On July 10 and 11, rock bands VAMPS, [Alexandros], OKAMOTO’S, and Ling Tosite Sigure will unite in London for a set of concerts. These concerts are part of the “JAPAN NIGHT” series, with this installment being called “JAPAN NIGHT at HYPER JAPAN JAPANESE MUSIC TO THE WORLD.” VAMPS and [Alexandros] will play both nights, while OKAMOTO’S will play on Friday and Ling Tosite Sigure will play on Saturday. These concerts will take place at indigo at The O2. Doors to these shows open at 6PM. Ticket prices range from £28.90 – £57.10. Tickets went on sale today at 9AM London time.

These concerts will be taking place the same weekend as HYPER JAPAN Festival. HYPER JAPAN Festival is a large London event that celebrates Japanese culture, the largest event of this sort in the UK. There are several booths dedicated to various Japanese things there, such as food, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, and fashion, both traditional and contemporary. There will also be musical guests there too, including Eir Aoi, Dempagumi.inc, and Tokyo Girls’ Style. HYPER JAPAN Festival is conveniently located in the same venue as the aforementioned rock concert, The O2. Tickets for the festival are currently on sale.

As previously reported, Crystal Kay will release her first Japanese single in 3 years on June 3. The single is titled “Kimi ga Ita Kara.” One of the B-sides on that single is titled “THE LIGHT.” “THE LIGHT” is the CM song for Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge line of smartphones. The commercials premiered on April 8. Today, a short lyric video was released for the song. Today also marks the day that the ringtone of the song will be available on Recochoku. Check out the lyric video and CMs after the jump!

New York’s annual Japan Day will take place Sunday, May 10 in Central Park. Japan Day is a means to celebrate Japanese culture within the city, in the form of a spring festival. There are many things to enjoy at the event, such as food, crafts, and performances, both traditional and contemporary. NHK World and Hello Kitty will both have booths as the event.

Today, Japan Day’s performers were announced. This year’s headliner is AKB48. Six members of the popular idol group will close out this year’s festivities: Saho Iwatate, Rina Hirata, Haruna Kojima, Tomu Muto, Rena Nozawa, and Ryoka Oshima.

Another contemporary act will take the stage before them: EXPG Boyz. This group is composed of students from the New York branch of LDH’s training facility, EXILE Professional Gym. The group is composed of 9 boys between the ages of 13 and 16.

A full list of performers can be found on Japan Day’s website!

On May 13, Shiina Ringo will release her new digital single “Saihate ga Mitai.” “Saihate ga Mitai” is a song that Ringo wrote and composed for enka icon Sayuri Ishikawa’s 2014 album “X -Cross II-.” Ringo is now releasing her self-cover, after having performed it on her tour late last year. “Saihate ga Mitai” will serve as the theme song for the anime movie “Sarusuberi ~Miss HOKUSAI~”, out May 9. This will be the first time in Ringo’s 17 year career that she’s done an anime theme. “Sarusuberi ~Miss HOKUSAI~” is based off of the 80s manga “Sarusuberi.” It recounts the life of Oei, the daughter of famed Japanese artist Hokusai. Oei often helped her father create his works but she was not credited for them. Oei will be voiced in the film by Anne, with her character’s father being voiced by Matsushige Yutaka.

Ringo will release “Saihate ga Mitai” to Recochoku and iTunes worldwide. On the same day as the release, she’ll also release a limited edition towel via Tower Records that features the same print as the digital single’s artwork.

Check out the single’s artwork, the towel, and the trailer for “Sarusuberi ~Miss HOKUSAI~” after the jump!

A few weeks ago we reported that popular jazz/hip-hop band Gesu no Kiwami Otome. were gearing up to release their latest single on April 22nd.  Now the group have chosen to publish the music video for the single’s lead track “Watashi Igai Watashi Janai no” to their official Youtube channel, as well as release the song digitally a couple of weeks ahead of its physical release date.

The PV makes use of clever camerawork and traditional Japanese imagery to create a rather eyecatching experience, focusing on the band performing the song as a mysterious woman appears in various different positions and locations throughout the video.  “Watashi Igai Watashi Janai no” is currently being used as the newest CM song for well known brand Coca-Cola, endorsing their special “Name Bottle Campaign”.

You’ll find the full music video for “Watashi Igai Watashi Janai no” just below the cut, so don’t hesitate to stick around and take a look.

The “ARASHI BLAST in Hawaii” held for Arashi’s 15th year anniversary at the Ko Olina Resort in Hawaii (Sep 19 – 20) will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 15. In addition to the concert, the release will also include a footage Documentary of ‘BLAST in Hawaii’ featuring behind-the-scene footage of Arashi members enjoying Hawaii, rehearsals, thoughts about Arashi after 15 years and more. A version of the CMs aired is also up at J-net.

In addition, the group will be releasing their new single “Aozora no Shita, Kimi no Tonari” (Under the Blue Sky, Next to You), which will serve as theme song to Fuji TV’s upcoming drama ‘Youkoso, Wagaya e’, starring member Aiba Masaki. Combining a lyrics that give a real sense of how precious the connection between people is and a dramatic melody overflowing with positive energy, it’s music gives optimism to people living in this cooped-up modern society.

The regular edition will include an original talk track called “Ura Ara Talk 2015”, recorded by the members talk/ answer questions from their fans. The single will be released on May 13.

Check out below for the single and DVD details.

With a duration of 17 minutes and 25 seconds, Kikkawa You’s new single “Hana” is said to be “a unique work in idol history.”  The song is about a “woman’s way of life in an operatic musical style.” The single will be released on May 6.

The lyrics were written by NOBE, Oomori Seiko, and Daika Naoka (michitomo’s lyricist pseudonym). The music was composed by michitomo. The initial length of the song was actually 30 minutes. It was made opera-like, containing several changes including speeches and singing lines.

If you’re curious how the this new song sounds, check out the song preview as revealed during her latest show on Showroom (starts 19:19).

On June 10, Namie Amuro will release her 12th studio album, “_genic.” This will be the singer’s first body of new work since parting ways with longtime management company Rising Productions (formerly known as Vision Factory). After 22 years with Rising Productions, all of Namie’s activities are now centralized under Avex. “_genic” sees Namie turning away from her EDM sound of late and going in a different direction. This new album sees Namie incorporating R&B, 80s, and 90s influences to create a classic dance pop sound. The album will have 13 new songs and 5 music videos. Check out the covers and provisional tracklist after the jump!