Japan
ONE OK ROCK’s Taka Talks New Album ‘Luxury Disease’ & Kicking Off Their Second Chapter
It’s no coincidence that ONE OK ROCK’s new project Luxury Disease turned out to be a genuine rock album. The raw passion that pervades the set conveys the fact that the band has returned to their roots with a clarity of meaning and mission. The album was produced by Rob Cavallo, known for his work with Linkin Park and Green Day, and features Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco among other guests. In addition to this solid rock lineup, Luxury Disease also incorporates the latest pop techniques that the band fostered for their previous album Eye of the Storm, and is an updated version of ONE OK ROCK’s sound that goes beyond just a return to its roots. Fifteen years after the release of the band’s debut album Zeitakubyo — a Japanese neologism that means the same as the title of the new album ...
NAQT VANE (Hiroyuki SAWANO & Harukaze) Talk Searching for Freedom on New Single ‘Break Free’
Hiroyuki SAWANO, a composer of music for various video productions, continues to be the center of attention due to his “SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]” project, which is focused on vocal music. Harukaze is an up-and-coming singer who Hiroyuki has nothing but praise for, calling her “constantly captivating.” Today, we take a look at NAQT VANE, the new music project that brings together these two unparalleled talents. What led to you two meeting each other? Hiroyuki SAWANO: I was talking to a producer from Avex who I met when I was producing music for Do As Infinity. I said that I wanted to create a new music project, and they helped me out, which is how I discovered Harukaze. Harukaze had been uploading cover versions of Western songs on Instagram. Her voice was spellbinding, and when I talked to her ...
Japanese gov’t issues NFTs to reward local authorities’ work
The Japanese government has become one of the first to issue nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as a form of supplementary rewards to recognize the work of local authorities who have excelled at using digital technology to solve local challenges. The awards were handed out by the cabinet secretariat, a government agency that is headed by the nation’s chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno during the “Summer Digi Denkoshien 2022” ceremony. The event was also attended by the country’s prime minister Fumio Kishida, reported Coinpost. Seven mayors received recognition for their cities’ ideas centered on the digital economy. Among them was the mayor of Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture, whose administration suggested using electric vehicles for local deliveries. An NFT prize was also given to Ma...
In videos: 12 surreal man-made dive sites
From lost ancient cities to the world’s largest underwater theme park, these man-made dive sites are sure to intrigue At Atlas & Boots, we’ve dived some astonishing sites, from Steve’s Bommie in the Great Barrier Reef to the Sonesta plane wrecks in Aruba. We’re pretty hopeless at fish identification, so when it comes to diving, unless it’s a truly amazing reef system, we’re generally more interested in diving something new or unique (like an airplane or bommie). Enter the man-made dive site. We’ve scoured the Internet in search of videos of some of the most curious artificial dive sites out there – every one of which has now been added to our diving bucket list. Man-made dive sites From historic cities that have crashed into the ocean to artificial exhibitions installed ...
SBI lost 40% of hash rate after stopping mining in Russia: Data
Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings has partly terminated cryptocurrency mining in Russia due to geopolitical uncertainty and the crypto winter. SBI Holdings suspended mining operations in Russia’s crypto mining-rich region of Siberia, citing reasons like Russia-Ukraine conflict and the ongoing bear market, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. The Japanese online brokerage shut down the Siberian mining operations shortly after Russia started a military intervention in Ukraine on Feb. 24, a spokesperson for the firm reportedly said. The termination contributed to SBI’s crypto asset business reporting a pretax loss of 9.7 billion yen ($71 million) in Q2 202. As a result, the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group-backed group recorded a 2.4 billion yen ($17.5 million) in net losses, reportedly posting...
Watch J-Pop Singer/Songwriter Motohiro Hata’s English-Language ‘Trick Me’ Lyric Video
J-pop singer-songwriter Motohiro Hata digitally released the English-language version of his song “Trick Me,” along with the accompanying lyric video. The track, originally released in April, was featured in a collaborative campaign for the Japanese fashion company United Arrows’ “green label relaxing” brand. The English version could only be heard in stores around the country and was only included in the fan club-exclusive CDs until now. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The lyric video was helmed by up-and-coming Japanese visual artist Aonisai Takada, and the striking, stylish visuals express the lyrics as vividly flashing neon lights. [embedded content] [flexi-common-toolbar] [flexi-form class=”flexi_form_style” title=̶...
