TIMEasia Magazine | Japan: Covers Gallery

Gross National Cool
Japan is transforming itself into Asia's cultural dynamo—and might just reinvent its economy in the process

Rinngo's a Star
One singer breaks J-pop's cookie-cutter mold

Rock-It-Yourselfers
Japan's indie bands get respect

Scene Change
Cultivating Japan's future filmmakers

Redrawing Rules
The lone wolf of animation

TomorrowLand
Making Tokyo a more liveable city

Playing in Place
Redesigning where Japan shops, works and plays

Street Wise
Haute couture meets urban streetwear

The Hip Sell
Boutique ad firms wage a creative revolution

A Winning Combini
7-Eleven's corporate victory

Cool Under Fire
Heizo Takenaka's bold new financial order

Form & Function
The leading edge of Japanese design

Tomorrow's City Today
Tycoon Minoru Mori's plan to rebuild Tokyo

The Quest for Cool
TIME keeps tabs on Japan's cultural evolution

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Covers Gallery
Browse our past cover stories on Japan

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June 16, 2003 Class of '89	June 9, 2003 Bob Sapp	April 28, 2003 Asian Heroes 2003
October 21, 2002 Tadanobu Asano	June 24, 2002 World Cup Fever	April 29, 2002 Asian Heroes 2002
March 25, 2002 Ayumi Hamasaki	February 18, 2002 Japan's Sob Story	September 17, 2001 The Real Koizumi
May 14, 2001 Death in Japan	April 30, 2001 How the World Sees Japan	May 1, 2000 Gizmoland!
April 24, 2000 Shintaro Ishihara	November 22, 1999 Pokémon!	October 11, 1999 Nuclear Nightmare
August 16, 1999 Nationalism	May 3, 1999 Young Japan	March 8, 1999 Japan Goes Flat
February 8, 1999 Japan's Blues