Japan's sumo entertainment brand HIRAKUZA debuts at Adelaide Fringe, the Southern Hemisphere's largest arts festival. With 33 performances over five weeks, this marks a major step in bringing authentic sumo culture to global audiences through immersive stage shows.
In June 2017, Ohno Satoshi told his four bandmates he wanted to leave. What followed was a year of talks, a 2.37-million-person farewell tour, a pandemic that stole their final year with fans, and one last night on December 31, 2020. Part 3 of a 5-part series on ARASHI's 27-year journey.
TCL launches pre-orders for the Note A1 NXTPAPER on Makuake, a digital notebook blending paper-like display technology with built-in AI tools — all for around $650. With voice transcription, real-time translation, and AI summarization included at no extra cost, this device challenges E-Ink rivals. We explore the evolving digital stationery market and Japan's reaction.
tuki., a Japanese high school singer-songwriter who keeps her face and real name hidden, held her very first live concert at Nippon Budokan — and set a Guinness World Record. All 8,503 tickets sold out instantly, earning the record for most tickets sold by a solo J-Pop artist at their debut public performance. From TikTok covers to over 1 billion streams, here's the story of the 16-year-old phenomenon who moved an arena to tears.
Charlie Puth's fourth album *Whatever's Clever!* includes "Home," his first collaboration with Hikaru Utada. The pairing surfaced in the tracklist he posted right after singing the Super Bowl LX anthem; the single arrived on March 9, 2026 and the album on March 27. Two artists rooted in R&B take on the idea of where you belong.
Naomi Watanabe made history on February 11, 2026, becoming the first solo comedian to sell out Tokyo Dome with 45,000 fans. She also set a Guinness World Record for most tickets sold for a comedy show by a solo female comedian. A look at her spectacular 3-hour show celebrating 20 years in comedy.
Hana Yori Dango changed everything. Annual chart domination, six consecutive years at National Stadium, nine turns hosting Kohaku: ARASHI conquered every peak in Japanese entertainment across eleven golden years. But in 2017, at the very summit, a clock began ticking toward goodbye. Part 2 of a 5-part series.
In 1999, five teenagers were mocked at their debut on a cruise ship off Hawaii. From a 970,000-copy debut single to a career low of 140,000, free ticket giveaways and 1% TV ratings: this is how ARASHI survived their darkest years. Part 1 of a five-part series.
Japan's iconic idol group Arashi has announced "Five," their first new song in five years, dropping digitally on March 4, 2026. Named after the unbroken bond of all five members, the farewell single arrives just before their final dome tour "We are ARASHI." Here's how Japanese and international fans are reacting to this emotional milestone.
Three young manga artists from Zimbabwe are using NFT and crowdfunding to pursue manga publication in Japan. An international publishing model connecting Africa and Japan, run by Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha and the NFT marketplace INO Fine (formerly Zaif INO).
NTT and TBS have launched the "e6 project," a joint venture to build an AI-powered theme park where stories adapt to each child in real time. Their first original IP, "Emotional Knight," will expand into anime, games, and merchandise. Explore how Japan is pioneering AI-driven edutainment to nurture children's decision-making skills.