Japan: Last News

Naman Ramachandran Netflix is expanding its Japanese animation slate with “My Melody & Kuromi,” a new stop-motion series featuring “Hello Kitty” creator Sanrio’s beloved characters, set to debut globally in July. The series features My Melody, who since her debut in 1975 has continued to be loved by a wide range of fans, and Kuromi, who debuted in 2005 as My Melody’s self-proclaimed rival. My Melody is a straightforward, cheerful girl who cares deeply for her younger brother and enjoys baking cookies with her mother.

SHINee singer Onew has announced dates and venues for his upcoming 2025 ‘The Live: Connection’ tour, featuring concerts in Taiwan, Japan and more.Today (January 9), Onew released a new poster for his 2025 ‘The Live: Connection’ solo tour, unveiling concert venues and dates. The SHINee star will kick off the tour with a two-night show in Yokohama, Japan this February before performing in cities across East Asia, including Seoul, Taipei and Macau.Following his Yokohama shows, Onew will perform for three nights at the Olympic Hall in Seoul from February 21 to 23.

Peacock President Kelly Campbell is leaving NBCUniversal, Deadline has confirmed.

Irked Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou brought an interview with Sky Sports to abrupt end after being quizzed about winning a trophy in his second season.

The Apothecary Diaries is coming back very soon!

Squid have shared their latest single ‘Building 650’ and announced a string of UK headline shows for 2025.The art-rock band are preparing to release their third studio album ‘Cowards’ via Warp Records on February 7 (pre-order here) and have already shared the lead single ‘Crispy Skin’.Now, they have released a second single, the bright and colourful ‘Building 650’, which frontman Ollie Judge has said was inspired “by our first ever trip to Japan”. Check out the video, directed by Felix Geen, Daisuke Hasegawa and Kuya Tatsujo, here:“We played the Summersonic festival in 2022, luckily we were booked to play 2 days after the COVID travel ban had been lifted, because of this we felt like some of the only tourists in Tokyo,” Judge explained.“On the plane I read In The Miso Soup by Ryu Murikami and watched Lost in Translation out of excitement and later decided to write lyrics about being an outsider visiting Japan, including a very particular type of loneliness one can feel visiting a country that is so different from their own.

Wicked,” Universal’s Broadway musical adaptation, and FX/Hulu’s “Shogun,” a drama series set in feudal Japan, dominated the 2025 Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations, collecting five apiece to lead the film and TV races. The announcement comes three days after the Golden Globes, and on the day Oscar nomination voting opens, and delivered its share of jaw-dropping surprises and well-deserved recognition for some of the awards season’s top contenders. “Wicked” soared to historic heights, tying for the most nominations in SAG history with five mentions.

Liam Gallagher has responded to the ‘leaked’ setlist for the upcoming Oasis reunion tour and shared hints about what to expect from the shows.Oasis confirmed that they would be making their highly-awaited return to the stage last August – confirming a string of huge stadium gigs in the UK and Ireland to take place in 2025.Following the extraordinary demand for tickets, the band later shared news that they would be taking the tour around the world, announcing dates in North America, South America, Australia, South Korea and Japan.Unsurprisingly, there was huge speculation about which members would be joining Liam and Noel for the massive shows, and fans also began questioning which songs from their extensive discography could make the setlist.Recently, a list of Oasis songs began circulating on X/Twitter, with some fans claiming it to be the “leaked” setlist for the upcoming gigs.

Tatton Park is offering free entry to its beautiful garden this winter, providing the perfect location for a seasonal stroll.

Naman Ramachandran The Asia-Pacific video industry is poised for significant expansion, with online platforms driving revenue growth while traditional TV faces headwinds, according to a new report from Media Partners Asia (MPA). The research firm projects $16.2 billion in incremental revenue across 14 APAC markets between 2024 and 2029. While online video is expected to generate $24.1 billion in new revenue, traditional TV will see an $8 billion decline during this period.

