Japan: Last News

Steven J. Horowitz Senior Music Writer Rita Ora fought back tears while performing a tribute to Liam Payne, who died yesterday after falling from a three-story balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Rita Ora was moved to tears on stage as she paid a heartbreaking tribute to Liam Payne following his shock death.

Rita Ora broke down in tears while on stage as she shared an emotional tribute to Liam Payne following his shock death at the age of 31.

With only a few paydays left until Christmas, it's time to start thinking about your festive shopping.To help you get the most bang for your buck, now is the perfect time to snap up some early Christmas deals, like this stunning silver and pink Emporio Armani Gianni Watch, which has had a whopping £200 knocked off its price. Wowcher shoppers can currently bag a 67% discount on the wristwatch, which has been slashed from its original price of £299.99 to just £99 in a flash sale on the deals site.

Naman Ramachandran U.K.-based entertainment financier Goldfinch is set to open a Singapore office by the end of 2024, marking its expansion into the Asian market. The move comes as the company celebrates its 10th anniversary and aims to provide credit-based financing facilities for film and television projects in the region. Goldfinch has closed $250 million in deals across 300 projects over the past decade and has produced BFI London Film Festival title “Quant” and Raindance selection “A Bird Flew In.” It is establishing new operating brand and holding company Goldfinch Asia.

Rick Astley has opened up about his feelings of depression following struggles in his career and relationships.The singer, most famous for his ‘80s classic track ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, opened up about his struggles with mental health during a new interview with The Daily Mirror. In the discussion, he recalled how he was impacted when his pop career went downhill in the ‘90s.According to the singer, he hit a rough patch after his success in the ‘80s began to slow down, and he started to have difficulties in his relationship with Lene Bausager – his partner of 35 years.Talking to the outlet, he recalled how his time away, renovating a second home in London, made it feel as if they had split and led to them seeking couples therapy to save the relationship.“I spent so much time at the new house it was almost as if Lene and I had separated,” he began.

F5ve have released their otherworldly new single ‘UFO’ today (October 17). Ahead of the song’s release, the Japanese girl group spoke to NME about the story behind the new single, their remarkable social media presence and how they’re bringing Japan’s unique subcultures to the world.‘UFO’ comes shortly after F5ve – originally known as SG5 – hit the big time with their May 2024 single ‘Lettuce’, a quirky but scathing diss track to a former lover that’s since become a viral sensation on TikTok.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Global Screen has picked up the international distribution rights (excluding Benelux and Latvia) to Ineke Houtman‘s “The Book of Everything,” which is adapted from Guus Kuijer‘s autobiographical novel. The Dutch book, which contains scenes of magical realism, has been translated into 14 European languages and Japanese. It was also adapted as a theater play in Australia.

It was just under two years ago that MUSU arrived on the Manchester food and drink scene.

With only a few paydays left until Christmas, it's time to start thinking about your festive shopping.To help you get the most bang for your buck, now is the perfect time to snap up some early Christmas deals, like this stunning silver and pink Emporio Armani Gianni Watch, which has had a whopping £200 knocked off its price. Wowcher shoppers can currently bag a 67% discount on the wristwatch, which has been slashed from its original price of £299.99 down to £99 in a flash sale on the deals site.The watch has been verified by Wowcher as authentic, making it an ideal chance to grab a bargain and tick a big item off your Christmas shopping list.

Christopher Vourlias A riveting murder-mystery based on a prize-winning Japanese crime novel is at the heart of the upcoming six-part series “The Aosawa Murders,” a buzzy U.S.-Japan co-production that’s being pitched this week at Rome’s MIA Market. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Japanese writer Riku Onda, the show is produced by Jonathan Kier of Upgrade Productions, the L.A.-based company launched in 2021 by the ex-Sierra/Affinity president Kier and former Disney Plus and Netflix executive Matt Brodlie, and Takeo Kodera of Japanese publishing house and media giant Kadokawa.

