If you have looked at Netflix over the past few days, there is an overwhelming chance that you will have been bashed over the head by a weird-looking Japanese documentary. (The Guardian)

A unit of Japanese toymaker Bandai Namco Holdings is raising production and fighting scalpers to ease a chronic shortage of its Gundam plastic model kits, as demand for them soars among homebound fans. (Nikkei)

Netflix has unveiled five new forthcoming Japanese titles — including a romance reality series and documentaries devoted to true crime, a J-pop star and the art of Kabuki theater — which join 10 prior unscripted projects the streamer already had in development. (hollywoodreporter.com)

Ryusuke Hamaguchi's 'Drive My Car' bagged the Best International Feature Film award at the Oscars 2022, becoming the second movie from Japan to take the honour in the category formerly known as Best Foreign Language Film. (devdiscourse.com)

The Japanese entertainment industry may finally be having its #MeToo moment as a director and actor face sexual assault allegations from seven actresses, including claims they worked together in targeting young women. (hollywoodreporter.com)

Japanese messaging giant Line is set to launch its non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace on April 13, having secured partnerships with several entertainment companies in the country. (theblockcrypto.com)

Muddled and frustrating almost from the outset, Yoshihiro Fukagawa’s achingly sentimental weepie Love Like the Falling Petals struggles to tell its story with coherent clarity. (scmp.com)

A report that scientists have begun tests on a 300-year-old “mermaid mummy” to identify its origins, has stimulated an interest in the existence of mermaids in Japanese folklore. (theconversation.com)

Amazon.com opens a music studio Tuesday in Tokyo, aiming to strengthen its foothold in a music streaming market with room to grow as the company scrambles to catch up with rivals like Apple. (Nikkei)

Japanese gaming giants Sony and Nintendo have halted shipments to Russia, joining a growing list of global brands that are exiting the country following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. (Al Jazeera)

Japanese video game and toy company Bandai Namco Holdings is spending 15 billion yen ($130 million) to develop a "metaverse" featuring fearsome battle robots and other characters from its flagship Gundam franchise. (Nikkei)

(Sony Pictures Entertainment)

Two big names in Japanese electronics and autos are joining forces to produce an electric vehicle together. (ctvnews.ca)

Tokyo is one of the world’s most exciting cities, full of entertainment, restaurants, jobs, people. Why would anyone leave this for — the countryside? (ONLY in JAPAN * John Daub)

Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc. said today that it’s launching a marketplace where users can purchase nonfungible tokens called Rakuten NFT. (siliconangle.com)

Teruhiko Saigo, who was one of the Big Three male singers of the Showa Era (1926-1989), died of prostate cancer at a Tokyo hospital Sunday morning. He was 75. (Japan Times)

Having a family portrait taken by Haruhiko Kawaguchi comes with one unusual condition: That he wrap your entire house in plastic and then vacuum-seal you into an airtight bag. (abc17news.com)

Japanese video game powerhouse Capcom revealed last week that it is lending its hit character Ace Attorney to a campaign designed to prevent cannabis use by young people. (hightimes.com)

Masayuki Uemura, the lead architect for the breakthrough Nintendo Entertainment System and the Super NES, and a visiting professor at Ritsumeikan University, has died, the university said Thursday. He was 78. (Kyodok)

Throughout its history, Japan has been the source of a diverse range of art and design forms. Classic woodblock prints such as Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa are recognized all over the world. (businesswire.com)

Japanese costume designer Emi Wada, known for her Academy Award-winning work on a film by renowned director Akira Kurosawa, died on Nov. 13, her family said. She was 84. (Japan Times)

Two decades after "One Piece" introduced the world to a swashbuckling pirate in a straw hat, fans of the Japanese cartoon series are giddily awaiting this weekend's release of the 1,000th episode. (Japan Today)

Japan's animation industry contracted sharply last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, while overseas markets saw strong sales and exceeded the domestic market for the first time. (NHK)

TOKYO (AP) — Jakucho Setouchi, a Buddhist nun and one of Japan's best-known authors known for novels depicting passionate women and her translation of “The Tale of Genji,” a 1,000-year-old classic, into modern language, has died. She was 99. (tulsaworld.com)

November marks one year since the Metropolitan Police Department began a program to reduce street prostitution in Tokyo by connecting women to welfare counseling. (Japan Times)