Japanese Breakfast have announced their new album ‘For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)’ and have shared the lead single ‘Orlando In Love’.Produced by Grammy-Award winner Blake Mills (Sky Ferreira, Fiona Apple), Michelle Zauner and co’s fourth LP sees the group dive into a deeper, moodier sound, creating what a press release calls “an artistic statement of purpose: a mature, intricate, contemplative work that conjures the romantic thrill of a gothic novel”.‘For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)’ was inspired by the landscape of European Romanticism, diverging from the group’s previous releases, 2017’a sci-fi inspired ‘Soft Sounds from Another Planet’ and 2021’s buoyant ‘Jubilee’. ‘For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)’ is set for release on March 21 via Dead Oceans and is available for pre-order/pre-save here.The first taster of Japanese Breakfast’s new era comes in the form of the lead single ‘Orlando In Love’. The song is a riff on John Cheever’s riff on Orlando Innamorato, an unfinished epic made up of 68 ½ cantos by the Renaissance poet Matteo Maria Boiardo.Japanese Breakfast’s ‘For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)’ comes after their Grammy-nominated LP ‘Jubilee’ and Zauner’s New York Times best-selling memoir Crying In H Mart catapulted them into the mainstream.

Ghost Of Tsushima will be turned into an anime series.Action-adventure game Ghost Of Tsushima was developed by Sucker Punch and launched in 2020. A multiplayer spin-off Ghost Of Tsushima: Legends followed in 2021 alongside a Director’s Cut of the original game.In Ghost Of Tsushima, players take control of samurai warrior Jin Sakai, who’s the sole remaining member of Clan Sakai after the Japanese island of Tsushima is invaded by Mongol warriors.

Crunchyroll revealed it is helping develop a series adaptation of popular video game Ghost of Tsushima and also said it plans to launch a manga app as a premium add-on for subscribers.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor In a project bringing together multiple Sony businesses, Crunchyroll announced a new anime series adapted from Sucker Punch Productions’ popular “Ghost of Tsushima” video game and its “Legends” cooperative multiplayer experience. The series is slated to premiere exclusively on Crunchyroll in 2027. The announcement was made as part of Sony’s 2025 CES press conference in Las Vegas.

South China Morning Post, many of those arrested had been posting stories on the Taiwanese-based fiction website Haitang Culture. They have been charged with producing, selling, or disseminating pornographic materials.Users of the website can make money from tips or subscriptions from fans, with one of the most popular genres being danmei — a style focusing on gay romance and sex, which originated in Japanese manga and has become popular in China.While officers in Anhui province have been carrying out the crackdown, they have reportedly been investigating and detaining people from other provinces, leading some to question whether the police are abusing their power.Earlier this month, the news outlet Shuiping Jiyuan reported that police in Anhui have detained more than 50 writers — primarily women in their 20s — from across China since June.

Audiences are going to have quite a bit of waiting to do before Season 2 of Shōgun, as the upcoming installment is still being written.

Naman Ramachandran The Asian Film Awards Academy (AFAA) has tapped actor Dean Fujioka as Ambassador for its upcoming 18th edition, along with four Youth Ambassadors who are fellow actors – Aokbab Chutimon (Thailand), Austin Lin (Taiwan), Lo Chun Yip (Hong Kong) and Okada Masaki (Japan). Fujioka, known for “Fullmetal Alchemist” and winner of Best Actor at the 12th Confidence Drama Awards for “Monte Cristo: A Beautiful Revenge,” started his career in Hong Kong before gaining recognition across Asia in Taiwanese dramas. The Youth Ambassadors bring diverse experience to their roles.

aespa, SEVENTEEN and (G)I-DLE emerging as the biggest winners this year – view the full list of winners below.This year, the Golden Disc Awards were held at the Mizuho PayPay Dome in Fukuoka, Japan over the weekend on January 4 to 5. The live broadcast and red carpet photo event were both cancelled in observation of a mourning period in South Korea, following the fatal Jeju Air crash on December 29.However, the in-person ceremony proceeded as scheduled, while a recorded broadcast will be aired on January 6 and 7.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “Shogun” is moving closer to a new season. Hot off its awards dominance at the 2025 Golden Globes — winning the drama series prize, as well as three acting wins — the writers behind “Shogun” are busy at work on where the series goes next. “Well, it’s ongoing,” said executive producer/creator Rachel Kondo.

Ethan Shanfeld Anna Sawai gave a very brief victory speech after winning her first Golden Globe, claiming the award for best female actor in a TV drama for her performance in the FX drama “Shōgun.” “Thank you to the voters for voting for me, even though I would vote for Kathy Bates any day,” Sawai said, referencing her competitor who was nominated for “Matlock.” “Thank you to our incredible writers. Without a good script, it’s impossible to give a performance to our fullest potential. Thank you to everyone else.

Refresh for latest…: Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King continued its reign at the top of the international box office pride this weekend with an additional $53.5M from 52 material markets. This lifts the overseas cume to $307.8M and global to $476.4M as it approaches the half-a-billion mark.