Arts

A mural by artist PHIL decorates a wall under an overpass near Yokohama Station. (Courtesy of Wall Share)
Arts

Tokyo takes art to the wall

Enthusiasm is growing for public murals reflecting community spirit

15 July 2023
Producer Toshio Suzuki poses in front of a poster for "How Do You Live?" -- one of the very clues to the film's content. 
Arts

No trailers. No promos. New Ghibli film leaves fans guessing

"How Do You live?" is Hayao Miyazaki's first animated movie in a decade

13 July 2023
Fukuda Kodojin (1865-1944), leaf from “Album of What Exists,” circa 1907, ink on paper, Kura Art Gallery, Kyoto. (Courtesy of Minneapolis Institute of Art)
Arts

Kodojin rediscovered: Rare exhibition highlights enigmatic Japanese painter

Sweeping display in US puts spotlight on 19th-century scholar-poet artist

11 July 2023
The return of cultural properties should be used as a catalyst for reconciliation, not as a spark for new conflict. Here, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, left, and Korean President Lee Myung-bak shake hands after signing an agreement returning Korean royal books in November 2010 in Yokohama.
Japan-South Korea ties

Cultural properties can be Japan-South Korea diplomatic opportunity

Tokyo should step up efforts to identify artifacts that ought to be returned

9 July 2023
Popular Netflix series "Wave Makers" brilliantly evokes both the intensity of Taiwanese politics and the difficulties faced by party staffers -- especially women battling to resist and expose an institutional gender bias among party leaders. (Courtesy of Damou Entertainment)
Arts

Hit Netflix political drama makes waves in Taiwan

Show's focus on sexual harassment sparks surge of #MeToo claims

9 July 2023
The English-language version of South Korean writer Cheon Myeong-kwan's debut novel, "Whale," has received a massive boost since its shortlisting for this year's International Booker Prize. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by the Booker Prize Foundation)
Books

Korean novel earns Western acclaim, decades on

Cheon Myeong-kwan's 'Whale' resurfaces in top literary competition

29 June 2023
Photographer Vinai Dithajohn at the opening of his exhibition "Red & Yellow" at VS Gallery on April 22. The show documents Thailand's struggle for democracy between 2003 and 2016. (Photo by Tom Vater)
Arts

A photographer's chronicle of Thailand's democracy struggle

From rural poverty to bus conductor, soldier and photographer, Vinai Dithajohn followed his dream

27 June 2023
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, second from left, speaks with South Korean content creators at an event in Seoul on June 22. (Photo courtesy of Netflix).
Media & Entertainment

Netflix co-CEO praises South Korea's strong storytelling culture

On visit to Seoul, Ted Sarandos promises competitive compensation for creators

22 June 2023
The INOX movie theater in Srinagar, Kashmir’s first multiplex in 23 years, displays signs promoting current and upcoming features. (Photo by Kaleem Geelani)
Arts

Indian filmmakers flock back to Kashmir

Movie companies drawn by subsidies and reduction in violence

22 June 2023
Kim Tae-han performs some of his favorites, including parts of Wagner's "Tannhauser." (Courtesy of Queen Elisabeth Competition)
Arts

South Korean baritone hits high note with surprise European win

Kim Tae-han first Asian male opera singer to clinch Queen Elisabeth prize

15 June 2023
With "Mad Fate," director Soi Cheang taps into Hong Kong's fascination with the macabre, returning to the milieu with which he first turned heads. (Courtesy of Makerville)
Arts

Soi Cheang and the art of darkness

Maverick Hong Kong filmmaker honored by the city he celebrates in his movies

11 June 2023
Now starring in the Netflix action movie "Blade of the 47 Ronin," Japanese actor Chikako Fukuyama says, "As an Asian woman, I feel the time is just right to work in Hollywood." (Photo by Albert Halim)
Arts

Smashing down walls for Asians in Hollywood

Japanese actor Chikako Fukuyama's long journey from Nagoya to Los Angeles

10 June 2023
Police seize exhibits from the June 4th Museum in Hong Kong in September 2021. A new museum has been set up in the U.S.
Hong Kong security law

