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August 12, 2026
 

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Gabriella Geisinger
An inept salaryman gets wrapped up in an international espionage plot in "Vivant."
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Jul 25, 2026
The bittersweet nostalgia of the first season of ¡®Vivant¡¯
Taking place in a version of Japan that espouses tolerance and acceptance, the espionage drama¡¯s first season feels increasingly at odds with today¡¯s reality.
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix¡¯s ¡°Human Vapor,¡± says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jul 8, 2026
The beating heart inside ¡®Human Vapor¡¯
Director Shinzo Katayama and actor Shun Oguri discuss the cross-cultural collaboration behind Netflix¡¯s ¡°Human Vapor.¡±
Shota Sometani (left) and Masaki Okada play brothers on a quest for vengeance in the TBS detective drama ¡°Tagusari Bros.¡±
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jun 20, 2026
¡®Tagusari Bros.¡¯ searches for the meaning of justice
Themes of vengeance and closure are nothing new in the world of crime dramas, but few tackle them with the emotional nuance of TBS¡¯ ¡°Tagusari Bros.¡±
Detective Aki Suzumiya (Anne Watanabe) teams up with Finnish counterpart Jon Laine (Jasper Paakkonen) in a gritty drama that spans geography and time.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
May 23, 2026
Nordic noir meets Japanese occult in ¡®Blood and Sweat¡¯
The Finnish-Japanese coproduction evolves from a classic detective drama into a fun, pulpy thriller, blending Â鶹´«Ã½ folklore with sharp plotting.
Season Two of ¡°Monarch: Legacy of Monsters¡± raises the stakes with bigger creature battles and expanding Monsterverse lore.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
May 7, 2026
¡®Monarch: Legacy of Monsters¡¯ loses its human touch in sprawling second season
The Apple TV series lets bloated and unwieldy storytelling overwhelm the sharp character work that once set it apart.
Fans gather at a Netflix-sponsored World Baseball Classic event at Tokyo Skytree on March 6.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Mar 26, 2026
The WBC was a hit in Japan. Watching it wasn¡¯t.
Netflix¡¯s WBC streaming push included ¡°Hometown Hero¡± viewings, but many fans in Japan still lacked easy access to games.
¡°One Piece¡± cast members (from left) Jacob Romero Gibson, Mackenyu, Inaki Godoy, Emily Rudd and Taz Skylar attend a Netflix fan event ahead of the show¡¯s Season Two premiere.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Mar 19, 2026
Fans find their crew in Tokyo as ¡®One Piece¡¯ sets sail again
Netflix brought the Straw Hat spirit to Tokyo with a celebration that drew devoted fans and underscored the live-action series¡¯ global popularity.
Half-siblings Issei Tomine and Camille Leger (Tomohisa Yamashita and Fleur Geffrier) come to terms with their father¡¯s death in the second season of ¡°Drops of God.¡±
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Mar 18, 2026
¡®Drops of God¡¯ decants a quiet, perfect ending
After all the rivalry, wine quests and family wounds, the Apple TV show¡¯s second season ends on a note of perfect balance ¡ª like a great vintage.
From left: Anna Sawai, Takehiro Hira, Ren Watabe and Kiersey Clemons star in the Apple TV series ¡°Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,¡± which returned for its second season last month.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Mar 16, 2026
¡®Monarch¡¯ unleashes more monster mayhem
Godzilla may loom large in the latest season of ¡°Monarch: Legacy of Monsters¡± ¡ª but the real battles are between family.
In the first season of ¡°Drops of God,¡± Camille and Issei competed to inherit the wine legacy of Alexandre Leger.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Feb 13, 2026
Season Two of ¡®Drops of God¡¯ serves a dark swirl of sibling drama
In its second season, ¡°Drops of God¡± shows that characters don¡¯t need to be likable to be compelling.
Netflix Japan's new series "The Human Vapor" is based on a 1960 cult film of the same title and follows a string of assassinations carried out by a perpetrator who can vanish into thin air.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 28, 2026
Netflix Japan lays out 2026 slate of anime, adaptations and live baseball
The streaming service revealed release windows for the upcoming ¡°Human Vapor¡± adaptation and more, plus plans to livestream all 47 games of the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital's largest summer o-Bon festivals.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Strong wind and heavy rain forecast as tropical storm approaches Japan
Tropical Storm Chan-hom is expected to make landfall in northern Kanto between late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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