EVO Japan 2026 drew a record 34,000 attendees, with Street Fighter 6 setting a Guinness World Record at 7,168 entrants and ZETA DIVISION's Yamaguchi becoming the first Japanese SF6 champion. Full international FGC report including MenaRD's Kemonomichi context, the Hokuto no Ken sidebracket pulling 10K viewers, and what r/FGC was actually saying.
At its first global showcase, Amazon Prime Video announced worldwide exclusives on three Japanese anime titles: a 40th-anniversary Fist of the North Star reboot, a new Ghost in the Shell TV series, and a fantasy sequel. What the deals say about Japanese IP in the streaming era.
On 16 January 2026, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met Tetsuo Hara, the artist behind Fist of the North Star, in Tokyo during her official visit to Japan. She had turned 49 the day before, and Hara gave her a print of Kenshiro and Raoh. A look at Hara's Uffizi commission, the manga's role in Weekly Shonen Jump's rise, and why Italy never let go of Ken il Guerriero.
