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December 07, 2025
 

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CULTURE

Film
Books
Art
Music
TV & Streaming
Stage
Entertainment news
Beijing has turned to entertainment as leverage in the escalating tensions between Japan and China, resulting in canceled concerts and postponed film releases.
CULTURE / Music
Culture caught in crossfire as Japan and China rift escalates
By Alyssa I. Smith
Beijing¡¯s restrictions on Japanese entertainment have canceled concerts and postponed film releases, leaving artists and fans in limbo.
In 2025, ¡°Demon Slayer¡± and ¡°Kokuho¡± broke box-office records, while films such as ¡°Renoir,¡± A Pale View of the Hills¡± and ¡°Two Strangers, Two Seasons¡± garnered acclaim on the international film festival circuit. The year¡¯s biggest loss was the death of Tatsuya Nakadai, an highly regarded actor who had worked with nearly all of the top directors of Japanese cinema¡¯s postwar golden age.
CULTURE / Film / 2025 IN REVIEW
2025 was the year Japan¡¯s box office returned
By Mark Schilling
Anime ruled the screens once again, but a kabuki drama surprised us all.
Aichi Nagoya International Animation Film Festival director Shinichiro Inoue (left) and artistic director Tadashi Sudo (right) started the new event in Nagoya in part due to local government support and Aichi Prefecture¡¯s ongoing investment in arts and culture.
CULTURE / Film
A new animation festival lands in Nagoya with big plans
By Matt Schley
The Aichi Nagoya International Animation Film Festival will feature screenings, chat shows and storytelling.

Film

In 2025, ¡°Demon Slayer¡± and ¡°Kokuho¡± broke box-office records, while films such as ¡°Renoir,¡± A Pale View of the Hills¡± and ¡°Two Strangers, Two Seasons¡± garnered acclaim on the international film festival circuit. The year¡¯s biggest loss was the death of Tatsuya Nakadai, an highly regarded actor who had worked with nearly all of the top directors of Japanese cinema¡¯s postwar golden age.
Film / 2025 IN REVIEW
2025 was the year Japan¡¯s box office returned
By Mark Schilling
Anime ruled the screens once again, but a kabuki drama surprised us all.
Film
¡®Black Box Diaries¡¯ is Shiori Ito¡¯s unflinching case for the truth
By Mark Schilling
Film
A new animation festival lands in Nagoya with big plans
By Matt Schley
Film
¡®The Chatterboxes¡¯: ¡®A comedy of errors finds a common language
By James Hadfield
Film
Mariko Tsutsui knows the power of quiet roles
By Mark Schilling
Film
¡®Bring Him Down to a Portable Size¡¯ mourns a lovable loser
By Mark Schilling
Film
¡®Sato and Sato¡¯: Unraveling marriage story feels universal
By James Hadfield

Books

The history of internment camps for Japanese Americans in the U.S. during World War II has been the focus of several of George Takei's projects, including the Broadway show "Allegiance" and his memoir titled ¡°They Called Us Enemy.¡±
Books
George Takei brings children¡¯s book on wartime internment to Japan
By Gendel Gento
The ¡°Star Trek¡± actor has written about his experience in the internment camps in the U.S. during World War II.
Books
TV icon Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's memoir paints a life of both war and glamour
By Ayako Nakano
Books
¡®Palaver¡¯: A queer story set in Tokyo searches for a home for the heart
By Grace En-yi Ting
Books
Spanish artist and Japanese writer duos diversify the manga talent pool in Japan
By Gendel Gento
Books
New book scrutinizes sustainability of traditional Japanese textiles
By Jessica Kozuka
Books
'Ghost Nation' puts Taiwan¡¯s history in present context
By Athena Tong
Books
Hungarian 'master of the apocalypse' Laszlo Krasznahorkai wins Nobel Prize in literature