Tiananmen museum to open in U.S. ahead of crackdown anniversary

Hong Kong authorities continue to snuff out commemorations

2 June 2023
G-Yu Creative CEO Yupharet Eakturapakal points to the strategic approach taken by South Korea to promote its culture overseas, calling on Japan to do the same. (Photo by Shinya Sawai) 
Media & Entertainment

Thailand's Japan Expo organizer urges J-pop to look outward

G-Yu Creative's CEO insists Japanese culture can win more popularity

1 June 2023
In "Tiger Stripes" 12-year-old girl Zaffan, played by Zafreen Zairizal, goes through carefree puberty until she discovers that her body is morphing in terrifying ways. (Courtesy of Ghost Grrrl Pictures)
Arts

New generation of Malaysian filmmakers wins accolades abroad

Cannes award for 'Tiger Stripes' follows victories at Udine for 'Abang Adik'

27 May 2023
Tina Turner during a concert at the Arrowhead Pond arena in Anaheim, California, in December 2000.
Obituaries

Tina Turner, the 'queen of rock 'n' roll,' dies at 83

Legendary singer with powerful voice dominated Top 40 list in 1980s

25 May 2023
Workshop participants view possibly looted works at the Asian Art Museum in Berlin in March. Researchers estimate that hundreds of porcelains, bronzes and picture scrolls held by German museums may be implicated. (Photo by Jens Kastner)
Arts

German museums dig into legacy of Boxer Rebellion looting

Joint review of holdings with Chinese scholars to lead to return of artifacts

22 May 2023
"HIDARI," a stop-motion samurai movie produced using wooden puppets, has amassed more than 2 million YouTube views since its release in March. (Courtesy of Dwarf/Whatever/Tecarat)
Arts

Japanese stop-motion film brings 'wooden' samurai to life

Crowdfunded pilot project carves out global success as 2m watch on YouTube

17 May 2023
Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa, in 2011. (Photo by Keiichiro Asahara)
Arts

Reconstruction of Okinawa's Shuri Castle gains pace

Prefecture hopes to partly open tourist site to public by end-2025

14 May 2023
A protester in Bangkok in late 2021 flashes the three-finger salute that has become a symbol of resistance in demonstrations across Asia. There are signs of a potential resurgence in protests in Thailand, especially if national election results are perceived to be undemocratic.
Thai election

Thai youth takes creative defiance into election

Protest movement gears up for May 14 poll, but many doubt its likely impact

9 May 2023
Recently deceased gay man Mao Mao, played by Austin Lin, left, and homophobic cop Wu Ming-han, played by Greg Hsu, in a scene from "Marry My Dead Body." (All photos supplied)
Arts

Hit Taiwan movie tackles Asian taboos

Comedy bromance between homophobic cop, gay ghost reflects increasingly liberal society

6 May 2023
A movie theater in Hanoi. Vietnamese movies have grown in popularity back home. (Photo by Yuji Nitta)
Media & Entertainment

Netflix provides 'Furies,' other Vietnamese films with newfound life

First dismissed at home, action thrillers ride wave of international popularity

3 May 2023
Xiao Ming "Bernard" Chang, the protagonist in the Disney movie "Chang Can Dunk." (Photo courtesy of Disney)
Arts

'Chang Can Dunk': More than a Disney teen film

Director draws on childhood to tell Asian American story of trying to fit in

22 April 2023
Artist and “Art for Air” founder Kamin Lertchaipraset speaks at the “Air That We Breathe” talk organized by Studio 88 Artist Residency and Dream Space Gallery on March 12. (Courtesy of Studio 88 Artist Residency)
Arts

Thai artists bring creativity to fight against pollution

Northern Thailand's 'Art for Air 2' extravaganza paints sobering picture of life without clean air

21 April 2023
Art collector Joe Price helped draw renewed attention to Edo master Ito Jakuchu. (Photo by Wataru Ito)
Obituaries

Joe Price, American collector of Edo-era Japan paintings, dies at 93

His love of Japanese art led to a rediscovery of painter Ito Jakuchu

18 April 2023