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July 12, 2026
 

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BTS

BTS kicked off the international leg of its Arirang World Tour at Tokyo Dome on Friday.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 19, 2026
After years away, BTS and its fans reunite at full volume
From “Fire” to “Idol,” the Tokyo Dome show became a long-awaited communal spectacle.
BTS performs in Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on Saturday.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Mar 22, 2026
K-pop supergroup BTS shuts down central Seoul for comeback concert
The hourlong outdoor concert in Gwanghwamun Square was the official comeback for the group.
BTS’s comeback has been overshadowed by romance rumors, exposing the clash between K-pop’s obsessive superfan culture and the artists’ right to love freely as the industry expands globally.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2026
K-pop stars should be allowed to love
The controversy that has fired up a small but vocal fandom centers on whether two of the industry’s biggest stars, Jungkook of BTS and Winter of aespa, are in a relationship.
South Korean boy band BTS arrives for the 64th Annual Grammy Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022. The group will kick off its first world tour in four years in April 2026.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 15, 2026
BTS set to return to Japan with world tour in April
After a nearly four-year hiatus and military service, all seven BTS members will reunite with a new album in March and a record-breaking world tour to follow.
For decades, only three countries — the U.S., U.K. and Sweden — consistently exported more music than they imported, and South Korea has now joined them as the fourth.
COMMENTARY
Dec 2, 2025
The K in K-Pop is already silent. And that’s OK.
In terms of music consumption, K-Pop is already on that path. Audience data shows that there are now far more fans outside South Korea than at home.
BTS member RM (left) plays saxophone while V looks on while holding flowers at an outdoor facility in Chuncheon on Tuesday.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 11, 2025
Two BTS megastars released from South Korea military
As the members of one of the world’s biggest pop groups complete their military service obligations, fans hope for a new album.
Fans celebrate BTS' 11th debut anniversary during 2024 FESTA, an event for fans of the K-pop boy band a day after band member Jin was discharged from the South Korean army after 18 months of military service, in Seoul on June 13.
BUSINESS
Jul 15, 2024
TikTok sees K-culture spend doubling to $143 billion by 2030
In the U.S. and Southeast Asia, research has found that about 80% of social media users have found Korean culture through TikTok.
Fans of K-pop act BTS queue up for the annual BTS FESTA, organized by HYBE, the band's agency, in Seoul on Thursday.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 14, 2024
BTS mania hits Seoul ahead of ‘huggathon’ with Jin
Fans flew in from around the world to get a chance to win a hug from BTS member Jin, who finished his military service earlier this week.
South Korean pop group BTS perform during the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards on April 3, 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2024
Universal Music to distribute BTS and rappers in new Hybe deal
As part of the agreement, the companies will collaborate on artist promotions and marketing activities in North America.
The final 10 contestants of the reality show “The Debut: Dream Academy” in November. The show aimed to select the members of a new global K-pop girl group.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 17, 2024
K-pop without the ‘K’ just won’t pop
The BTS hiatus may have slowed K-pop down, but the answer isn’t to take the Koreanness out of it. If not, all that’s left is run-of-the-mill pop.
Yuka Tada and her friend pose for a photograph at a BTS fan cafe in Tokyo.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 12, 2023
BTS members head for South Korea military service; fans vow to wait
With three members already serving, the remaining four members of the K-pop supergroup begin their 18-month service.
BTS fans at an event in Seoul on June 17
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 3, 2023
K-pop fans fight big coal to protect beach made famous by BTS
Environmental groups are aiming to harness the immense influence that K-pop enthusiasts have to fight climate change.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2023
K-Pop battle shines spotlight on new wave of shareholder activism in South Korea
The new protagonists of shareholder activism in Asia are millennials steeped in the local culture who are using that knowledge to take on the old guard.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Apr 4, 2022
As the pandemic drags on, more in Japan find solace in ‘oshikatsu’ devotion
Made more accessible through new technology, styles of fandom long monopolized by those obsessed with pop culture, anime and manga are, for many, becoming a vital part of lockdown life.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 24, 2021
‘Squid Game’ and BTS are driving a boom in Korean-made goods
South Korean music, TV and films are bringing once-obscure brands into the mainstream as far away as the U.S.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 24, 2021
Escapist bops and deep pop: Music was a mood in 2021
After a year in which Japan’s music industry had to make its peace with streaming, this year saw more of the holdouts get on board with the times.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2021
Three BTS members garner $8.4 million from sale of agency shares
The group is looking to reap as much earnings as possible before a mandatory two-year military conscription kicks in.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Sep 21, 2021
BTS took center stage at the U.N. Over 1 million fans watched live.
The K-pop group promoted the coronavirus vaccine and lauded young people for their resiliency during a nearly seven-minute speech at the U.N. headquarters.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 7, 2021
Chinese social media site suspends K-pop fan accounts
Beijing is concerned that the quest for online attention and celebrity adulation is poisoning the minds of the country’s youth.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 20, 2020
BTS fans have a new way to show their love: buying shares
In the music industry, fans are everything. But when it comes to K-pop, that adage holds more true than ever.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

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