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July 12, 2026
 

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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.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 8, 2026
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin, an Osaka-based credit card payment processor, filed for bankruptcy on Monday.
Stephen Lancaster says Sezanne's loss of its Michelin stars is an opportunity to move one of Tokyo's newest fine dining institutions in a new direction.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 5, 2026
Stripped of Michelin stars, Sezanne embraces a changing of the guard
Once awarded three stars, the restaurant now holds none. But new executive chef Steven Lancaster sees the sudden change as a golden opportunity.
La & Le, a new Parisian-style cafe in the posh Minamiaoyama neighborhood, includes two oversized lamps meant to evoke the iconic streetlights of the French capital.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 5, 2026
La & Le brings a slice of Paris cafe culture to Tokyo
After 20 years at the French capital’s iconic Cafe de Flore, Tetsuya Yamashita returned to Tokyo to open a restaurant that captures the spirit of traditional Parisian cafes.
With a golden-brown broth and a host of classic toppings, Rairaiken's shoyu ramen carries on a legacy dating back to 1910.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 3, 2026
Japan’s first standalone ramen shop reopens in Asakusa
Fifty years after it closed its doors, Asakusa Rairaiken is now back to court a new generation of ramen lovers with the shoyu-seasoned broth it created in 1910.
Open from July 3, the Fender Cafe Shimokitazawa hopes to be just another musically inclined entry to the neighborhood's web of live houses.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 3, 2026
Fender opens a second, more unplugged Shimokitazawa cafe
Open from July 3, the Fender Cafe Shimokitazawa seeks to sit alongside the neighborhood’s reputation as a hotbed of Japan’s indie music scene.
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2026
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
“I always wanted to become a bridge between Japan and Nepal ... but my dream is broken,” Budhathoki Samjhana said.
Conveyor-belt sushi operator Kura Sushi, which has been established in the U.S. since 2009, faces a new challenge as Sushiro enters the market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 1, 2026
Kura Sushi to accelerate U.S. growth to fend off rivals’ expansion
The chain is targeting about 300 locations in the U.S. over the longer term, keeping a pace of 20% growth in store numbers each year, its U.S. operations CEO has said.
The food waste amount dropped by 30,000 tons from the previous year to 4.61 million tons in fiscal 2024, the lowest on record.
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2026
Japan’s food waste falls to lowest on record in fiscal 2024
The food waste amount dropped by 30,000 tons from the previous year to 4.61 million tons in 2024, decreasing for a third consecutive year.
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Jun 28, 2026
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Drawn by the quality of Kanoya’s local produce, chef Yasuhiko Uchida relocated to the Osumi Peninsula. Now, his restaurant is a shining example of Kagoshima’s culinary appeal.
Choushimaru President Ken Ishii speaks during an interview in the city of Chiba on June 5.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 22, 2026
Sushi chain Choushimaru to expand U.S. business
The firm plans to increase Sushi Nigiriba brand outlets in the U.S. under its joint venture with Japanese restaurant chain operator Royal Holdings and Japanese trader Sojitz.
Kodaiji Wakuden, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Kyoto, has found a new side dish for its cuisine: "waka" poems.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 21, 2026
‘Kaiseki’ fine dining with a side of classical poetry
Kyoto fine dining restaurant Kodaiji Wakuden’s experiment with traditional poems is an interesting, if uneven, experiment in aesthetics.
A customer purchases a bento box at the Matsuya Premium Ginza store on Wednesday morning in Tokyo's Chuo Ward.
BUSINESS
Jun 10, 2026
Two Matsuya companies team up in Tokyo on premium beef dishes
The Matsuya Premium Ginza store offers upscale takeout dishes including premium beef-on-rice bowls.
After helping SingleThread in California to three Michelin stars, Kyle Connaughton has turned his attention to SoNoMa, the counter restaurant in the newly opened Capella Kyoto hotel and the ancient capital’s newest fine-dining experience.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 24, 2026
What I ate at SoNoMa, Kyoto’s newest fine-dining restaurant
At SoNoMa, chef Kyle Connaughton filters Kyoto fine dining through a distinctly Californian sensibility.
At Stanza della Sincerita, wood-fired "amadai" (tilefish) caught on the Sea of Japan coast is served on a "risotto" topped with diced summer vegetables and seaweed — chef Makoto Harada’s version of traditional Yamagata-style "dashi."
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
May 16, 2026
One of Japan’s best meals is hidden in a Yamagata hot spring town
Chef Makoto Harada combines Italian flavors with the northern region’s culinary traditions.
Swedish investment fund EQT said it will conduct a tender offer for Japan's Kakaku.com.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2026
Sweden’s EQT to acquire Japanese firm behind popular restaurant site Tabelog
The Swedish private equity firm has announced plans to acquire Tabelog’s parent company, Kakaku.com, in a deal expected to be valued around ¥590 billion.
Giuseppe Errichiello's RistoPizza by Napoli Sta Ca was named Asia's top pizzeria in the most recent rankings from the 50 Top Pizza Asia-Pacific guide.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 8, 2026
Tokyo’s top pizzaioli have raised the city to the upper crust
RistoPizza by Napoli Sta Ca and The Pizza Bar on 38th have dominated Asia’s best-of pizza rankings.
With six three-starred restaurants in this year's Michelin guide, Kyoto continues to build on its reputation as a gourmet destination.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 28, 2026
Gourmet capital Kyoto now has six three-Michelin-starred restaurants
The latest edition of the Michelin Guide Kyoto & Osaka sees Miyamaso earn three stars — the first time since 2020 that Kyoto has a new three-starred entry.
SoNoMa chef partner Kyle Connaughton (right) and chef de cuisine Keita Tominaga both have ties to Sonoma County in Northern California, the restaurant’s namesake. Connaughton rose to prominence there with SingleThread, while Tominaga’s father ran a Japanese restaurant in the region.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 27, 2026
The American chef reconnecting with Japan through a Kyoto restaurant
Kyle Connaughton reflects on a career shaped by “kaiseki,” California farming and a lifelong pull toward the country that inspired him.
At Park Hyatt Tokyo's revamped Girandole, chef Kojiro Tsutsumi (left) is tasked with executing Alain Ducasse's vision of a French brasserie.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 24, 2026
Girandole by Alain Ducasse is a stunning ode to brasserie fare
The renowned French chef and restaurateur’s latest venture in Tokyo hits all the right notes, thanks to the deft skills of chef de cuisine Kojiro Tsutsumi.
After working at his family's restaurant in Kyoto, chef Koki Watanabe moved to the countryside far north of the city, opening Inaka no Taiho in 2021.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Apr 17, 2026
Chickens go from coop to table at Inaka no Taiho
The talented Koki Watanabe offers a farmhouse-style dining experience in the woods of northern Kyoto.
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.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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