka’s Nakazakicho indie

Nakazakicho’s transformation is more than the success story of a small neighborhood turning the tide against inner-city decay.
Actors Kento Kaku (left) and Ryoma Takeuchi star in Amazon Prime Video's new show "Like A Dragon: Yakuza," which is based on a hugely popular Sega video game series about Tokyo crime gangs.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jul 29, 2024

Japan TV can catch 'Shogun' wave, says 'Like A Dragon' star

Kento Kaku says it is important for Japan to seize the opportunity to create more shows that are recognized internationally.
Kingdom Hearts-inspired action-adventure game Luminous Nights was one of many indie titles that had to fight for attention on an increasingly crowded show floor.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Aug 3, 2024

Bigger than ever, BitSummit’s indie spirit wears thin

As the indie game show grows, the question looms as to whether its current trajectory continues to be true to its original spirit.
Many market followers believe the pillars that had underpinned gains for years — a series of key assumptions that investors across the world were banking on — have been shaken.
BUSINESS
Aug 6, 2024

$6.4 trillion stock wipeout has traders fearing ‘great unwind’ is just starting

Many market followers believe the pillars that had underpinned gains for years have been shaken.
Utagawa Hiroshige produced several highly successful series of landscape prints over the course of his career, including “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo” — the largest collection of his career.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 8, 2024

The definitive guide to Utagawa Hiroshige's masterwork is a feast for the eyes

Ukiyo-e expert Andreas Marks' new book is a rare compendium of the Japanese artist’s landscapes, even by local standards.  
A fan poses for photos next to a poster of trot singer Lim Young-woong before attending his concert in Seoul in May.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 9, 2024

Trotting ahead of K-pop? South Korean crooner Lim Young-woong rivals BTS

The traditional South Korean music genre of trot includes elements of jazz, swing and enka.
Produced by Toei Animation, “Girls Band Cry” follows five young women who form a band and navigate the Japanese rock landscape.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Aug 17, 2024

Prepare for a new wave of anime-born bands

'Girls Band Cry' and its in-real-life band Togenashi Togeari offer the latest evolution of mixed-media music projects.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 19, 2024

Singapore’s Wong hands out fresh perks ahead of election

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong sought to reassure citizens their voices are being heard during his first and last National Day Rally before Singapore's general election.
A wall mural depicting Nintendo's Super Mario characters in an underground walkway in Kyoto. The company will open the Nintendo Museum in October.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 20, 2024

Nintendo to open museum showcasing video game history this fall

The museum in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, will feature vintage video games and an interactive shoot-em-up with Super Mario characters.
Former Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman will lead the committee searching for a successor to Disney CEO Bob Iger.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 22, 2024

Disney names James Gorman to lead CEO succession planning effort

Disney is weighing both internal and external candidates to succeed Bob Iger.
A cardboard cutout of the Monkey King character, or Sun Wukong, from the Chinese action role-playing game Black Myth: Wukong is displayed on the day of its launch in Beijing on Aug. 20.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 27, 2024

Black myth, Black samurai and gaming nationalism

While China has to date enjoyed success in mobile and PC gaming, those lucrative sectors carry relatively little prestige. That makes Wukong’s breakout a landmark event.
Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 28, 2024

Trump adds former Democrats RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard to transition team

Trump's move risks reinforcing criticism that he is embracing figures espousing fringe or extreme views in his bid to return to power.
Johnny's & Associates President Noriyuki Higashiyama (second from right), unveils Smile-Up as the new name for the talent agency during a news conference in Tokyo in October 2023. The agency decided on the name change after it acknowledged the abuse committed by its late founder and apologized to victims in September 2023.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 4, 2024

Johnny’s victims group to disband one year after agency admitted abuse

The group says it will continue to help victims with unresolved cases — through consultation and other forms of support — despite the disbandment.
Elderly pachinko players at Day Service Las Vegas, a casino-themed day care service in Yokohama, in August
JAPAN / Society
Sep 11, 2024

Pachinko-style gambling is helping seniors’ brains in Japan

Bolstered by evidence that playing the pinball machines can help prevent dementia, some businesses are now tailoring services in a bid to revive growth.
Tamotsu Shiiki, 58, is accused of sexually assaulting a first-year junior high school girl at a karaoke parlor in Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district on Aug. 20. He has denied the charge.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 11, 2024

