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August 16, 2026
 

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CITY POP

Anri says younger overseas listeners first surprised her during a 2023 performance in Los Angeles, where most of the audience was in their 20s. Nearly five decades after her debut, songs such as ¡°Last Summer Whisper¡± and ¡°I Can¡¯t Stop the Loneliness¡± continue finding new fans.
CULTURE / Music / Longform
May 18, 2026
Before city pop went global, there was Anri
Long after city pop became an online phenomenon, the singer continues to find new fans worldwide.
Yumi Matsutoya began her decades-long career under her maiden name, Yumi Arai, but Japanese fans might know her better as ¡°Yuming.¡±
CULTURE / Music / Longform
Dec 1, 2025
Yumi Matsutoya¡¯s human touch in an AI age
Even as she experiments with AI, Yumi Matsutoya returns to the craft, memories and instincts that shaped her long career.
Cameron Lew, who makes music under the name Ginger Root, recently released ¡°Shinbangumi,¡± an album that was influenced by the glimmering pop echoes of Japan in the 1980s as well as the nerviness of Devo, the loose rock-pop of Hall & Oates and even Haruomi Hosono¡¯s ¡¯70s explorations of exotica.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 5, 2024
Ginger Root expands on effervescent retro sound
New release ¡°Shinbangumi¡± comes after a whirlwind year for the American artist who blends glittering pop echoes of 1980s Japan with a mish-mash of Western influences.
Cameron Lew, the 27-year-old behind the California-based music project Ginger Root, crafted a detailed city-pop-inspired universe with a 1980s idol storyline for last year¡¯s ¡°Nisemono¡± album.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 28, 2023
Ginger Root¡¯s modern spin on Showa nostalgia
The California-based project is set to bring its distinct interpretation of city pop to Fuji Rock Festival this weekend.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 15, 2022
Phung Khanh Linh and artists abroad get creative with city pop palette
In 2022, the world tuned in to the glitzy sounds of Â鶹´«Ã½ bubble era more than ever before. For musicians outside of Japan, their appreciation of the genre goes beyond nostalgia.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 11, 2022
Perfume looks to the future with kindness
The pop group taps into the nostalgic sounds of city pop and melancholic views of the present in its seventh full-length album, ¡°Plasma.¡±
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 15, 2022
Kamasami Kong gives voice to city pop¡¯s resurgence on ¡®FM Station 8090¡¯
The radio DJ and personality brings his distinct narration style to the soundtrack of Â鶹´«Ã½ bubble era.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 2, 2022
¡®Softly¡¯: Tatsuro Yamashita looks to the future with timeless optimism
Two Tatsuro Yamashitas exist in 2022. There¡¯s the patron saint of city pop and a musical symbol for all things bubble-era Japan, and then there¡¯s the 69-year-old pop tinkerer still exploring his craft on ¡°Softly.¡±
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Jun 5, 2022
Harry and the house that Hosono built
None other than global pop star Harry Styles takes inspiration from one of Â鶹´«Ã½ most-talented musicians. The question is, will the West follow?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 5, 2021
Kiyotaka Sugiyama looks back on the glistening days of city pop
The Omega Tribe frontman celebrates the 40th anniversary of the city pop group¡¯s debut with remastered versions of past albums.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 15, 2021
¡®Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop¡¯ bursts with love for the 1980s aesthetic
Kyohei Ishiguro¡¯s coming-of-age anime is a sweet and summery ode to the music and style of city pop.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 11, 2021
How TikTok resurrected a Japanese pop star¡¯s defining hit
Miki Matsubara¡¯s 1979 hit song ¡®Mayonaka no Door: Stay With Me¡¯ has been discovered by a new generation of digitally savvy teens. The Japanese music industry has taken notice.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 6, 2020
City Pop on Vinyl brings back the glitzed-out sounds of Â鶹´«Ã½ bubble
Soak up the sounds of city pop with five albums that highlight old-school heavyweights or showcase newer artists¡¯ takes on the bubble era genre.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 1, 2019
¡®Pacific Breeze¡¯ collates the slick sound of Japanese city pop
Long overlooked by international labels, Â鶹´«Ã½ rich musical history has been undergoing thorough excavation over the past few years. Some of the most satisfying archival releases to date have come from Light in the Attic, the U.S. label behind last year¡¯s Haruomi Hosono reissues and the recent ¡°Kankyo...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 27, 2019
Suchmos¡¯ ¡®The Anymal¡¯ aims high but misses the mark
Of all the acts to emerge during the recent city pop revival, when the funk-inflected AOR of early-1980s Japan seemed to be coming back in vogue, Suchmos has been by far the most successful. Last year saw the sextet graduate to playing arenas and providing NHK¡¯s theme song for the FIFA World Cup ¡ª...
CULTURE / Music
Feb 19, 2017
Asako Toki presents a more modern take on city pop on ¡®Pink¡¯
Asako Toki ¡°Pink¡± (Rhythm Zone)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 28, 2016
City pop revival helps Suchmos at just the right time
Walk into a Tower Records store in Shibuya or Shinjuku and you¡¯ll eventually come across the apparel section. The current fashion aesthetic here leans retro: Hoodies and T-shirts come emblazoned with text highlighting throwback music signifiers, from equipment (¡°cassette tape,¡± ¡°analog¡°) to genres (¡°surf...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 12, 2015
Cero helps radio station InterFM897 celebrate its new look
The members of Cero have just finished recording their radio show, ¡°Night Drifter,¡± when I meet them at the InterFM897 studios in Tokyo¡¯s Shinagawa Ward. When I walk into the studio, one of the group immediately points out my T-shirt, which has an air-brushed depiction of a beach at sunset with the word...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 5, 2015
City pop revival is literally a trend in name only
City pop is the latest trend to hit Â鶹´«Ã½ indie-music scene. Well, not the musical style, just the words.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 27, 2015
Sugar¡¯s Campaign come up with some sweet city pop for debut album ¡®Friends¡¯
Seiho Hayakawa and Takuma Hosokawa think modern pop music is ¡°grotesque,¡± but that¡¯s exactly how they wanted the debut album by their band Sugar¡¯s Campaign to sound.
Forty-five meters down, a diver races to record a fleeting moment of WWII history
Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.
Authorities urge continued caution after heavy rain in Chiba leaves eight dead
A local resident walks past a 7-Eleven convenience store in a flooded area after heavy rain in the city of Oamishirasato, Chiba Prefecture, on Friday.
Takaichi drops ¡®remorse¡¯ in her first war memorial address
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks onstage during a memorial service ceremony marking the 81st anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, at Budokan Hall in Tokyo on Saturday.
U.S. to tell partners they must pick sides in AI race with China?
People march as they protest against Pax Silica, a U.S.-led initiative, in Manila on Thursday.
Â鶹´«Ã½ inflation paradox is creating winners and losers
Chieko Sugai at her home in Murakami, Niigata Prefecture
Forty-five meters down, a diver races to record a fleeting moment of WWII history
Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.
Takaichi needs Aso on her side to solidify position in LDP
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a Liberal Democratic Party meeting alongside LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki (left) and LDP Vice President Taro Aso in Tokyo earlier this month
Ikarigata closer to emulating older brother Fujinokawa than many think
The future Fujinokawa (third from left) and Ikarigata (right) compete against each other at ages 5 and 3, respectively.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®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.

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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