This week’s guests were Tanimura Shinji, Shirota Yu, and flumpool.

Tanimura Shinji x Shirota Yu x Yamamura Ryuta (flumpool) – Hoshi ni Negai wo / Smile / What a Wonderful World

flumpool – Subarashiki Uso

Shirota Yu – even if

Tanimura Shinji – Grace

This week’s guests were DISH//, Novelbright, and Sky Peace.

DISH// – Neko

Novelbright – Yume Hanabi

Sky Peace – Aoao Sorashi Dream

We’re back with another episode of the Arama! Japan podcast! This episode covers May 2020! This month we covered a variety of topics, including the 2019 year end music industry reports, Black Lives Matter and other protests movements in Japan, the death of Hana Kimura, and more.

Featured on the podcast alongside myself this time is Hannah from Selective Hearing. Check it out below!

Hey, Arama Japan! It’s Friday, so it’s Open Post time! Feel free to chat with your fellow readers about whatever you like! Enjoy!

This week’s guests were MAN WITH A MISSION, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, Johnny’s WEST, Shuta Sueyoshi, SEKAI NO OWARI, and NEWS.

MAN WITH A MISSION – Change the World

TOMORROW X TOGETHER – Fairy of Shampoo

Johnny’s WEST – Shouko

Shuta Sueyoshi – HACK

SEKAI NO OWARI – Dropout

NEWS – “WA ni Natte Odorou” Project

The upbeat summery pop song we’ve needed in quarantine has arrived! The hardest working diva in the game Koda Kumi released her brand new digital single “puff” on June 26.

The YouTube version of the music video is vertical and best viewed on a smart phone. It’s a pastiche of smartphone visual language, editing together self-shot footage of Kumi and her dancers as if it were a series of social media posts, complete with notifications, swiping, scrolling and button pressing.

Check it out below!

We’re back with a new edition of Arama! Japan Playlist! This playlist is a mixture of staff selections and new releases, all from this past May. There’s something here for everyone, including Utada Hikaru, Fujii Kaze, Arashi, mei ehara, ZOMBIE-CHANG, Maica_n, Novelbright, Dance For Philosophy, LAMP IN TERREN, Morfonica, YOASOBI, and Taeyoung Boy. Check it out below!

Last July, Sony Music and JYP Entertainment, the Korean company behind TWICE and 2PM, began “Nizi Project”, a search for members for a new Japanese girl group. Auditions began last July, and were held across Japan and well as in Hawaii and Los Angeles, attracting over 10,000 girls.

In January of this year, the first season of the reality show “Nizi Project” debuted, featuring 26 girls training in South Korea for a spot in the group. The second season debuted in April, with 13 of the girls from the first season continuing their training.

Now, nine girls are debuting in the final group, NiziU (pronounced “need you”).

NiziU will release their pre-debut mini album, “Make you happy”, on June 30 in Japan and Korea. The group will make their major debut this fall.

Discover the girls of NiziU below!