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December 07, 2025
 

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CULTURE

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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
Beijing¡¯s restrictions on Japanese entertainment have canceled concerts and postponed film releases, leaving artists and fans in limbo.
CULTURE / Music / Longform
Yumi Matsutoya¡¯s human touch in an AI age
Even as she experiments with AI, Yumi Matsutoya returns to the craft, memories and instincts that shaped her long career.
CULTURE / Music
How Band-Maid brought anime energy into the hard-rock sound of ¡®Scooooop¡¯
The hard-rock quintet push their creativity to new extremes on latest EP, ¡°Scooooop.¡±
Kenshi Yonezu's ¡°Iris Out¡± was an instant hit when it dropped in September. Its association with smash anime "Chainsaw Man ¡ª The Movie: Reze Arc" has spread it to even more people.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 31, 2025
Kenshi Yonezu, 'Chainsaw Man' and the art of pop ubiquity
By Patrick St. Michel
Top single ¡°Iris Out,¡± featured in the nation's top film, prove that music and movies can unite Japan ¡ª and define a cultural moment.
Liam Gallagher commanded the stage with effortless charisma during Oasis' Tokyo Dome set on Saturday.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 30, 2025
Oasis returns to Japan after 16 years ¡ª and fans can still sing every word
By Adam Davidson
The British rockers' Tokyo Dome set included such favorites as "Wonderwall," "Live Forever" and "Champagne Supernova."
Fans wait to get into the Oasis show at Tokyo Dome on Saturday. While lining up in the rain, some broke into impromptu versions of the British rock group's hits.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 27, 2025
Oasis returns to Tokyo: Rain, rapture and rock
By Patrick St. Michel
Oasis¡¯ first Japan shows since 2009 drew roughly 110,000 fans to Tokyo Dome over the weekend.
Rock band kurayamisaka¡¯s debut album has listeners debating over its ¡°shoegaze¡± classification.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 24, 2025
Japanese rock fans can't agree on kurayamisaka
By Patrick St. Michel
The September release of the band's debut album has dominated Japan¡¯s indie-rock conversation for weeks, with listeners debating over its ¡°shoegaze¡± classification.
South Korean singer Chanyeol made his Japanese-language solo debut with the EP ¡°Hibi,¡± which features six tracks inspired by his love of Japanese music.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 23, 2025
K-pop idol Chanyeol does J-pop his own way on ¡®Hibi¡¯
By Adam Davidson
The South Korean singer explores his creative growth on a Japanese-language EP inspired by a desire to put his own spin on J-pop.
Nodoka Okisawa conducts the Saito Kinen Orchestra to perform Benjamin Britten's opera "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Matsumoto Performing Arts Center in August for the 33rd edition of the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 28, 2025
Nodoka Okisawa is carrying the baton for Seiji Ozawa in Matsumoto
By Chiho Iuchi
Japanese conductor Nodoka Okisawa embraces both tradition and renewal at a festival that still embodies Ozawa¡¯s spirit.
American saxophonist Patrick Bartley is the leader of J-Music Ensemble, a jazz-fusion band specializing in instrumental covers of Japanese music.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 25, 2025
Finding jazz in J-pop: Patrick Bartley¡¯s musical second language
By Ryne Hisada
The J-Music Ensemble leader translates Japanese culture into a classic American musical tradition.

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.
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.
The key points under discussion on policies affecting foreign nationals
Visitors head to Shirakawago, a popular tourist spot, in Gifu Prefecture in November.

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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