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August 11, 2026
 

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Beast of Reincarnation shows Game Freak has more to learn
LIFE / Digital
Beast of Reincarnation shows Game Freak has more to learn
Game Freak¡¯s ambitious action RPG borrows familiar ideas but struggles to make them feel fresh.
LIFE / Digital
¡®Tony Hawk with Japanese trains¡¯: Denshattack! makes derailing a blast
Launching July 15, the new game mashes up Japanese trains with stylish tricks and fast-paced gameplay for a delightfully addictive time.
LIFE / Digital
Sony to end video game disc production in January 2028
The gaming giant says the move toward digital-only games aligns the company with consumer trends toward online marketplaces.
Other Japanese role-playing game series may be more popular overseas, but in Japan, Dragon Quest still reigns supreme ¡ª even 40 years after the first game in the franchise hit shelves.
LIFE / Digital
May 27, 2026
On Dragon Quest¡¯s 40th anniversary, ¡®it¡¯s impossible to ignore its influence¡¯
By Gendel Gento
The famous JRPG franchise that developers around the world say set the standard for the genre turns 40 on May 27.
In Coffee Talk Tokyo, a new visual novel game set in a near-future Tokyo populated by spirits and folkloric creatures, the player steps into the role of a barista dispensing as much advice as caffeine.
LIFE / Digital
May 23, 2026
A salaryman, a ghost and a water spirit walk into a coffee bar
By Owen Ziegler
Out May 21, visual novel Coffee Talk Tokyo trades flashy gameplay for thoughtful meditations on life in a near-future Japan.
Despite Tokyo's outsized impact on Japan in real life, much of Forza Horizon 6's content sends players through Japan's more rural stretches than its neon-soaked cities.
LIFE / Digital
May 14, 2026
Forza Horizon 6 is all gas, no brakes in series¡¯ first Japan pit stop
By Gendel Gento
The newest entry to the arcade racing series isn¡¯t exactly subtle about portraying Japan as a playground for cars ¡ª but that¡¯s what makes it so fun.
Japanese content creators in China have emerged as informal ¡°digital diplomats,¡± using social media to share everyday experiences amid a period of deepening tension between Tokyo and Beijing.
LIFE / Digital / Longform
May 11, 2026
How Japanese influencers in China are bridging a growing divide
By Mike Fu
Japanese creators in China show daily life to audiences in both countries amid rising tensions and mutual suspicion.
Alongside the simplified management of a convenience store, Inkonbini asks players to help a small cast of regular shoppers with not only their shopping but problems in their personal lives.
LIFE / Digital
Apr 25, 2026
Inkonbini: Slice-of-life, cozy gaming from Â鶹´«Ã½ convenience stores
By Gendel Gento
Inkonbini developer Dima Shen says convenience stores are like ¡°safe rooms¡± from video games: familiar, friendly and always there when you need them.
Johnny Somali received a prison sentence of six months with 20 days detention after repeated acts of disturbing the public in South Korea.
LIFE / Digital
Apr 15, 2026
¡®Nuisance streamer¡¯ Johnny Somali sentenced to six months in prison
By Patrick St. Michel
The 25-year-old American influencer received a prison sentence from a South Korean court for repeated acts of disturbing the public.
At his studio, Grasshopper Manufacture, offbeat developer Goichi Suda makes games he likes to play ¡ª critics be damned.
LIFE / Digital
Mar 21, 2026
For Suda51, punk in games isn¡¯t dead. It¡¯s reloading.
By Gendel Gento
With irreverent humor, touches of Japanese culture and a clash of gameplay styles, Romeo is a Dead Man carries on Goichi Suda¡¯s trademark approach to games.

America¡¯s cyberforces grapple with cluster of deaths by suicide
The U.S. Cyber Command building (center) stands on the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade, Maryland.
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.
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.
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.
¡®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.
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.
Speaking Japanese at the movies with ¡®Chiikawa¡¯
A "Chiikawa The Movie" poster is seen at Toho Cinemas in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.
How Â鶹´«Ã½ racehorses find second careers away from the track
TCC Therapy Park is supported financially by racing organizations as well as donations from members of the public.

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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