Alyssa I. Smith

For over four decades, “Let’s meet at Alta” was a given for anyone planning to meet up with friends in Shinjuku — one of Tokyo’s busiest entertainment districts. The Shinjuku Alta building, which opened in April 1980, will close its […]

The past year has seen notable triumphs for Japanese culture overseas. Whether it was through the popularity of games like Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, honors at the Oscars or Emmy wins for “Shogun,” it felt like a continuous

If you had to pick one word to describe Japan’s global soft power in 2024, it would be “triumphant.” Thanks to a weak yen, tourists flocked to the country this year, with October marking a monthly record of 3.31 million

FX’s sweeping historical drama “Shogun” was already riding high with a record-breaking win when the Emmys kicked off on Sept. 15 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Last weekend, “Shogun” swept the Creative Arts Emmys, making history by claiming

There was a curious rumbling throughout Yokohama’s K-Arena as 18,000 concertgoers filled the sold-out venue for the final night of Hikaru Utada’s Science Fiction tour on Sept. 1. Maybe it was from the excited fans, who had descended upon Yokohama