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July 01, 2026
 

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ART

If the “Mona Lisa” functions as a cultural pilgrimage site, Mount Fuji may be Japan’s closest equivalent — an iconic image that millions travel to see for themselves.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 24, 2026
What is the ‘Mona Lisa’ of Japan?
From Hokusai to Kusama, searching for the country’s ultimate artwork
The celebrated British artist David Hockney, at home in Los Angeles in 2017. Hockney died at home in London on Thursday. He was 88.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 13, 2026
David Hockney, the British artist who went in search of Californian color, dies at 88
“You don’t retire doing this,” he told the BBC when asked about his unflagging energy. “You just do it until you fall over.”
Gao Zhen, left, and his brother Gao Qiang, with their artwork “Mao’s Guilt” in Beijing in September 2009
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 31, 2026
The secret trial of a Chinese artist accused of mocking Mao Zedong
The trial, where the artist faces suspicion of slandering China’s heroes, will not be open to the public.
A Doraemon & Friends tour exhibition in Bangkok last May. A single film cel of a Doraemon show is estimated to nab up to $2,500 during Christie’s first anime auction.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2026
Christie’s holds first anime-focused online auction
Movie posters, film cels and illustrations of iconic anime characters went under the hammer on Wednesday.
Mai Endo is an artist and researcher who explores queer and feminist issues through her zine platform Multiple Spirits (also known as MaruSupi).
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 30, 2026
Mai Endo: ‘Build networks that bridge generations’
Publishing bilingual zines as Multiple Spirits (MaruSupi), Mai Endo explores queer feminism and intersectional histories in East Asia and beyond.
Cartoonist Mitsuru Yaku (center) and other executives of Freelance League of Japan announces their survey to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 21, 2026
One in 10 Japanese creatives see income fall due to generative AI
Survey respondents cited being asked to accept shorter deadlines and lower fees, or losing commissions altogether.
Johannes Vermeer's painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring" in The Hague in October 2022. The 17th century masterpiece will make a rare trip abroad in 2026 when it is loaned to Japan in August and September.
CULTURE / Art
Jan 9, 2026
‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ to make rare trip abroad to Japan
The 17th century masterpiece will be loaned to the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka in August and September while its home in The Hague undergoes renovations.
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.
The White House announced Thursday that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington will be renamed as the Trump-Kennedy Center.
WORLD
Dec 19, 2025
The Kennedy Center is adding ‘Trump’ to its name, White House says
The U.S. president filled the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with allies earlier this year.
Generative AI models are trained on publicly accessible creative content yet offer little to the artists, musicians, coders and others who produce it.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2025
AI thrives on unpaid creative labor
Generative AI models are trained on publicly accessible creative content yet offer little to the artists, musicians, coders and others who produce it.
"Shuto Kacho" (flowers and birds in the autumn and winter)
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2025
Tokyo art museum to exhibit Japanese works from British Museum
The exhibition will be held from July 25 to Oct. 18 at the museum in the Ueno district of the capital’s Taito Ward.
The open-air bath at Tsurunoyu Hot Springs in Nyuto Onsenkyo, in Semboku, Akita Prefecture
JAPAN / Society
Nov 29, 2025
Kagura and onsen culture to be recommended for UNESCO heritage
A government panel has chosen kagura, a Japanese traditional performing art, and onsen hot spring culture as candidates for UNESCO intangible cultural heritage designation.
A scene from the fresco "Effects of Good Government in the City and the Countryside" by Ambrogio Lorenzetti
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2025
How art reveals the values that sustain lasting peace
Peace emerges from everyday cooperation, shared values and harmony with nature, not just decisions made by rulers.
Auction house Christie's in New York. DIC is selling some of its holdings of valuable artworks at the auction house.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 18, 2025
Japanese ink maker sells off Monet and Renoir paintings as activists circle
Oasis Management, DIC’s second-largest shareholder, has called on the company to sell off its holdings, saying that paintings aren’t part of the firm’s core business.
After a peripatetic childhood around the world, teacher and artist Jon Homewood ended up coming to Japan in 2012 for a professional opportunity.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 8, 2025
Jon Homewood: ‘There’s beauty in what we throw away’
Using aluminum cans as his medium, the Tsukuba-based British artist creates intricate sculptures that take months or longer to complete.
Pace Japan Vice President Kyoko Hattori, the de facto head of the nation’s business, believes a larger, more lucrative art market will allow Japan to be more attractive for collectors.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 14, 2025
Pace eyes great strides for Japan’s art market
One of the largest art galleries in the world wants to turn the country into the center of Asia’s art scene.
A woman visits an exhibition of North Korean art at a museum in Moscow on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 30, 2025
A secret no more: Russia and North Korea’s battle against Ukraine is celebrated in Moscow exhibit
For months, Russia and North Korea sought to keep secret the role Pyongyang’s soldiers played in helping Moscow push Ukrainians out of Kursk in western Russia.
One notable section of the “Prism of the Real: Making Art in Japan 1989-2010” exhibition is a predominantly pink room featuring works that explore the lives of Asian women, such as Minako Nishiyama’s “The Pinku House”and footage of Lee Bul’s performance “Sorry for suffering — You think I’m a puppy on a picnic?”
CULTURE / Art
Sep 19, 2025
‘Prism of the Real’ makes two turbulent decades tangible with art
Born of a partnership between The National Art Center, Tokyo and M+, the show reveals how artists across borders grappled with a changing world.
The Bangkok Arts and Cultural Center has removed materials about Beijing's treatment of ethnic minorities and Hong Kong from an exhibit on authoritarian governments.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 9, 2025
Thai gallery removes China-focused artworks after ‘pressure’ from Beijing  
In what artists called the latest attempt by Beijing to silence critics overseas, the Bangkok Arts and Cultural Center changed multiple works by artists in exile.
"In My Closet" by the artist Noumra is on display at Tokyu Plaza Harajuku's Harakado space until June 18.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 14, 2025
At Tokyo Pride’s first queer art exhibition, intimacy and resistance share the wall
A vibrant, community-sourced exhibition in Harajuku showcases queer art that spans the political, absurd and deeply personal.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan falls in gut-wrenching fashion as Brazil strikes late to win World Cup clash
Brazil's Gabriel Martinelli (right) shoots past Japan defenders Shogo Taniguchi (left) and Takehiro Tomiyasu to score in the second half of a match in the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Houston on Monday.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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