Music

Beijing has turned to entertainment as leverage in the escalating tensions between Japan and China, resulting in canceled concerts and postponed film releases.
Music
Culture caught in crossfire as Japan and China rift escalates
By Alyssa I. Smith
Beijing¡¯s restrictions on Japanese entertainment have canceled concerts and postponed film releases, leaving artists and fans in limbo.
Music / Longform
Yumi Matsutoya¡¯s human touch in an AI age
By Patrick St. Michel
Music
How Band-Maid brought anime energy into the hard-rock sound of ¡®Scooooop¡¯
By Patrick St. Michel
Music
Kenshi Yonezu, 'Chainsaw Man' and the art of pop ubiquity
By Patrick St. Michel
Music
Oasis returns to Japan after 16 years ¡ª and fans can still sing every word
By Adam Davidson
Music
Oasis returns to Tokyo: Rain, rapture and rock
By Patrick St. Michel
Music
Japanese rock fans can't agree on kurayamisaka
By Patrick St. Michel

TV & Streaming

¡°Last Samurai Standing¡± centers on a mysterious fighting event in which participants must hack and slash their opponents apart to collect enough wooden tags to win a big-money prize.
TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
The secret to 'Last Samurai Standing'? Treating live action like anime.
By Patrick St. Michel
Netflix¡¯s wild new samurai series embraces cartoonish chaos ¡ª and it works.
TV & Streaming
Taylor Swift Eras Tour six-part docuseries coming to Disney+
By Molly Schuetz
TV & Streaming
With Hollywood facing headwinds, Netflix looks eastward
By Erik Augustin Palm
TV & Streaming
¡®Cinderella Grey¡¯ gallops past the other sports documentaries
By Patrick St. Michel
TV & Streaming
Dark folklore meets teenage angst in ¡®The Summer Hikaru Died¡¯
By Mike Fu
TV & Streaming
Virtual singer Kaf's music becomes magic in 'Kamitsubaki City Under Construction'
By Alicia Haddick
TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
From foil to fan favorite, Kuromi embodies Sanrio¡¯s darker side of cute
By Patrick St. Michel

Art

Art Week Tokyo featured a live performance of Keiichiro Shibuya¡¯s ¡°Android Opera Mirror ¡ª Deconstruction and Rebirth ¡ª,¡± starring an advanced humanoid robot.
Art
Is human-machine collaboration the future of fine art?
By Jessica Kozuka
At this year¡¯s Art Week Tokyo, AI emerged as a major and incredibly nuanced theme among participating artists.
Art
Kyoto gets its own teamLab installation, the largest in Japan
By Fred Mery
Art
What we see when Japanese women photographers shoot back
By Jennifer Pastore
Art
First European Photography Month in Tokyo
By John L. Tran
Art
Tokyo Biennale hides the art in plain sight
By Kim Kahan
Art
T3 Photo Festival reframes cityscape as nature
By John L. Tran
Art
Artists turn Okayama into Murakami-esque city of wonder
By Mike Fu

Stage

In a rare meeting of ballet and butoh dance ¡ª a first for K-Ballet Opto ¡ª butoh company Dairakudakan and its founder, Akaji Maro, will dance alongside ballet dancers.
Stage
A rare dance trinity: Ballet, butoh and kabuki share the stage
By Kris Kosaka
In the uncertain realm between life and death dwell mystical creatures ¡ª tengu demons, y¨­kai folklore monsters and spirits of the dead. It¡¯s these shadows that choreographer and director Kaiji Moriyama explores in K-Ballet Opto¡¯s ¡°A Dance Remembered in Tohno,¡± premiering Dec. 26 at Tatemono...
Stage
Theater beyond borders: Eriko Ogawa's tenure at the NNTT has a global vision
By Kris Kosaka
Stage
Pina Bausch¡¯s 2008 masterpiece to be performed in Japan by the original cast
By Kris Kosaka
Stage
Autumn Meteorite stages a month of inventive theater in Tokyo
By Jessica Kozuka
Stage
Iyo Sky takes flight: How the ¡®Genius of the Sky¡¯ turned risk into art and fear into fun
By Adam Davidson
Stage
A Japanese comedian walks into an Aussie bar ¡­ and stays there
By Zoria Petkoska
Stage
The summer kabuki came roaring back
By Kris Kosaka

