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July 12, 2026
 

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FASHION

A rise in tourists on the hunt for on-the-ground deals as well as foreign-facing resellers seeking to turn a profit has Japan's secondhand fashion industry facing a crunch.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jul 12, 2026
Global demand is reshaping secondhand fashion in Japan
Shop owners in Japan are seeing a deluge of overseas customers, and buyers outside Japan say the costs to stock their stores have doubled or even tripled.
Japan's Naomi Osaka warms up ahead of her first-round match against Elsa Jacquemot at Wimbledon, London, on Monday.
TENNIS
Jun 30, 2026
Naomi Osaka serves up a fashion slam at Wimbledon
Osaka, the 14th-seeded player and former world No. 1, did her walk-on in an all-white look by Hana Yagi, an independent Japanese designer, titled “Evolving Ceremony.”
Fans gather to watch the FIFA World Cup 2026 match between France and Senegal during a watch party hosted by Adidas at Brooklyn Bridge Park in the Brooklyn borough of New York on June 16.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jun 29, 2026
World Cup pits Adidas and Nike in fight for soccer street cred
With the ambush marketing of reintroducing a vintage jersey in March, Adidas is playing up soccer’s off-field appeal to score points in its perpetual battle with Nike.
An Onitsuka Tiger store in the Omotesando district of Tokyo. The footwear brand prepares to transform into a luxury lifestyle label distinct from Asics.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 18, 2026
Onitsuka Tiger pivots from Asics stripes to tap luxury market
The 77-year-old sneaker-maker is set to be spun off from parent Asics to capitalize on a resurgence in interest for retro aesthetics and Japanese style.
The rise of silver content creators is helping redefine what we associate with aging, and they are a potent spending force due to their substantial net worth.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 2026
Your mum and dad are influencers now, too
As populations age and people delay retirement, these third-age influencers are restoring some relevance and legitimacy to age groups sidelined in many professions.
A man holds a lunch tote bag originally designed for women.
JAPAN / Society
May 27, 2026
Japan’s younger generation enjoys genderless fashion
Many Japanese apparel companies are working to expand their product lineups and improve store environments to cater to the growing trend of genderless fashion.
The Margiela exhibition transforms Kudan House by removing most of its vintage furniture and covering everything in semitransparent plastic sheets.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 17, 2026
In Tokyo, Margiela’s art exhibition creates a haunting house
The brief but significant Tokyo exhibition offers a look at how Martin Margiela’s mind works in his new chosen field of fine art.
Waliu Fransisco separates tangled threads used for <i>aso-oke</i>, a handwoven fabric indigenous to the Yoruba ethnic group, at Oke Oja workshop in Iseyin, Nigeria, on March 17.
WORLD / Society
Apr 15, 2026
Nigeria’s in-vogue handwoven fabric-makers resist automation
Traditionally worn by the Nigerian rich and ruling class on special occasions, “aso-oke” is now found in designer studios in major cities and is made into shoes, bags and purses.
An H&M store on Fifth Avenue in New York
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 7, 2026
Once Sweden’s top company, H&M’s struggling to sell its rebound story
H&M’s CEO is seeking once again to convince investors that the group has turned a corner.
With Mirumi, a fluffy-furred robot bag charm, robotics firm Yukai Engineering hopes to replicate the Labubu craze in Western countries.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 24, 2026
A fluffy pink robot may be Japan’s answer to Labubu
Mirumi, whose goal is to “steal your heart,” arrives as the “kidult” market is projected to climb.
W. David Marx’s new book, "Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century," argues radical cultural innovation has become increasingly scarce.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 21, 2026
The critic who ruffled pop culture’s feathers
In “Blank Space,” W. David Marx questions the 21st century’s creative vitality and responds to critics who say he’s too cynical.
In a country where self-expression is limited during children's school years, nail art is often one of the first avenues of experimentation for many young women in Japan.
LIFE / Style & Design
Feb 7, 2026
‘In Japan, people pack everything they love on their nails’
Tokyo’s nail artists say their customers view their chosen designs as reflections of their inner selves.
A Puma SE store in Shanghai, China, on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 29, 2026
Puma’s long slide: the rise and fall of a German sports icon
Puma has struggled to win consumers to its sportswear and sneakers, widening a sales gap between it and brands like Adidas.
The LVMH group of brands spanning handbags to watches and champagne ‌is expected to report a 0.3% decline in fourth quarter sales.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 27, 2026
LVMH investors still cautious about luxury fatigue and Chinese growth
LVMH stock rebounded last year, sparking an $80 billion luxury sector rally, but has lost most of those gains, sliding 9% since the ‍start of ⁠this year.
Naomi Osaka arrives for her first round match against Croatia's Antonia Ruzic on Tuesday at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
TENNIS
Jan 21, 2026
Osaka says ‘I’m a little strange’ after Melbourne fashion statement
Osaka, who grew up primarily in the United States, attributed her interest in fashion to when she visited Japan as a 13-year-old.
Valentino Garavani waves as he arrives for the premiere of the movie "Valentino: The Last Emperor" in Venice on Aug. 28, 2008. The Italian fashion designer died Monday at 93.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jan 20, 2026
Valentino, Italian haute couture ‘emperor’ who painted fashion red, dies at 93
From Hollywood glamour to Paris haute couture, Valentino built an empire on elegance, devotion to beauty and one unforgettable shade of red.
Samba sports shoes are displayed in an Adidas store in Berlin. Shares of Adidas are down by almost a third in the past year.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 12, 2026
The sneaker boom had a long run. Now some analysts say it’s over.
In a 61-page analysis, Bank of America analysts concluded that the growth prospects for these sports brands are rapidly dimming.
The lively Coach Ginza store on Jan. 6. The brand has refreshed its image in recent years, attracting younger shoppers through customization, influencer collaborations, and eco-friendly initiatives.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 6, 2026
Bag charms, coffee and fun: Coach’s Gen Z playbook in Japan
In the face of a global luxury market slowdown, the American fashion house’s success with the younger generation has positioned it as something of an outlier in the industry.
Guardia di Finanza — the Italian tax police — carry out a search at a textile firm during a recent investigation, in the Tuscan city of Prato, Italy.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Dec 11, 2025
Is sabotage unraveling the trial of Chinese crime gangs in Italian fashion?
The many mishaps that have occurred — from the disappearance of documents to the resignation of interpreters — have led a senior prosecutor to suspect so.
Kaihara Chair Junji Kaihara holds a pair of jeans made of Kaihara Denim in its initial stage at the company’s museum in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture. A panel behind him shows a photo of the company’s first dyeing machine, “Nintai-go.”
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Dec 8, 2025
Hiroshima’s textile industry lives on through quality and new techniques
From a company becoming one of the top global denim brands to a son repairing machines himself to keep his family’s business going, the prefecture’s textile industry lives on.
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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