91仓库

Subscribe for more access

CULTURE

Music

Entertainment news

Composer Jung Jaeil began his career when he was a middle school student and has since become one of South Korea’s most sought-after film scorers.

CULTURE / Music

Feb 18, 2026

Jung Jaeil composed for ‘Squid Game.’ Now, he steps on the stage as himself.

By Kris Kosaka

The South Korean composer returns to live music and is set to stop by Tokyo for a show with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.

College students Jun Kim (left) and Rihito Mizoguchi are the co-founders of Login.jp, a project launched in February 2025 to “archive the Japanese experience through music.”

CULTURE / Music

Feb 13, 2026

Login.jp spotlights everyday Japan, one DJ set at a time

By Patrick St. Michel

The student-led project brings club sounds into fish markets, barbershops and corner stores, reframing everyday Japan through music.

Rob Brown (left) and Sean Booth performed a recent Tokyo gig in almost complete darkness.

CULTURE / Music

Feb 9, 2026

No lights, total immersion: Autechre’s 'pitch-black' Tokyo show

By Erik Augustin Palm

At Zepp DiverCity, Autechre stripped a Tokyo concert of sight, saturating the room with sound — and controversy.

Aina The End’s rock single “Kakumei Dochu — On the Way” was the singer’s surprise breakthrough last year, surpassing 100 million streams on Spotify and spreading rapidly across TikTok.

CULTURE / Music

Feb 6, 2026

Aina The End is more than just anime's opening act

By Patrick St. Michel

The singer reflects on breakthrough hit "Kakumei Dochu — On the Way” and embracing her husky vocals.

American rockers The Strokes will perform at the 25th edition of Summer Sonic, one of Japan’s biggest summer music festivals.

CULTURE / Music

Feb 2, 2026

Summer Sonic marks 25 years with expanded 2026 festival

By Patrick St. Michel

To mark its quarter-century milestone, the music festival is stretching to three days and featuring major acts such as The Strokes, Jennie, Jamiroquai and L’Arc-en-Ciel.

Hanabie’s “Harajuku-core” style combines the guttural screams of metalcore and the colorful and playful aesthetics of Tokyo’s youth culture.

CULTURE / Music

Jan 23, 2026

Hanabie makes metalcore cute and chaotic

By Adam Davidson

Hanabie’s “Harajuku-core” sound proves that metal doesn’t have to fit one mold.

Pop trio Mrs. Green Apple was joined by tuxedo-clad dancers for its glee bomb of a track, “Good Day,” toward the end of NHK’s annual New Year’s Eve music contest, “Kohaku Uta Gassen.”

CULTURE / Music

Jan 5, 2026

NHK’s 76th ‘Kohaku’ was over the top and oddly comforting

By Patrick St. Michel

With pyrotechnics, celebrations for major milestones and a sea of dancers, the year-end music bonanza went all in on excess and reminded viewers why it still matters.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

As Japan accelerates AI adoption, policymakers and corporations frame the technology as essential to offsetting a projected labor shortfall of 11 million workers by 2040.

Japan is betting big on AI. Few workers have used it.

By Eric Margolis

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

international-reports