Entertainment news

Little Miss Chatterbox, Mr. Tickle and Mr. Greedy might be among the characters making their big screen debuts.
Entertainment news
Mr. Men and Little Miss characters set for first feature film
The beloved Mr. Men and Little Miss characters will appear in their first feature film, a new project from Studiocanal, Heyday Films and Sanrio.
Entertainment news
U.S. playwright Jeremy O. Harris arrested in Okinawa for alleged drug smuggling
Entertainment news
Oscar-winning U.K. playwright Tom Stoppard dies at 88
Entertainment news
NHK¡¯s ¡®Last Days¡¯ wins International Emmy for Ryuichi Sakamoto portrait
By Alyssa I. Smith
Entertainment news
New ¡®Demon Slayer¡¯ film becomes first Japanese movie to break ?100 billion
Entertainment news
Chanmina and aespa among 10 acts to debut on NHK¡¯s ¡®Kohaku Uta Gassen¡¯
By Patrick St. Michel
Entertainment news
Renowned Japanese actor Tatsuya Nakadai dies at 92
By Weiwen Lin
Read more CULTURE stories
Trump security strategy demands more from Japan while unveiling ¡®burden-sharing network¡¯
U.S. President Donald Trump makes a speech aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during his visit to the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Oct. 28.
Spotlight shines on humanoid robots at Tokyo show
A representative from Noitom Robotics demonstraties remote robot operation at the iREX International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo on Friday.
Japan¡¯s bear-related casualties hit record on escalating attacks
Bear bells are displayed for sale at a souvenir shop at Shirakawa-go, a popular tourist spot and one of Japan's UNESCO World Heritage sites, in the village of Shirakawa, Gifu Prefecture, on Nov. 15.
Suspected ³Ù´Ç°ì³Ü°ù²â¨± masterminds in Tokyo-area robberies arrested
Takuya Saito, 26, is one of four men arrested by Japanese police on Friday on suspicion of masterminding a series of robberies in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Average price of rice in Japan hits new record high
In the week ended last Sunday, the average price of rice sold at about 1,000 supermarkets across Japan rose by ?23 from the previous week to ?4,335 per 5 kilograms.
Trump security strategy demands more from Japan while unveiling ¡®burden-sharing network¡¯
U.S. President Donald Trump makes a speech aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during his visit to the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Oct. 28.
Will Takaichi bank on her high approval ratings to call a snap election?
While media polls show a high support rate for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s Cabinet, the support for the LDP is not as great, meaning there¡¯s no guarantee of a coattail effect if a snap poll is called.
¡®Black Box Diaries¡¯ is Shiori Ito¡¯s unflinching case for the truth
¡°Black Box Diaries¡± documents Shiori Ito¡¯s legal case, while also showing her thoughts and feelings through journal style videos she recorded herself.
Kashima or Kashiwa: J. League title chase goes down to the wire
Kashima's Yuma Suzuki (center) takes a shot during a game against Kashiwa in March.
2025 was the year Japan¡¯s box office returned
In 2025, ¡°Demon Slayer¡± and ¡°Kokuho¡± broke box-office records, while films such as ¡°Renoir,¡± A Pale View of the Hills¡± and ¡°Two Strangers, Two Seasons¡± garnered acclaim on the international film festival circuit. The year¡¯s biggest loss was the death of Tatsuya Nakadai, an highly regarded actor who had worked with nearly all of the top directors of Japanese cinema¡¯s postwar golden age.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Yumi Matsutoya began her decades-long career under her maiden name, Yumi Arai, but Japanese fans might know her better as ¡°Yuming.¡±
Yumi Matsutoya¡¯s human touch in an AI age
By Patrick St. Michel

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