Fujii Kaze's official Coachella 2026 Week 2 performance of 'Prema' is now on YouTube. On the same day, he announced Asian dates for his 'Prema World Tour' (Kaohsiung, Bangkok, Seoul), plus a 2027 summer run through Germany, UK, France, and six North American cities. After calling Week 1 'messy' and bouncing back in Week 2, here's where he goes next.
Japan's Ministry of the Environment reports total waste of 38.11 million tons for FY2024 (down 2.2% YoY) with a recycling rate of just 19.3%. Why is Japan, famous for its cleanliness, so far behind Germany (67%) and South Korea (60%)? A look inside the world's most incineration-dependent waste system.
At the G7 finance ministers' expanded meeting on April 17, 2026 in Washington, members aligned on strengthening critical mineral supply chains. Japan committed $20M each to the Asian and Inter-American Development Banks, marking a pivot to the resource-country funding phase. From the Japan-EU BRT proposal to the Kananaskis CMAP, C$6.4B (~US$4.6B) in unlocked projects, and now MDB funding, progress is real. But China still processes 90% of rare earths. A sober assessment of whether 'slow but steady' is actually fast enough.
Japan's National Intelligence Council Bill marks the country's biggest postwar intelligence reform. But similar PM-led intelligence bodies overseas have produced both spectacular successes (foiling the 2006 transatlantic bombing plot) and deep abuses: Korea's KCIA election interference, NSA mass surveillance, GCHQ's legal loopholes, BND monitoring German politicians for the NSA. What lessons should Tokyo draw?
On April 16, 2026, TEPCO's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Unit 6 resumed commercial operation for the first time in 14 years, the first post-Fukushima restart for the utility responsible for the 2011 disaster. With Middle East tensions squeezing LNG supply, electricity prices climbing, and 2050 carbon neutrality targets looming, Japan's energy policy has reached an inflection point. A deep dive into the restart's context, comparisons with Germany, France, and South Korea, the 'enclave mega-solar' scandal denting renewables, and how ordinary Japanese people are actually reacting.
JR East, Japan's largest railway group, opened onigiri shop TOKYO ONIGIRI in London's Leicester Square in December 2025. Behind this unusual move, a railway company entering overseas food retail, lies the government's GOHAN Project strategy to boost Japanese rice exports. From Onigiri Summit 2026 to convenience store packaging innovations, we explore how the humble rice ball could become Japan's next global food hit after sushi and ramen.
EssilorLuxottica has raised its Nikon stake to 19.61%, nearing the 20% regulatory cap. We analyze the strategic implications for smart glasses technology, Japan's national security screening process, and why foreign investors—from Buffett to European giants—are pouring money into Japan Inc.
Nine months after the Japan-EU BRT proposal, the rare earth landscape has transformed: 55-nation pricing agreements, an EU center modeled on Japan's JOGMEC, and $1.3B US funding. But can the West truly break China's grip?
Japan's steel industry accounts for about 40% of the country's industrial CO2 emissions. The government now aims to create a green steel market exceeding 3 million tons annually by the early 2030s, combining hydrogen reduction, electric arc furnaces, and CCUS. Here's how Japan plans to standardize carbon footprint metrics and respond to the EU's CBAM.
UK activist fund Palliser Capital has become a top-25 shareholder of Ajinomoto and is demanding a 30%+ price increase for its ABF semiconductor insulation material. We explore how a food company holds near-100% global market share in chip packaging and what the activist wave means for Japanese corporations.
Astroscale and France's Exotrail sign a deal for satellite deorbiting missions, with President Macron and PM Takaichi visiting Astroscale's Tokyo HQ. The partnership targets space debris removal technology by 2030 amid a booming orbital servicing market.
Former BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has proposed a 'coalition of the willing' among Japan, the EU, and Southeast Asian nations to preserve free trade amid WTO dysfunction and Trump-era tariffs. His proposal calls for expanding frameworks like the CPTPP and strengthening economic security cooperation.
The Japanese government's JAPAN SUI COLLECTION project made its European debut in Paris in March 2026, showcasing Living National Treasure lacquerwork, Sendai Tansu cabinets, and a Junko Koshino fashion show at Le Royal Monceau. Here's how 'Sui', Japan's philosophy of refined elegance, captivated 200 European leaders.
Asahi Kasei has begun installing its Aqualyzer C3 containerized alkaline water electrolyzer in Jyväskylä, Finland — the country's first commercial hydrogen station. Backed by a Toyota-linked foundation, this marks a significant entry for Japanese electrolyzer technology into the Nordic green hydrogen market dominated by European giants like Siemens Energy and Nel ASA.
The NTT-led IOWN Global Forum has signed a comprehensive partnership with ETSI, Europe's telecom standards body, revealed at MWC Barcelona 2026 and following a February tie-up with the Open Compute Project. Where does a photonics-electronics technology promising one hundredth the power and one two-hundredth the latency stand in a 6G standards race between the US, China and Europe? A look at the forum's 170-plus members and its roadmap.
Sheena Ringo, one of Japan's most revered musicians, has announced a collaboration with Boucheron, the legendary Parisian high jewelry maison. Wearing the iconic Quatre collection as centaurs in the MV for her new song Shihou, she fuses Japanese artistry with French luxury. Here's the full story.
Once struggling to gain a foothold in Western markets, Japan's Uniqlo has surged to 47th on Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2025 ranking. With overseas revenue exceeding 56% and Europe and North America now level with China, we break down the strategies behind this turnaround: from outfitting Sweden's Olympic team to its LifeWear philosophy and differentiation from ZARA and H&M. What can other Japanese brands learn from Uniqlo's global conquest?
Thailand's BEV sales turned negative in 2024 while hybrid sales surged nearly 50%. Falling resale values, thin charging infrastructure and retreating Chinese brands exposed the limits of the EV boom. As markets from Bangkok to Berlin recalibrate, Toyota and Honda's multi-pathway strategy looks better than it did. A data-led look at the EV slowdown across Thailand, China and Europe.
The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics medal design is sparking debate worldwide. Its minimalist two-halves concept divided by a single diagonal line draws both praise for Italian elegance and criticism for being too plain. Here's how Japan and the world are reacting to this bold design choice.
A former Olympic gold medalist turned commentator was stunned by an Italian hotel’s open-plan shower at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. With no partition, no bathtub, and only a thin curtain, Japanese guests face a real challenge. Explore the fascinating cultural gap between Japanese and European hotel bathroom design.