PJ Harvey has announced a run of headline shows in Australia and Japan for 2025 – find all the details below.The singer-songwriter is due to head Down Under next March in support of her 10th and latest album ‘I Inside The Old Year Dying’, which was released last summer.She’ll take to the stage in Perth, Adelaide, Meredith, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane in the first half of the month before heading to Japan for gigs in Tokyo and Osaka.Australian artist Mick Turner will serve as a special guest support act in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.Tickets for the Australian dates go on general sale at 10am AEDT this Friday (October 18) – you’ll be able to buy yours here. The general sale for Japan begins here on Saturday November 2.Alternatively, fans can gain access to a pre-sale for Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane from 10am AEDT tomorrow (October 17) by signing up to Harvey’s mailing list community.Check out the announcement post and see the full list of shows below.A post shared by PJ Harvey (@pjharveyofficial)MARCH04 – Perth Festival, Kings Park & Botanic Garden, Perth07 – WOMADelaide, Adelaide 09 – Golden Plains, Meredith11 – Plenary, MCEC, Melbourne13 – Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney15 – Great Hall, BCEC, Brisbane18 – Zepp Haneda, Tokyo19 – Gorilla Hall, Osaka Earlier this week, Harvey wrapped up her 2024 North American tour in Los Angeles, California.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Two films by women directors, Payal Kapadia’s “All We Imagine as Light” and Dea Kulumbegashvili’s “April” lead the nominations for the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Both films will compete in five categories – best film, best director, best screenplay, best cinematography and best performance – it was revealed Wednesday in a nominations announcement. Also competing for best film are Yoko Yamanaka’s Tokyo-set story of a young woman’s mental illness, “Desert of Namibia” (Japan); Neo Sora’s future Tokyo tale of perilous social surveillance “Happyend” (Japan, U.S.); and Jiang Xiaoxuan’s “To Kill a Mongolian Horse” (Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, U.S.), a portrait of a Mongolian horseman turned performer, based on a true story. Four of the five films nominated for best film are from female directors, and in an APSA first, all five best film contenders are first or second features. In addition to Kapadia, Kulumbegashvili and Jiang, the nominees for best director include Tato Kotetishvili for “Holy Electricity,” alongside veteran French Cambodian auteur Rithy Panh for “Meeting with Pol Pot.” For the first time since the acting category became an ungendered best performance award, all five nominations go to women.

Autumn is well and truly underway which means nature is putting on incredible displays at parks and gardens across the country. Leaves have transformed into a blaze of yellows, oranges and reds.

Japanese media giant Toho is acquiring Gkids, the North American distributor of animated films like the Oscar-winning The Boy and the Heron as well as live-action hits like Godzilla Minus One.

A brand-new Australian-style sushi concept is bringing fresh sushi rolls to the city centre this week as it prepares to open at Manchester Arndale.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Amazon continues to expand commercial inventory on its Prime Video streaming service, unveiling new plans to make ads available on the platform in 2025 in Brazil, India, Japan, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. The company unveiled its plans Tuesday at an industry conference it organized.

Amazon plans to expand advertising on Prime Video to Brazil, India, Japan, the Netherlands and New Zealand in 2025.

Run-DMC has opened up about his struggles with mental health, and discussed how he “relates” to Kurt Cobain.The rapper discussed his battles with depression and suicidal thoughts in the new MSNBC docu-series, My Generation.Made in collaboration with NBC News Studio, the four-part series features interviews and archival footage from celebrity narrators, and explores the way of life for Baby Boomers (born 1946 to 1964), Generation X (born 1965 to 1981), Millennials (born 1981 to 1996) and Gen Z (born after 1997).Appearing in the Generation X part of the documentary, he recalled how Nirvana resonated with him as soon as he first heard them in the early ‘90s.“Nirvana was an honest expression of not being ashamed to put your angst on the front page,” he said of the group (via Billboard), going on to remember how he felt connected to the frontman, who would later take his own life in 1994.“I relate to Kurt because I was there. Later in my life, I became suicidal,” he said.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japan’s Asahi Broadcasting Group, creative powerhouse Diturn Korea and Asia-based content incubator Empire of Arkadia have joined forces to co-develop “100,” a community-based music entertainment format. The show will be distributed globally by EOA and will officially launch at MIP London (Feb. 23-24, 2025), by which time the first two iterations of the format will have taken to the air in Japan and Korea. The show was designed to address a growing demand for prime-time music entertainment shows.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Warner Bros. Discovery has confirmed that its streaming service Max will launch in seven territories in Southeast Asia next month. From Nov.