Category: CULTURE

Another year, another packed calendar of trends. What were some of the main ones that caught our eye throughout the past twelve months? Olympics Tokyo was awarded the 2020 Olympic Games ...

Christmas is a strange time. It's all the kitsch and the shopping minus the religion (or at least, the pretense of the religious). In fact, Christmas Eve is the bigger event. It's a day when ...

AKB at the ASEAN summit... Did we think we'd see the day? It's come, also confirming that they (or their successors) will almost certainly be main stage at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games opening ...

It's long been no secret that otaku and other "undesirables" are targeted by overseas governments keen to suppress what they consider a subculture that veers into the realm of "child ...

This is an awesome innovation on what many people would say is a dying medium. And the best thing about it is that it doesn't resort to digital or technological gimmicks. It just takes two very ...

Omotenashi means "hospitality" and that is what we know and love Japan for. But, of course, this is not where the dreams of a tolerant and friendly society end. If you have ever visited or lived in ...

As a promo for her new album ARTPOP in Japan, Lady Gaga and Universal Music Japan asked Japan's most prestigious sex doll maker, Orient Industry, to create the Gagadoll. Can you tell which is the ...

Every year the publisher Jiyukokuminsha picks the word or phrase that has apparently created the most hype or buzz during the past twelve months. You can read an excellent overview of the buzzword ...

On November 23rd, Studio Ghibli's latest film Kaguyahime no monogatari (The Tale of Princess Kaguya) was released in all theaters across Japan. I have already seen a number of reviews so far, ...

Sometimes I just wonder. Japan is such a small country (geographically speaking, at least), so why do they even have to divide themselves into forty-seven prefectures and compete against each ...

Nippon TV's Song for Japan might seem like a typical singing contest except for the fact that none of the contestants are Japanese. It's a contest that is exclusive to foreigners, presumably for the ...

Out of all forty-seven prefectures in Japan, which do you think is the most appealing? Since 2006, Brand Research Institute has been conducting an annual survey, one of the biggest kinds in Japan, ...

A recently announced index of television celebrity popularity analyzing data up to August by Video Research Ltd. showed some interesting trends as well as one more baffling development. The top ...

One of our favorite Japanese enterprises, Maywa Denki, has made a typically original and hilarious group music video to celebrate twenty years since it was founded. Maywa Denki is part music band, ...

Today Bandai continued its commemoration of 20 years since Sailor Moon's first TV broadcast with an interactive publicity event featuring the range of cosmetics released earlier this year by ...