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December 07, 2025
 

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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.
CULTURE / Stage
A rare dance trinity: Ballet, butoh and kabuki share the stage
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...
CULTURE / Stage
Theater beyond borders: Eriko Ogawa's tenure at the NNTT has a global vision
Over the last decade, Eriko Ogawa has worked to expand the international connections of the New National Theatre, Tokyo.
CULTURE / Stage
Pina Bausch¡¯s 2008 masterpiece to be performed in Japan by the original cast
Tanztheater Wuppertal returns to Japan with "Sweet Mambo" long-awaited performances in Kyoto and Saitama.
¡°The Bathhouse of Honest Desires,¡± a Taiwanese-Japanese collaboration, was performed the first weekend of the Autumn Meteorite festival.
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 10, 2025
Autumn Meteorite stages a month of inventive theater in Tokyo
By Jessica Kozuka
The inaugural performing arts festival brings a variety of shows, from monodramas to 20-people, multivenue ensemble productions.
After earning her stripes in the Japanese indie wrestling circuit, Iyo Sky made the decision to move to the United States in pursuit of new challenges ¡ª a risk that paid off for her career.
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 10, 2025
Iyo Sky takes flight: How the ¡®Genius of the Sky¡¯ turned risk into art and fear into fun
By Adam Davidson
After three memorable shows in 2024, WWE returns to Japan for back-to-back nights at Tokyo¡¯s Ryogoku Kokugikan this month.
Takashi ¡°Waka¡± Wakasugi stopped by the Tokyo Comedy Bar in Shibuya Ward last month following his stint at Edinburgh Festival Fringe performing his show ¡°Comedy Samurai.¡±
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 9, 2025
A Japanese comedian walks into an Aussie bar ¡­ and stays there
By Zoria Petkoska
Melbourne-based comedian Takashi ¡°Waka¡± Wakasugi, who has only ever done stand-up in his second language, is fast becoming Australia¡¯s favorite Japanese comedian.
Kabuki has been trying for years to attract a new generation of fans. One way to do this has been to adapt manga and anime franchises, such as ¡°Naruto,¡± for the stage.?
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 3, 2025
The summer kabuki came roaring back
By Kris Kosaka
A hit film and shifting demographics are drawing new audiences to kabuki, sparking hopes for a revitalized future.
The second edition of the Tokyo International Comedy Festival will feature 60 shows across eight venues with a diverse array of talent on stage.
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 11, 2025
Tokyo International Comedy Festival doubles down on diversity and scale
By Moe Shimizu
The second edition of Tokyo¡¯s stand-up festival has leveled up with even more bilingual sets, international guests and comedy specials than before.
In what is billed as the first major production in English of Hisashi Inoue's "The Face of Jizo,¡± the Japanese play will have performances at the Seymour Centre in Sydney both in English and in Japanese.
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 22, 2025
'The Face of Jizo': Hisashi Inoue's play staged in Sydney commemorates WWII victims
By Kris Kosaka
Billed as the first major English-language production of the play, "The Face of Jizo" also increases the variety of roles for Japanese actors in Australia.
Sung in Japanese, German and Ukrainian, ¡°Natasha¡± is a multilingual opera with a multinational cast. Belgian soprano Ilse Eerens will originate the titular role, with Japanese mezzo-soprano Hiroka Yamashita as Arato and German baritone Christian Miedl as their trickster guide.
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 9, 2025
¡®Natasha¡¯ distills global zeitgeist on the opera stage
By Kris Kosaka
An original work commissioned by the New National Theatre, Tokyo, ¡°Natasha¡± is a multilingual opera with a multinational cast from Japan, Germany and Belgium.

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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