In a new Billboard JAPAN interview, sailor-uniformed quartet ATARASHII GAKKO! reflect on entering their 11th year. We unpack their 'hamidashi' philosophy, how they perform for crowds who don't speak Japanese, and the 12-year bond between four members, from their 88rising debut to Coachella and beyond.
From August 2026, The Pokemon Company will use Japan's My Number national ID card to verify identity for Pokemon Center Online lotteries and select official tournaments. It's a hard counter to scalpers and impersonators, and an unintended wall against overseas collectors who have long worked around the system. Here's what changes.
A black, sponge-like slab that floats with just lamp light has racked up 1.8 million views in a week. Developed at Nagoya University by Tomonaga Ueno, the carbon-nanotube aerogel is lighter than air and could quietly reshape EVs, eVTOL aircraft, drones and spacecraft. Here's how it actually works, and why the startup Sora Material thinks it's an industrial workhorse, not just a viral trick.
YOASOBI's debut song "Yoru ni Kakeru" (Into the Night) has crossed 1.3 billion cumulative streams on Billboard JAPAN, the first Japanese song ever to hit that mark. Released in December 2019 and based on a Japanese short novel, the track has now outlasted hits, sequels, and even the duo's own anime megahits. As YOASOBI heads into their biggest-ever North American tour, here's why this song refuses to fade.
Katsuhiro Otomo, the legendary creator of AKIRA, launched a new feature animation studio called OVAL GEAR on May 11, 2026. A first title is already in production. Global fans are speculating whether this marks the long-awaited return of his shelved 2019 project ORBITAL ERA.
MAGES. has officially announced no streaming or let's plays will be permitted for STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT, launching August 20, 2026. Console share features are restricted to private use only. What Western streamers and visual novel fans need to know — including the 2023 case where Japan's first arrest over a game stream was for a Steins;Gate game.
On May 8, 2026, the US Department of War launched war.gov/UFO and released 162 UAP files in one go—including a football-shaped object filmed near Japan by Indo-Pacific Command in January 2023, Apollo 12 and 17 lunar surface photos, and orange orbs agents compared to the 'Eye of Sauron'. We break down what is actually in the release and how Japan is reacting, from yakisoba puns to distraction-theory skepticism.
North West, the 12-year-old daughter of Kanye West, sampled Kikuo's Vocaloid track 'Aishite Aishite Aishite' on her debut EP N0rth4evr, released May 1. Kikuo replied: 'of course it's approved, and welcome even unauthorized.' A close read of why this is structurally unprecedented for Vocaloid in American hip-hop.
Gunma Prefecture's passport-style pamphlet, GUNMA PASSPORT, hit its full print run of 10,000 applications on its first day of issue, May 1, and the queue closed. Behind the rush sits a 15-year-old internet joke about "the unexplored land of Gunma" and the idea that Japan is really two countries, plus the self-deprecating humour of North Kanto's place near the bottom of the prefectural attractiveness ranking. The prefecture has since reprinted 30,000 more.
Emergency transports for teen overdose in Tokyo have roughly tripled in five years, driven by over-the-counter medicines rather than illegal drugs. Japan's revised pharmaceutical law took effect on May 1, 2026, turning sales rules into binding obligations, but the isolation underneath remains unaddressed. Compared with the US fentanyl crisis and UK harm reduction.
Tanuki Marugoto BOOK hit #1 in twelve Amazon Japan categories on pre-orders alone before its May 1 release, and topped Rakuten Books' daily ranking. Shigaraki pottery and its eight lucky aspects, Studio Ghibli's Pom Poko, Tom Nook in Animal Crossing, and a single social post about a defeated-looking tanuki with 96.5 million views. Why this animal is loved across so many cultural layers in Japan, explained for readers who keep mistaking it for a raccoon.
Japan is famously polytheistic and its gods rarely clash, unless the subject is mushroom-shaped versus bamboo shoot-shaped chocolate snacks. Inside the 50-year rivalry between Meiji's Kinoko no Yama and Takenoko no Sato: national elections, a celebrity-led campaign, a peace treaty, and why this debate can break friendships.
Ahead of the April 24 Japan release, Shigeru Miyamoto made a surprise appearance at the Super Mario Galaxy Movie Japanese premiere. With $700M global box office and three straight weeks at #1 in North America, Miyamoto joined Mamoru Miyano and the Japanese dub cast on stage. Plus: the long-running fan joke that Nintendo bans Miyamoto from discussing his hobbies because they become the next game.
Ainoshima, a tiny island off Fukuoka, is home to roughly 200 cats that outnumber its 270 human residents. Named one of CNN's top 6 cat spots worldwide, this heart-shaped island is going viral again on TikTok and Instagram in spring 2026. Discover the fishing village coexistence, TNR efforts, and how to visit.
Hideaki Sorachi, creator of Gintama, returned to Weekly Shonen Jump on April 20, 2026 after a 7-year hiatus with Class 2-B Hero Destroyerz. The 66-page opening color chapter has split Japanese fans, while overseas readers on MANGA Plus and Viz have responded more warmly. Will Jump protect its only gag manga, or is it already on the cancellation track?
Capcom's brand-new IP Pragmata has crossed 1 million worldwide sales in just 2 days since launch. With Steam peak concurrent players hitting 68,000, it matches heavyweights like Resident Evil 2 Remake and Street Fighter 6 in Capcom's Steam portfolio. Reddit's r/gaming and ResetEra are celebrating, here's how overseas gamers and the Japanese market are reacting to this rare new-IP success.
SNK and PLAION REPLAI have surprise-announced the NEOGEO AES+, a modern revival of the legendary 1990 home arcade console. Launching November 12, 2026 at 249.99 USD, the system uses ASIC chips rather than emulation and offers full backward compatibility with original NEOGEO AES cartridges. Ten classic titles launch alongside it, including Metal Slug, KOF 2002, and Garou: Mark of the Wolves.
Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi publicly criticized the White House at an April 17 Diet session over its use of Nintendo's Wii Sports footage in an Iran strike propaganda video. As Nintendo already sues the US over tariffs, here's how Japanese IP ended up at the center of a diplomatic spat, and how Reddit is reacting.
In April 2026, a rusting steam locomotive on the tiny Pacific island of Nauru is heading to Japan for restoration. The plan began when Nauru's tourism office tweeted 'Can anyone identify this steam engine?' and Japanese rail preservation groups recognized it as a German-built Orenstein & Koppel locomotive from the phosphate-mining era. Now Japan's legendary SL restoration craftsmen will bring it back to life, with plans to eventually run it as a tourism train in Nauru itself.
YOASOBI announces 'NEVER ENDING STORIES', their biggest-ever North American tour. 8 dates including OSHEAGA and Lollapalooza, closing at LA's 17,500-capacity Hollywood Bowl. Powered by Crunchyroll, with English EP 'E-SIDE 4' dropping alongside. Full dates, venues, and ticket info.