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September 01, 2026
 

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LIFE

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The data backs Sony’s no-disc future. Gamers are fighting it anyway.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
The data backs Sony’s no-disc future. Gamers are fighting it anyway.
In July, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced it would stop manufacturing physical discs for its PlayStation consoles starting in 2028, triggering a torrent of criticism.
LIFE / Digital
Learn kanji and rebuild a shattered world, one ukiyo-e print at a time
Worlds Upon the Wind combines language learning, Japanese art and a story of acceptance for a slow-burn, meditative gameplay experience.
LIFE / Digital
Spotify asks creators to label songs when they’re AI-generated
The streaming giant says the move will give listeners more transparency as AI-generated music becomes harder to identify.
Releasing on Aug. 4, Beast of Reincarnation is set in a far-future version of Japan ruined by a mysterious apocalypse.
LIFE / Digital
Aug 1, 2026
Beast of Reincarnation shows Game Freak has more to learn
By Owen Ziegler
Game Freak’s ambitious action RPG borrows familiar ideas but struggles to make them feel fresh.
In Denshattack!, your one-car train becomes a kickflipping, wall-riding vehicle up and down a postapocalyptic Japan.
LIFE / Digital
Jul 16, 2026
‘Tony Hawk with Japanese trains’: Denshattack! makes derailing a blast
By Owen Ziegler
Launching July 15, the new game mashes up Japanese trains with stylish tricks and fast-paced gameplay for a delightfully addictive time.
From January 2028, PlayStation games will release only as digital downloads, calling into question protections about ownership over software and the long-term playability of older titles released on discs.
LIFE / Digital
Jul 2, 2026
Sony to end video game disc production in January 2028
By Owen Ziegler
The gaming giant says the move toward digital-only games aligns the company with consumer trends toward online marketplaces.
Other Japanese role-playing game series may be more popular overseas, but in Japan, Dragon Quest still reigns supreme — even 40 years after the first game in the franchise hit shelves.
LIFE / Digital
May 27, 2026
On Dragon Quest’s 40th anniversary, ‘it’s impossible to ignore its influence’
By Gendel Gento
The famous JRPG franchise that developers around the world say set the standard for the genre turns 40 on May 27.
In Coffee Talk Tokyo, a new visual novel game set in a near-future Tokyo populated by spirits and folkloric creatures, the player steps into the role of a barista dispensing as much advice as caffeine.
LIFE / Digital
May 23, 2026
A salaryman, a ghost and a water spirit walk into a coffee bar
By Owen Ziegler
Out May 21, visual novel Coffee Talk Tokyo trades flashy gameplay for thoughtful meditations on life in a near-future Japan.
Despite Tokyo's outsized impact on Japan in real life, much of Forza Horizon 6's content sends players through Japan's more rural stretches than its neon-soaked cities.
LIFE / Digital
May 14, 2026
Forza Horizon 6 is all gas, no brakes in series’ first Japan pit stop
By Gendel Gento
The newest entry to the arcade racing series isn’t exactly subtle about portraying Japan as a playground for cars — but that’s what makes it so fun.
Japanese content creators in China have emerged as informal “digital diplomats,” using social media to share everyday experiences amid a period of deepening tension between Tokyo and Beijing.
LIFE / Digital / Longform
May 11, 2026
How Japanese influencers in China are bridging a growing divide
By Mike Fu
Japanese creators in China show daily life to audiences in both countries amid rising tensions and mutual suspicion.

Yen weakens past ¥160 per dollar, eroding intervention gains
Traders now are carefully watching yen levels for signs of when authorities might move to protect the currency.
Chance of huge quake hitting western Japan in the next 30 years as high as 60%
A giant crane pulls crushed cars out of the debris after the Hanshin Expressway in Kobe was devastated during one of Japan's worst earthquakes in January 1995.
Myopia prevention in Japan reaches a milestone
According to the Japanese government's own surveys, the share of schoolchildren who cannot read the standard vision chart with the naked eye has reached record highs.
Before flood catastrophe, Nepal asked China for early warnings as risks mounted
A funeral pyre is lit for a victim of deadly flash floods in Nepal, at the Suryamati River in Trishuli, Nepal, on Sunday.
Is Japan backpedaling on its work-style reforms?
Japan has come a long way to change its culture of working long hours. But fresh moves to cut back on overtime limits are prompting some to ask if the nation is backtracking on reforms.
Defense Ministry’s record ¥8.9 trillion budget request expected to balloon further by year-end
Ghost Robotics' Vision 60 quadruped robot joins the Ground Self-Defense Force's 1st Airborne Brigade during an annual New Year military drill at Narashino exercise field in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, in January.
Is Japan backpedaling on its work-style reforms?
Japan has come a long way to change its culture of working long hours. But fresh moves to cut back on overtime limits are prompting some to ask if the nation is backtracking on reforms.
Meet Japan’s first literacy ambassador
Aditi Paudel, a high school senior in Tokyo who spent part of her childhood in Nepal, was recently named Japan's first literacy ambassador.
Amid global turmoil and a weak yen, energy poverty emerges as a concern in Japan
A man looks at air conditioners at an electronics store in Tokyo. Being unable to meet the energy needs for a decent standard of living can negatively impact one’s mental health, opportunities for social interaction and performance at school and work.
A shady way to go alfresco: Tokyo’s outdoor dining spots to escape the sun
With cooler days around the corner, Tokyo's full slate of outdoor dining spots like Bonus Track in Shimokitazawa offer welcome respites after a summer cooped up inside.

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 Japan’s earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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Destination Restaurants 2026 award ceremony report

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