author

 
Menu
Search
 
July 17, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Kaori Shoji
Kaori Shoji writes about movies and movie-makers for the Film Page, plus takes a turn at the Bilingual Column. Biggest mistake of her career: taking the very dignified Nagisa Oshima to McDonald's for an iced coffee.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 13, 2012
High price of the most gorgeous show in town
Note to self: Never be a young woman in Japan. It's just too harrowing.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 6, 2012
'United'
In "United," soccer is described as "beautiful" — a wondrous amalgam of a simple ball, freshly mown grass and men doing godlike things with their feet. Set in Manchester, England, in the 1950s, "United" pays full tribute to this beauty with loving attention to the details of the sport.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 29, 2012
'The Amazing Spider-Man'
One telling scene in "The Amazing Spider-Man" is also the movie's defining moment. A high school English lit teacher explains to her class the premise of fiction and she gives it in three short words: "Who am I?" That's the question Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, struggles with in this reboot to the famed...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 22, 2012
'One Day'
They say that the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young. "One Day" is all about that need, and how two people (subconsciously and otherwise) hold on to that for 23 long years.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 18, 2012
The truth about Japanese love: We just don't get along
One of my younger cousins, aged 23, managed to pull off what he calls the kotoshino igyō (今年の偉業, the great accomplishment of this year).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 15, 2012
'Snow White & the Huntsman'
A classic Grimm Brothers fairy tale undergoes an intriguing overhaul in "Snow White & the Huntsman," a femme-centric, Gothic action thriller strewn with ravens' feathers and dripping with blood. Disney never put that sweet princess through such muck, but director Rupert Sanders has no qualms about...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 8, 2012
'Michi' actors Yoshizawa and Bae learn from their characters that experience is key to understanding
It's been a long while since the Korean Wave first washed through the Japanese entertainment industry and altered the landscape forever. Not a day goes by without a Korean star making an appearance in the Japanese media. DVD rental stores devote huge sections of floor space to hanryū productions....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 8, 2012
'We Bought a Zoo (Japan title: Shiawase e no Kiseki)'
The latest on the Japanese dating-scene bulletin says ikumen are it. And what exactly are ikumen? These are men (perhaps the first in the history of this nation) willing to nurture and raise children, and actually profess to enjoy it. Coming from a family whose male members would have all chosen ritual...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 1, 2012
'I Don't Know How She Does it'
Here's what I hope is a dusty, totally passe concept: the supermom. You know, those women who juggle a million tasks before 8 a.m., then go for a 10 km jog, then strap their kids into hybrid SUV car seats, check them into day care and depart for an important, high-paying career in the finance sector....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 25, 2012
'Men in Black 3'
How do you feel about men in black suits? Black shoes? Narrow (but not too narrow) black ties? Call me strange, but I've always had a weakness for that look, ever since Jake and Elwood Blues of "The Blues Brothers" perfected the mode in 1980. Always trust the guy in the suit, as my granny used to say....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 18, 2012
'The Muppets'
The Muppets franchise gets a thorough dusting off and a major makeover in "The Muppets," but it's probably the parents, and not the kids, who will most appreciate the effort. This is the first Muppets movie to come out since "Muppets From Space" in 1999, and such a lot of water has gone under the bridge...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 14, 2012
How living can kill you, and other inconvenient truths
It's around this time of year that many Japanese turn their thoughts away from Golden Week escapades (if indeed, there were any. This year, according to a survey by Sankei Shimbun, a good bulk of Tokyoites stayed in and laid low during the holidays) and to the kenkō shindan (健康診断, health...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 11, 2012
'The Descendants'
If you were an actor, middle-aged or older and looking to revamp your career, landing a role in an Alexander Payne movie could be just the thing. On the other hand, collaborating with the man who brought to the world the twin masterpieces of midlife pathos "About Schmidt" and "Sideways" may mean that...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 4, 2012
'Faces in the Crowd'
Here's something you don't see often: Milla Jovovich not battling zombies, and not wielding some impossibly menacing piece of artillery. In "Faces in the Crowd," we see Jovovich in a rare mode of vulnerability and fragility (in spite of those muscular shoulders) — even giving the impression that...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 27, 2012
'Last Night (Japan Title: Koi to Ai no Hakarikata'
You know how it goes: An attractive married couple go out to a party one night wreathed in smiles but return some hours later in stony silence. The shot of the two of them in bed, backs turned toward each other and mutual profiles radiating dissatisfaction in the dark as sirens blare from the street,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 20, 2012
'Le Havre'
Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki has always been free from a particular pressure of the modern world: the pressure to grow and change. You know, the one where we have to make more money, be better looking and forever fit, and go on better vacations than the Joneses (or Suzukis) and post the pictures...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 16, 2012
Could happiness be the new frontier?
Bookstore shelves all over Tokyo are stacked with shiawase hautsū bon (幸せハウツー本, how-to-be-happy books), which, surprisingly perhaps, outnumber the dire-prediction books that spin tales about what's ailing the global economy and how Japan will chinbotsu (沈没, sink) in five years...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 13, 2012
Asano goes for an A-1 hit with 'Battleship' film
History often repeats itself in the most interesting ways. In 1945, principal members of the Japanese government signed an agreement for total surrender of the country's armed forces to the United States atop the famed USS Missouri battleship, also known as the "Mighty Mo." Sixty-seven years later, audiences...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 13, 2012
'Texas Killing Fields'
Having an iconic Hollywood filmmaker for a dad isn't always a cool thing. The dad in question: Michael Mann, the guy who brought us such notable gangster tales as "Public Enemies," produced the gritty, testosterone-infused "Heat" and has more than a dozen blockbusters to his name. Granted, Michael Mann...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 6, 2012
'Oranges and Sunshine'
Decency is often much harder to swing than heroism or conventional success. And to keep plugging away at it without recognition or reward is not just awe-inspiring but truly humbling. "Oranges and Sunshine" highlights such an act of decency.
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
China’s economic growth comes in worse than expected
Pedestrians in the Wangfujing shopping area in Beijing on July 11, 2024. China's economic growth in the second quarter was lower than forecast, adding pressure on Chinese leaders to lift confidence at the Chinese Communist Party's third plenum this week.
Kansai airports to increase takeoff and landing slots ahead of Osaka Expo
Kansai International Airport in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture. The upper limit on the number of takeoff and landing slots at the airport as well as Kobe Airport in Hyogo Prefecture will be raised in spring next year ahead of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Omron helping firms achieve carbon neutrality
Omron helping firms achieve carbon neutrality

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER