The idol phenomenon in Japan, which emerged in the 1970s, highlights young artists, often teenage girls, who sing and dance ...

TOKYO: Every day, 90-year-old Japanese grandma Hamako Mori flexes her fingers to keep them nimble. Not for knitting or needlepoint, but to keep them in shape for playing video games. The pensioner ...

TOKYO—The marketing of pop stars (male and female) is a huge business in Japan, generating billions of yen in revenue for the management. It’s sometimes a dirty business as well, with the young idols ...

Amina Du Jean aka "Aminyan" is the kind of pop idol that Japan, still ranking 111 out of 144 countries in gender equality needs now: she’s smart, bilingual, sassy, and she’s female empowerment in a ...

In a cramped and dark venue in a sleazy Tokyo district, dozens of middle-aged men cheer at a performer on stage: The object of their adoration is a six-year-old girl. Decked out in make-up with ...

After a 22-year streak of sending pop fans into a frenzy, Japanese “boy” band SMAP debuted their newest single this past week, “Upside-down Sky,” which rocketed to the top of the charts immediately.