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July 25, 2026
 

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INDIE

Kazunobu Mineta (right, with Riho Yoshioka and Ryuya Wakaba) plays photographer turned label owner Yuichi Jibiki in ¡°Street Kingdom,¡± Tomorowo Taguchi¡¯s film about the early days of Japanese punk and indie music.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 23, 2026
¡®Street Kingdom¡¯ makes a cinematic return to the raw days of Tokyo punk
Tomorowo Taguchi lived the early Tokyo Rockers scene ¡ª now he channels it into his music biopic capturing the spirit of a movement that burned bright and fast.
The members of Mareo! (Francisca Silva, Ernesto Duboy and Camila Sanchez) are on their second tour of Japan. And among the performances this time around was a gig at an Osaka high school.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 21, 2024
Chilean trio Mareo! is on a lengthy tour to help grow its Latin-inspired sound in Japan
Latin sounds are taking off in the world¡¯s biggest music markets, but this indie group thinks you need to be a bit more present in order to grab opportunities.
Rock quartet Chai gained attention from fans and media in the late 2010s for its ¡°neo kawaii¡± concept, which focused on self-confidence and celebrated individuality.
CULTURE
Mar 17, 2024
Champion of ¡®neo kawaii¡¯ Chai takes a final bow
The upbeat and eclectic rock quartet, which announced it would disband after its Japan tour, redefined what it meant to be cute.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 5, 2023
The farewell tour: Amid rising costs, a Canadian doctor ends his Japanese music festival
Once dubbed the ¡®patron saint of Japanese indie,¡¯ Canadian Steven Tanaka is ready to settle down for some ¡®me¡¯ time.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 2, 2019
A musical pilgrimage to an adopted homeland with DYGL
Scroll through the comments under DYGL¡¯s videos on YouTube, and the same reaction comes up again and again: I could¡¯ve sworn this lot were from England.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 11, 2019
Connan Mockasin finds his Japan groove ahead of his debut gig in his adopted country
¡°Sorry?¡± splutters Connan Hosford, better known as Connan Mockasin, as his bandmates cackle in the background. ¡°Excuse me ... What did you say before?¡±
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 13, 2019
Chai¡¯s ¡®Punk¡¯ is an irrepressibly upbeat victory lap
For a band that made its name by bucking kawaii conventions, Chai can be awfully cute. On its second album, misleadingly titled ¡°Punk,¡± the quartet takes the giddy sugar-rush of 2017¡¯s ¡°Pink¡± and distills it into a mixture so potent, it should probably come with a health warning attached. They ought...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 11, 2018
The Lagerphones look to charm Japan one coffee shop at a time
If you¡¯re in a foreign band trying to plan a tour in Japan, you sometimes need to improvise when it comes to booking venues. That may be why you¡¯re more likely to find Australian six-piece The Lagerphones at a cozy cafe than a grimy Shibuya live house.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 10, 2018
¡®I can only speak my own truth¡¯: Otoboke Beaver rocks tunes not politics
More than 100,000 people are expected to attend this month¡¯s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in the Southern California desert. While heavyweight North American pop stars such as Beyonce and The Weeknd are grabbing the most attention, the lineup also features dozens of noteworthy names ¡ª including...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 28, 2018
¡®Sakana Zukan¡¯: Sakanaction excels when it wades through shallow territory
Now that Spotify playlists have supplanted albums as the preferred method of consuming an artist¡¯s work, the concept of greatest-hits compilations feels both prescient and redundant, like releasing DJ mix albums in the era of SoundCloud. For the musicians themselves, though, such compilations can offer...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 9, 2018
Rock act Chai has no time for your definition of ¡®cute¡¯
The members of Chai aren¡¯t content with ¡°kawaii.¡± That word ¡ª meaning ¡°cute,¡± but in a kind of pitiable way ¡ª gets tossed around a lot in Japan and by people overseas, who use it to refer to almost anything Japanese.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 18, 2017
Keiji Haino at 65: ¡®I want to be a bad boy, right until the end¡¯
¡°I don¡¯t want people to treat me like a god,¡± says Keiji Haino, chuckling. ¡°I want to be a bad boy, right until the end.¡±
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 20, 2017
Honoring Hideo Ikeezumi, a hero to the Japanese underground
Few figures have played as pivotal a role in the recent history of Japanese avant-garde music as Hideo Ikeezumi, founder of P.S.F. Records, who passed away on Feb. 27 at the age of 67.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Dec 25, 2016
The best of Japanese indie in 2016
While the J-pop mainstream seemed in 2016 to have finally and irreversibly consummated the awkward courtship of streaming technology, the year was business as usual for the basement-dwellers of the indie and underground scenes. And as usual, the result was a raft of terrific records that hardly anyone...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
May 29, 2016
The dream of the ¡®90s is alive in Kansai
A big part of Japanese music¡¯s wild overseas image is defined by groundbreaking artists from the Kansai area.
CULTURE / Music
May 8, 2016
Homecomings craft a catchy and intricate gem with ¡®Sale of Broken Dreams¡¯
Kyoto four-piece Homecomings excel at capturing the small, sad details of life.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Feb 28, 2016
Icy Kanazawa, sunny Naha: A tale of two live scenes
I have been traveling around the country since September meeting people involved in different independent music scenes in such places as Hokkaido, and Iwate and Saitama prefectures. After taking a break over winter, I resumed my travels this month and headed to the contrasting environments of icy Ishikawa...
CULTURE / Music
Jan 24, 2016
Cairo breaks with its past for dreamy debut, ¡®Same as Before¡¯
While talking to the members of indie rock band Cairo, I can¡¯t help but feel their sense of excitement. After all, this is their first interview ever.
CULTURE / Music
May 8, 2015
The quirky sounds of indie music find a voice in Boys Age
Around 50 people are watching Kaznary Mutow of the band Boys Age thrash his guitar on a Friday night at Shimokitazawa club Three. He¡¯s in the middle of a 10-minute-plus psychedelic freakout, locked into an intense slow-burning session with drummer Takamasa Kobayashi.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Apr 24, 2015
The secret to indie success is in the bag
Here¡¯s a joke: When is a bag not a bag? Give up? When it¡¯s a symbol for the shifting place of music in the pop cultural landscape. . . . I¡¯m here all week, folks. Try the veal.
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Head of Swiss euthanasia firm dies after collapsing while ascending Mount Fuji
Around 200,000 people typically scale the 3,776 meter Mount Fuji each year.
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 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.
A perfect storm: Kaze Fujii fans flock to Fuji Rock
Okayama-born singer-songwriter Kaze Fujii has carved out a distinctive place in Japanese pop since his major-label debut in 2019.
The sci-fi sensibilities of electronic trio Black Boboi
Black Boboi was formed in 2018 when solo artists Julia Shortreed, Utena Kobayashi and Ermhoi came together under Kobayashi¡¯s newly founded label, Bindividual.
A perfect storm: Kaze Fujii fans flock to Fuji Rock
Okayama-born singer-songwriter Kaze Fujii has carved out a distinctive place in Japanese pop since his major-label debut in 2019.
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.

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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