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Japan Times
29 minutes ago
- Japan Times
Japan's World Cosplay Summit to escape summer heat in 2027
Dressing up at the World Cosplay Summit can be makeup-meltingly sweaty in Japan's baking summer, and after this year's event in record heat, organizers have pushed the 2027 edition to November. The annual extravaganza, usually held in Nagoya, sees thousands of people from all over the world embody their chosen anime, manga and gaming stars in elaborate costumes, outlandish hairdos and zany face paints. Organizers said after this year's 23rd shindig ended Sunday — 247,200 people attended over three days — that next year's will also be in August, but for 2027, it will be in November. "This change was made in response to the extreme heat and other weather conditions," the event's executive committee said in a statement on Tuesday. The move was also to "strengthen our efforts to accommodate more international participants and to take into account trends in domestic and international tourists," it said. Japan this week set a new high of 41.8 degrees Celsius, with tourist hot spot Kyoto in late July seeing 40 C for the first time since records began. Summer last year was the joint hottest on record, equaling 2023, and was followed by the warmest autumn since records began 126 years earlier. Last month, 38,608 people were treated in hospital for heatstroke, data showed Tuesday, down from 43,195 in July 2024. Preliminary findings from the Tokyo Metropolitan Medical Examiner's Office found 56 people in central Tokyo likely died from heatstroke this June and July. Of those, 54 died indoors, and most were aged 60 or older. Thirty-eight of them had air-conditioners but did not use them.
NHK
3 hours ago
- NHK
'Oppenheimer' Noh play staged to mark 80th anniversary of Hiroshima bombing
A Japanese Noh play about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who led the development of the nuclear bomb, was staged in Tokyo on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Theatre Nohgaku, a group of Noh artists from around the world, performed the play in English at Kita Noh Theatre. The work depicts Oppenheimer's regret and anguish over the bomb's development during World War Two. On stage, Oppenheimer's ghost was filled with agony while talking about the atomic bomb causing a tragedy in Hiroshima. The ghost pledged to take responsibility for the pain inflicted on humankind and committed himself to saving sufferers by performing a dance with a sword and a rope handed to him by a Buddhist deity. The play, written in 2015 by a researcher at the University of Sydney, was performed in Japan for the first time. Theatre Nohgaku's founder, Richard Emmert, noted that everyone still feels the impact of what happened 80 years ago. He said it should never happen again and he hopes that people will continue to remember the catastrophe. John Oglevee, who played Oppenheimer, said creating and sharing works based on horrible things that happened in the past is painful for everyone. But he added, "We have to have the pain to remember that we can have joy." A man in his 50s from Tokyo said the play touched his heart deeply. He said people need to pass on what they feel about the war to younger generations. The Noh play will be performed again on Saturday, which marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
Japan Times
8 hours ago
- Japan Times
Sony lifts outlook on entertainment demand despite tariff threat
Sony Group raised its earnings forecast on Thursday after a strong showing from its entertainment divisions that outweighed the threat of new U.S. tariffs on chips. The Tokyo company now expects its operating profit for the year ending March to total ¥1.33 trillion ($9 billion), versus an average of analyst estimates of ¥1.39 trillion. In May, in the midst of uncertainty around Washington's new import tax regime, Sony had warned its profit would take a ¥100 billion hit and set its forecast at ¥1.28 trillion. It said it now sees a tariff impact of around ¥70 billion on its operating income. Sony's music unit has grown to be a reliable pillar of the group, bringing in a steady flow of revenue as opposed to the company's more prominent but fluctuating consumer electronics, PlayStation and image sensors. Royalty income from music streaming operators remains strong, and popular anime works produced under the Sony umbrella are helping catapult in-house artists into the mainstream. Sony's anime units have consistently produced hits at home and abroad. Income from Sony's anime work is expected to increase in the months to come, with the latest Demon Slayer movie earning a record ¥12.9 billion in its first 10 days at the Japanese box office. Aniplex also operates Fate/Grand Order, a hit smartphone game that is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose a 100% tariff on semiconductor imports and another possible levy on products containing chips weighs on Sony and other hardware makers, however. Sony makes camera sensors for Apple's iPhone and most of its Android-based competitors. The declared tariffs, if implemented, may force a rejig of supply chains with far-reaching implications for exporters around the world. Sony's PlayStation unit is promising to focus on profitability and to rein in marketing costs for hardware. The company's in-house studio will release Ghost of Yōtei, a sequel to Sony's hit game, Ghost of Tsushima, in October that should contribute to beefier sales during the year-end shopping season. Meanwhile, the company's image sensors business faces weak handset demand as well as seismic shifts in the supply chain.