Superfly Drops ‘Dynamite’ Remix by DJ R3HAB: Listen
Superfly made its major-label debut on April 4, 2007, as a duo with the single “Hello Hello.” Now Superfly — the stage name of vocalist Shiho Ochi — has released numerous J-pop hits over the years, including “Ai wo Komete Hanataba wo” (A Bouquet With Love), “Beautiful” and “Flare.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The singer/songwriter continues to work tirelessly in the year marking the 15th anniversary of her debut, releasing a new digital single called “Voice” on her debut day and then “Dynamite” on May 23, the song featured in the new commercial series for Boat Race 2022 in Japan. A globally renowned DJ from the Netherlands, R3HAB has remixed tracks by a variety of top artists including The Chainsmokers and Rihanna. Superfly is the first Jap...
The Global Popularity of Official HIGE DANdism’s ‘Mixed Nuts’ Explained
Now one of Japan’s biggest mainstream acts, Official HIGE DANdism’s most recent hit single “Mixed Nuts” continues to break records, sailing past 100 million streams on July 6 to rewrite the J-pop rock band’s own record for fastest release to hit the milestone. It’s also the first domestic song released this year to generate 100 million streams, notable in that this figure is an indicator of a nationwide hit in today’s J-pop music scene. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The key to the breakthrough was the popularity of the TV anime series SPYxFAMILY. “Mixed Nuts” was written by Official HIGE DANdism — often referred to as HIGE DAN for short — as the anime’s opener. The track was digitally released April 15 and hit No. 1 on the Billboard J...
HARTi and Mitsui Sumitomo roll out NFT insurance coverage for claims
As announced on Tuesday, Japanese NFT Platform HARTi and insurance group Mitsui Sumitomo (三井住友海上) will roll out nonfungible token, or NFT, insurance for all digital artworks exhibited within the HARTi app. The insurance will attach to the NFT pieces on display by sellers free of charge, with HARTi responsible for the premium payments. Under the scheme, Mitsui Sumitomo will compensate owners of insured NFTs if their digital assets are compromised by unauthorized third-party access (such as through phishing, theft or wallet hacks) or become bugged or glitched during transfers. In such events, the policy will payout compensation to the NFT owner based on the exhibition price of each item and up to a maximum value of 500,000 yen ($3,661). The two parties expect to expand their collaborat...
Official HIGE DANdism’s ‘Mixed Nuts’ Logs Third Week Atop Japan Hot 100
Official HIGE DANdism’s “Mixed Nuts” holds at No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated July 13, logging its third week at the top of the tally. On the chart tracking the week from July 4 to 10, the SPYxFAMILY opener is powered by streaming, downloads, and video views. The track continues its reign over streaming and downloads, with the former increasing slightly from 9,371,493 to 9,452,499 weekly streams to extend its record to 11 weeks at No. 1 for themetric, while the latter decreasing slightly from 11,066 to 10,259 units but extending its record to 4 weeks, respectively. The single is at No. 4 for video, withfigures increasing from 1,614,634 to 1,641,850 views. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news [embedded content] SEKAI NO OWARI’s “H...
ONE OK ROCK Set to Release New Single ‘Save Yourself,’ Announces North American Tour: See the Dates
Japan’s ONE OK ROCK is set to drop a new song called “Save Yourself” on Friday (June 24) along with the accompanying music video. The track is the four-man band’s first new single of 2022, and the members will chat about their current thoughts live on YouTube ahead of the video’s premiere from around 8:30 p.m. Japan time. Announcing the new single “Save Yourself” to be released on June 24th.Also don’t miss the band on @YouTube Livestream and MV YouTube Premiere. <Pre-Add/Pre-Save> https://t.co/AE74kfHogY#ONEOKROCK #saveyourself pic.twitter.com/67H4IOHMTs — ONE OK ROCK_official (@ONEOKROCK_japan) June 21, 2022 The “Renegades” band also announced that it will travel to North America for the first time in three years for a month-long trek starting in September. Support...
New Japanese law may allow seizure of stolen crypto
Japan’s Justice Ministry is reportedly considering a revision of an asset seizure law relating to organized crime to include a stipulation that crypto can be commandeered in such instances. If the reports are found to be true, a potential revision of the Act on Punishment of Organized Crimes and Control of Proceeds of Crime (1999) would enable law enforcement officers and courts to take control of crypto assets used in criminal activity such as money laundering. According to reports from local media outlets such as the Yomiuri Shimbun on June 4, the Justice Ministry will first need to engage in talks with the Legislative Council on the issue before proceeding forward. While it will also need to iron out important details such as how officers can go about obtaining a criminal’s privat...
