Menu
Search
 
July 31, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

CULTURE

TV & Streaming

Film
Books
Art
Music
TV & Streaming
Stage
Entertainment news
Actors Kento Kaku (left) and Ryoma Takeuchi star in Amazon Prime Video's new show "Like A Dragon: Yakuza," which is based on a hugely popular Sega video game series about Tokyo crime gangs.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Japan TV can catch 'Shogun' wave, says 'Like A Dragon' star
Kento Kaku says it is important for Japan to seize the opportunity to create more shows that are recognized internationally.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Netflix’s ‘Tokyo Swindlers’ is this summer’s guiltiest pleasure
The flashy new series about real estate scammers is a ridiculous treat to watch.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
'The Boyfriend' host Durian Lollobrigida puts a face to queer joy
Involvement in Netflix's new reality dating show is just the latest success in the Japanese drag queen's rise.
"Shogun" features Hiroyuki Sanada as the warlord Toranaga. The series is generating major buzz ahead of the announcement of Emmy nominations on July 17.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jul 6, 2024
All hail the era of Japan-themed prestige TV
By Patrick St. Michel
With shows like "Shogun" and "Tokyo Vice" vying for Emmy nominations this month, it's safe to say the streamers are having a bit of a "Japan moment."
After losing her family to a plane accident, Suzie (played by Rashida Jones) receives a posthumous gift from her husband in the form of a robot named Sunny (voiced by Joanna Sotomura).
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jul 5, 2024
Rashida Jones uncovers an AI-fueled mystery in the AppleTV+ series 'Sunny'
By James Hadfield
Set in Kyoto, the story about a woman dealing with grief and an unexpected robot companion is a departure from the actor's comedic repertoire.
The Netflix series "House of Ninjas" partially succeeds in elevating its subject, but there is still room in Hollywood to give ninja the "samurai" treatment.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
May 8, 2024
Shine and shadow: Unpacking favoritism in ‘Shogun’ and ‘House of Ninjas’
By Erik Augustin Palm
When it comes to Japanese archetypes in Hollywood, samurai are like rock stars compared to the less-considered ninja. It's time ninja took the spotlight.
In the new Disney+ series “House of the Owl,” Min Tanaka (left) plays a powerful political fixer, or “kuromaku,” who has a troubled relationship with his adult children, particularly his idealistic son, played by Mackenyu.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Apr 18, 2024
'House of the Owl' brings Hollywood values to Japanese TV
By Mark Schilling
Min Tanaka plays a powerful political fixer in the 10-episode show, which centers on the behind-the-scenes machinations of "kuromaku."
“Extremely Inappropriate!” centers on Ichiro Ogawa (played by Sadao Abe), a crude high school teacher who is chain-smoking his way through 1986. He accidentally ends up on a bus that turns out to be a time machine, which drives him to 2024.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Apr 5, 2024
‘Extremely Inappropriate!’ took a big swing. TV is better for it.
By Patrick St. Michel
The drama — which features a fish-out-of-water protagonist and satirizes social issues — is the most divisive Japanese TV show of the year so far.
People exit the platform at a train station along the Yamanote Line in Tokyo in 1986. A time-traveling TV comedy with a bawdy middle-aged hero from the era has become a big hit in Japan, juxtaposing brash 1980s attitudes with the more politically correct present day.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Mar 29, 2024
Satire TV show strikes a generation-spanning chord in Japan
By Tomohiro Osaki
"Extremely Inappropriate" uses a time-traveling protagonist to humorously highlight the gap between attitudes of the 1980s and the 2020s.
A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Longform
Mar 15, 2024
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world
By Patrick St. Michel
The artist's impact was such that he should be considered alongside greats such as Walt Disney and Stan Lee when it comes to cultural contributions.

Grilled eel leaves one dead and 140 sick in Japan
President Shinji Kaneko (left) and other executives of Keikyu Department Store bow in apology during a news conference in Yokohama on Monday.
Multiple places in Japan see mercury top 40 C for first time this year
A man cools himself in a water mist spray in Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Multiple regions topped 40 degrees Celsius for the first time this year on Monday.
Japan rallies past China to win gold in men's team gymnastics
Team Japan celebrates after winning gold in the men's team gymnastics event at the Paris Olympics on Monday.
Ahead of the Olympics, Japan is still talking about the gymnast who won't be there
Japan's Shoko Miyata withdrew from the gymnastics team herself over her drinking and smoking, although it had already appeared as though the association was prepared to send her home from the team’s training camp in Monaco.
When did summer in Japan stop being fun?
Summer in Japan is now consistently brutal enough to drive you indoors and keep you there until autumn.
How Japan's gymnasts picked each other up and toppled China
Teammates swarm Daiki Hashimoto after his gold medal-clinching performance on the horizontal bar on Monday.
A President Harris might be decidedly Trumpy in approach to Asia trade
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris might maintain some of the economic policies of former President Donald Trump.
What’s in a handshake? In Olympic judo, quite a lot
Japan's Ryuju Nagayama (right) refuses to shake hands with Spain's Francisco Garrigos after a controversial decision in their under-60 kg quarterfinal bout at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.
For aging Japan, a troubling link between heat and dementia
The latest research indicates that heat stress is likely to worsen the condition of people with Alzheimer’s disease — which accounts for over half of all dementia cases in Japan — by making them more irritated or exacerbating their cognitive decline.
In historic move, U.S. to upgrade military command structure in Japan
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (left to right), U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara prior their "two-plus-two" talks at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo on Sunday

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The students at Mitaka Municipal No. 7 Junior High School have access to various cooling devices for when they play sports.
Japan's extreme heat is causing a rethink of school sports
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.11 : Sekisui House Ltd.World’s top homebuilder acts on its responsibility
mission sustainability vol.11 : Sekisui House Ltd.World’s top homebuilder acts on its responsibility

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

Latest News

Toyota Motor receives correction order from transport ministry
5 hours ago
First settlement reached for forced sterilization plaintiff in Japan
5 hours ago
Bank of Japan delivers one-two punch few were expecting
5 hours ago
Hamas says political chief Ismail Haniyeh killed in 'Zionist' strike in Tehran
7 hours ago
BOJ probes website crash that blocked traders before decision
7 hours ago