November 02, 2024

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CULTURE

Film

Entertainment news

Kazuhiro Soda’s “The Cats of Gokogu Shrine” follows not only the felines that live on the grounds of the title shrine in Ushimado, Okayama Prefecture, but also the local community members, many of whom are of retirement age.

CULTURE / Film

Oct 25, 2024

‘The Cats of Gokogu Shrine’: Documentary paints intimate portrait of a community in decline

By Mark Schilling

While stray cats that inhabit the grounds of a local shrine take center stage, the film also celebrates the aging humans doing their best to preserve their neighborhood.

Naoko (Ayaka Onishi, right) starts moonlighting as a paid companion for older men under her missing colleague’s identity in “Strangers.”

CULTURE / Film

Oct 24, 2024

‘Strangers’: A satisfyingly unnerving stolen identity drama

By Matt Schley

Kenta Ikeda and his cinematographer imbue the thriller about a woman who takes on the identity of her more carefree and flirtatious colleague with a sense of paranoia.

Kazuya Shiraishi's "11 Rebels," a period actioner based on a long-forgotten script by Kazuo Kasahara, will open this year's Tokyo International Film Festival.

CULTURE / Film

Oct 24, 2024

Tokyo International Film Festival boasts strong line-up of Japanese fare

By Mark Schilling

An excellent chance to see films from Japan, Asia and around the world, the annual event will kick off with Kazuya Shiraishi's gritty action feature "11 Rebels."

Journalist Shiori Ito's documentary "Black Box Diaries," which follows her own investigation into her sexual assault and struggle for justice, was one of 19 Japanese films that screened at the Busan International Film Festival this month.

CULTURE / Film

Oct 18, 2024

Japan-based features generate buzz at Busan International Film Festival

By Philip Brasor

With 278 films on offer, Asia's largest film festival tackled heavy themes such as assisted suicide and struggles faced by migrants.

A gravely ill man (Arata Iura) starts to question if it’s worth sacrificing the life of his clone in order to save his own in Sayaka Kai’s “Adabana.”

CULTURE / Film

Oct 17, 2024

‘Adabana’: Existential sci-fi will have you seeing double

By James Hadfield

Sayaka Kai’s drama set in a world where a privileged elite extend their lives by keeping clones in reserve is imbued with literal and figurative darkness.

A young woman named “Chacha” (Marika Ito) defies the rules of Japanese society in the romantic drama “Cha-Cha.”

CULTURE / Film

Oct 17, 2024

‘Cha-Cha’: Romantic drama doesn’t take itself too seriously

By Mark Schilling

Mai Sakai’s twisty and quirky film features a protagonist who is about as untethered from conventional roles and rules as it is possible to be in Japanese society.

“The Cats of Gokogu Shrine” centers on a local shrine in Ushimado’s Honmachi district, which has become home to a colony of street cats.

CULTURE / Film

Oct 12, 2024

Kazuhiro Soda embraces the wisdom of street cats

By James Hadfield

The filmmaker turns his camera closer to home in his new documentary, “The Cats of Gokogu Shrine,” and brings a community into focus.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Akira Oishi (left) and Shinichi Okanobori have taken on the responsibility of surveying the flora and fauna of Mount Tenran and Mount Tonosu in Saitama Prefecture.

Inside Japan's 100-year project to monitor its deteriorating biodiversity

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

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