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July 24, 2026
 

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Jennifer Pastore
Miwa Yanagi¡¯s ¡°Elevator Girl House¡± series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 10, 2026
Japan¡¯s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
An international exhibition for a book about Japanese women in the photographic arts has its homecoming in Tokyo.
Kazama's woodcut print ¡°Dyslympics 2680¡± satirizes and compares the 1964 and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 5, 2026
Sachiko Kazama¡¯s art bites back at a cruel society
Sachiko Kazama has made a name for herself as a sharp satirist. Her art from spanning a nearly four-decade long career is now on display in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture.
Mizue Fukagawa's works explore of the fragility of memory and the regenerative beauty of nature.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 8, 2026
Emerging Kansai artists to watch
Among the artists featured at Art Osaka, several offered particularly engaging takes on the ubiquity of digital technology and relationships between people and nature.
Sculptor Kohei Nawa's first solo show in Los Angeles debuts 20 new artworks this month.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 17, 2026
At Kohei Nawa¡¯s studio, the world is seen through glass bubbles
Kohei Nawa¡¯s ¡°PixCell¡± series, a play on the words pixel and cell, explores the way we view objects by covering them in glass beads that magnify and distort.
¡°Freedom,¡± a mural in JR Ueno Station, created in 1951, has been repaired three times, most recently in 2025.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 12, 2026
At Ueno Station, ¡®Freedom¡¯ restored
Genichiro Inokuma¡¯s 1951 pro-democracy mural speaks to a new generation as Ueno reclaims its identity as a cultural hub.
Yoshitoshi Kanemaki¡¯s 16-faced wooden sculpture ¡°Refrain Caprice¡± is carved using the traditional Buddhist technique of "ichiboku-zukuri," in which an entire figure is made from a single log.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 20, 2026
Art Fair Tokyo blends craft, pop and contemporary art in milestone 20th edition
More than 140 galleries took part at the event held last weekend at the Tokyo International Forum.
Katayama works with analog photography and handicraft practices such as embroidery and needlework, designing and handsewing objects she attaches to her body that she then captures in self-portraits.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 2, 2026
Mari Katayama wins inaugural Mori Art Prize
The biennial Mori Art Award, among the largest payouts for a single contemporary artist in Japan, was established in 2025.
The 2025 Aichi Triennale took place in several locations, including a former bathhouse where Rui Sasaki's ¡°Unforgettable Residues¡± was exhibited.
CULTURE / Art / 2025 IN REVIEW
Dec 29, 2025
A year of plenty: Endless art shows, subtle curation of themes
Japan¡¯s art scene was bursting with public enthusiasm, overflowing exhibition halls and more art festivals vying for attention.
Aya Fujioka, who hails from Hiroshima Prefecture, takes a less somber approach to the city and its history.
CULTURE / Art
Nov 8, 2025
What we see when Japanese women photographers shoot back
Women in photography have been less visible than their male counterparts. An anthology of 25 photographers and three exhibitions this autumn are turning the tides.
One of Leonard Foujita¡¯s biggest muses was himself. He painted self-portraits, often with a cat on his side, looking back at the viewer. He posed for photographers throughout his life, the displayed photos showing he retained his signature bowl cut and round glasses.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 18, 2025
The self as a muse: Leonard Foujita¡¯s world in paintings and photos
¡°Foujita: Painting and Photography¡± at Tokyo Station Gallery is being billed as the first exploration of the artist as a photographer and has been a decade in the making.
Kenji Yanobe¡¯s spacesuited cats are the main characters of ¡°Ship¡¯s Cat Island,¡± the inaugural exhibition at Hyper Museum Hanno in Saitama Prefecture.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 7, 2025
What can Kenji Yanobe¡¯s cosmic cats teach us about humanity?
The spacesuited felines will be familiar to those who have visited the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka or Tokyo¡¯s Ginza Six shopping complex last year.
The city of Kurayoshi in Tottori Prefecture celebrated the opening of its public art museum with festivities such as a parade that drew 1,000 revelers.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 4, 2025
Tottori takes a bold leap forward in the arts
The prefecture¡¯s new art museum aims to engage the community through interactive activities rather than merely showcasing boundary-pushing art.
The Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art is just one of many hidden art and architectural gems across the Kagawa coast.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 15, 2025
¡®Resorts for the spirit¡¯: Touring Kagawa¡¯s art and architecture
The seaside cities of Takamatsu and Marugame are home to a heritage of beauty, from the monolithic to the modern.
¡°Light Court¡± (2024) is based on the ¡°Lightcourt¡± space at the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by metabolist architect Kisho Kurokawa (1934-2007).
CULTURE / Art
Feb 9, 2025
Yuki Harada¡¯s contemplative artworks ponder vanishing
The artist spent time researching Japanese migrants who left Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures for Hawaii, and the U.S. island state often features in his art.
The year saw multiple noteworthy exhibitions dedicated to important artists who passed away in 2024, including neo-pop designer, sculptor and illustrator Keiichi Tanaami, who died in August.
CULTURE / Art / 2024 in Review
Dec 23, 2024
A year of ruin and renewal for Japan¡¯s art world in 2024
Amid struggles caused by a weak yen, galleries turned to innovative ideas and collaborations.
Gwangju Biennale¡¯s artistic director Nicolas Bourriaud developed the theme ¡°Pansori: A Soundscape of the 21st Century¡± to make the event ¡°an opera you can walk into.¡±
CULTURE / Art
Sep 21, 2024
Japan¡¯s art world seeks connection at Gwangju Biennale
At the longest-running contemporary art festival in East Asia, the Japan Pavilion¡¯s display nods to historical tensions between Japan and Korea.
The Hengshan Calligraphy Art Center (HCAC) aims to serve as a base for calligraphy research and education and function as a hub for calligraphy art in Asia.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 25, 2024
In uncertain times, Taiwanese art flourishes
New museums and a lively creative scene reflect an evolving, forward-looking society.
Amateur actor Chihiro Kawano (front) performs in Hikaru Fujii's video art installation "War Is Over" in Saiki, Oita Prefecture.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 7, 2024
War is (not) over: Hikaru Fujii probes historical memory in Kyushu
Viewable at its current location until June 16, ¡°War Is Over¡± simply would not be the same work in a different location.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
Japan reveals hint of new defense spending target in fiscal blueprint
The Self-Defense Forces' Type 16 mobile combat vehicle fires during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on June 28.
Summer has arrived in Japan and so have hot sleepless nights
Amid the heat and humidity in Japan, a good night¡¯s sleep is growing increasingly elusive without the heavy use of air conditioning.
Maya Ongaku¡¯s DIY dream is getting bigger
The members of Maya Ongaku ¡ª (from left) Tsutomu Sonoda, Shoei Ikeda and Ryota Takano ¡ª grew up on the Shonan Coast south of Tokyo and have been friends since their school days.

Podcast

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

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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