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February 13, 2026
 

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CULTURE

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In Emi Yagi¡¯s surreal novel, statues are able to talk and the book's protagonist is paid to be a conversation partner in Latin for a statue of Venus.
CULTURE / Books
When the museum is closed, a girl falls in love with a statue
A quirky tale of intimacy and connection in the strangest of places, the novel ¡°When the Museum is Closed¡± unfolds through a girl falling in love with a statue.
CULTURE / Books
'Borderlines': A cacophony of dramatic personae unfolds a life of memories through 108 poems
With elements of both poetry and memoir, ¡°Borderlines: An Astral Experience in Poems¡± by Alan Botsford, straddles the boundaries of genre.
CULTURE / Books
Time and history win big at most prestigious Japanese book awards
The Akutagawa Prize and the Naoki Prize in January 2026 were awarded to Makoto Toriyama, Ushio Hatakeyama and Teru Shimazu.
Mothra, a giant multicolored moth, is one of Toho Studios' movie monsters alongside Godzilla and King Ghidorah.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 11, 2026
¡®The Luminous Fairies and Mothra¡¯: This monster is not like the others
By Matt Schley
The Luminous Fairies and Mothra," translated to English for the first time, provides deeper insight into the political context in Japan in the 1950s.
¡°Jackson Alone¡± follows four mixed-race, queer young men as they navigate the fallout after a revenge porn video surfaces at the titular character¡¯s place of work.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 7, 2026
Part seedy, part satire, all bite: ¡®Jackson Alone¡¯ tackles issues others rarely touch
By Kris Kosaka
The dark satire novella ¡°Jackson Alone¡± is the first book by Akutagawa Prize-winning author Jose Ando to be translated into English.
¡°Dai Pinchi Zukan 3¡± is part of a series of illustrated kids' books; all three books have been immensely popular, selling a cumulative 2.7 million copies in four years.
CULTURE / Books / 2025 IN REVIEW
Dec 21, 2025
Life lessons from bestselling kids' book about making mistakes
By Thu-Huong Ha
The top-selling book of 2025, ¡°Dai Pinchi Zukan 3,¡± is a children¡¯s book about a cloddish kid forever falling into mishaps or ¡°big pinches.¡±
Japanese literature in translation abroad has only grown in popularity with every year, resulting in a wide variety of titles available in English, from cozy fiction to crime and horror.
CULTURE / Books / 2025 IN REVIEW
Dec 14, 2025
In 2025, Japanese literature took a turn for the weird
By Kris Kosaka
As expected, women writers raked in successes and cozy cat fiction kept its popularity, with two big surprises from male authors ¡ª Uketsu and Osamu Dazai.
Among the hand-drawn sketches in ¡°Tadao Ando. Sketches, Drawings & Architecture¡± is the initial idea for the Hill of the Buddha in Hokkaido painted over a photograph of the site.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 7, 2025
Tadao Ando¡¯s raw passion in 750 artworks
By Zoria Petkoska
A new Taschen volume reveals the architect¡¯s creative process through decades of sketches, studies and travel drawings.
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.¡±
CULTURE / Books
Nov 26, 2025
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.
¡°Totto¡± in ¡°Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window: The Sequel¡± was the nickname young Tetsuko Kuroyanagi gave herself as a child, mispronouncing her first name.
CULTURE / Books
Nov 23, 2025
TV icon Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's memoir paints a life of both war and glamour
By Ayako Nakano
¡°Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window, The Sequel,¡± TV personality Tetsuko Kuroyanagi¡¯s second memoir, comes out more than 40 years after the first.

Germany considers joining GCAP fighter project with Japan, U.K. and Italy
A concept model of the Global Air Combat Program fighter jet on display at the Defense and Security Equipment International Japan conference in Chiba last May
Struggling Nissan forecasts $4.2 billion full-year net loss
Nissan intends to reduce the number of its vehicle production plants from 17 to 10 by March 2028, and is targeting 20,000 job cuts worldwide by that date.
Why Asia can¡¯t undo decades of falling fertility rates
Singapore¡¯s stalled birthrate reflects a broader pattern across wealthy Asian economies where higher living standards, shifting values and gender imbalances have made low fertility persistent and resistant to quick policy fixes.
Why we¡¯ll never see a yokozuna in the Super Bowl
Wrestlers from Onoe stable with Fujitsu Frontiers cornerback Al-Rilwan Adeyemi (front) at the Rice Bowl at Tokyo Dome on Jan. 3, 2017
Yen strengthens decisively after strong showing by LDP boosts confidence
The yen has strengthened decisively since the Liberal Democratic Party gained a supermajority in the Lower House.
Japanese skier hits back at trolls and brings attention to online abuse at Olympics
Freestyle skier Kokone Kondo skis during a training session in Livigno, Italy, on Feb. 4.
Inside Yokohama¡¯s ¡®quit your job¡¯ bar, where drinks and advice are free
At the new Tenshoku Sodan Bar, owner Shota Umemoto (right) and recruiting staff from Yokohama-based LIA Group serve up cocktails and career advice in equal measure.
Landslide election victory lets Takaichi confront China on her terms
The resounding victory by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party in Sunday's general election has sent a strong signal that Takaichi is likely to be around for some time, giving her the bandwidth to adhere to her strategy of putting the onus on Chinese President Xi Jinping to reengage with Japan.
Is Takaichi on course for a long-term reign?
Sanae Takaichi, prime minister and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, at the party¡¯s headquarters in Tokyo on Sunday
Against the grain: Japanese wine aged in local barrels
At Buryu Winery, owner Keiji Yamaguchi (left) and assistant winemaker Kaede Narita created a cedar-infused red wine by fermenting it in a 1,000 liter "kioke" cedar tub.

Podcast

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

Longform

Experts say emotional bonds with AI are often shaped by prior experiences ¡ª or disappointments ¡ª in human relationships.
Love, engineered in the age of AI
By Elizabeth Beattie

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