Ex-lawmaker held over alleged sexual assault in Tokyo karaoke parlor

Tamotsu Shiiki, a former Lower House lawmaker of Nippon Ishin no Kai, denies sexually assaulting the first-year junior high school girl.
The PlayStation 5 Pro gaming console is priced at $699.99 in the United States, and ¥119,980 in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 11, 2024

Sony prices PlayStation 5 Pro game console at a hefty $699.99

In Japan, the midgeneration console is priced at ¥119,980, compared with the standard PlayStation 5 digital model's ¥72,980 price tag.
Japanese media's lack of critical engagement and depth in covering debates can be attributed to Japan's Broadcasting Law, which mandates political impartiality in news coverage.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 12, 2024

How Japanese and U.S. election coverage differs

Japanese media's coverage of U.S. debates tends to be more superficial and uniform, often merely reflecting U.S. media content.
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’

The Emmys-sweeping period drama went to great lengths to achieve historical accuracy — but that's just one piece of a bigger puzzle.
Sean "Diddy" Combs in 2017. Prosecutors have accused Combs of running a criminal enterprise to facilitate his exploitation of women, dating back at least 16 years.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Sep 18, 2024

Sean 'Diddy' Combs pleads not guilty to sex trafficking; judge denies bail

Prosecutors said the rapper and producer used his fame to coerce women into demeaning sexual acts as part of a long-running scheme.
Japan might have created the PlayStation brand, but the cost of the latest generation of the console will exclude all but the most hardcore fans.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 18, 2024

PS5 Pro price is a sticker shock for the country that made the PlayStation

With even an entry-level PS5 now costing some ¥72,980 following the latest hike last month, an entire generation of Japanese could be cut off.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen speaks during a news conference in Singapore on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 20, 2024

Max Verstappen riled up by call for F1 drivers to swear less

Mercedes's seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton took issue with the FIA's comparison to rappers, saying there was a "racial element" at play.
The tech platforms contributing to social instability should financially support independent journalism as a way to combat misinformation and promote a healthier society.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 27, 2024

How independent journalism can save society from the effects of Big Tech

Independent journalism is critical in verifying facts, exposing corruption, addressing societal issues and contrasting it all with the negative impacts of Big Tech.
Gilles Langourieux, chief executive officer of Virtuos, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 27, 2024

Game developer Virtuos seeks acquisitions and growth in Japan

The Singapore-based company, which has been involved in such major franchises as Call of Duty and Metal Gear Solid, is in active talks with multiple studios in Japan.
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

A YouTube live broadcast from the girl group raises age-old questions about labor practices in the Korean pop industry.
Musician Koshi Inaba is the latest artist to be featured on national broadcaster NHK’s Tiny Desk Concerts Japan. Based on a series from America’s National Public Radio, Japan’s version has spotlighted acts that you likely wouldn’t see stateside, like veteran rockers Kirinji and upstart pop artist yama.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 28, 2024

NHK furthers global reach with Tiny Desk Concerts Japan

Musician Koshi Inaba delivered a rollicking set for the stripped-down music series that brings cherry-picked Japanese acts you likely wouldn’t see stateside to new ears.
The conduct and business of love in Japan’s Edo Period  (1603-1867) was rough, and nowhere was it rougher than in the pleasure quarters of the capital city.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Sep 29, 2024

Good or bad, both or neither: Edo Japan and the moral conscience

The era's warrior class and its martial virtues were redundant but lived on — overshadowed by the pursuit of pleasure.
A room in a temporary shelter in Kanagawa Prefecture for young people who have run away from home due to abuse and other reasons
JAPAN / Society
Sep 30, 2024

Japan's children's agency looks to set up shelters for runaways

The agency has launched a project offering subsidies to prefectures and major cities that set up runaway shelters.
Visitors play Super Mario on a giant video game console during a media preview of the new Nintendo Museum, located inside a renovated old factory, in the city of Uji in Kyoto Prefecture, on Sept. 24.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 2, 2024

From cards to consoles: Nintendo opens its first museum

The museum is part of Nintendo's efforts to broaden its brand that include the release of a Super Mario animated movie last year.
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.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 6, 2024

Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law

A weak yen, robust inbound tourism and social media have shone a spotlight on a park in Tokyo where men gather in search of sex.
The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington on June 1
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Oct 3, 2024

Guns and transgender rights cases loom as U.S. Supreme Court returns

The justices return from their summer recess under intense scrutiny by many politicians and the public.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?