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November 22, 2024
 

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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
Jan 25, 2017
'Suffragette': The strength of women
Believe it or not, "Suffragette" is the first feature film out of Britain to focus exclusively on the suffragette movement. What took the country so long? Completed last year, it has finally made it to Japan, and in the light of all that's happening in Western politics, it couldn't be coming out at a...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jan 25, 2017
Helen Pankhurst: The suffragettes were just the beginning
As women march to protest Donald Trump's presidency and "Suffragette" is released in Japan, the words of Helen Pankhurst, activist and British suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst's great-granddaughter, should resonate with many filmgoers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 23, 2017
New Year's festivities in Japan ain't what they used to be
For one thing, it's too warm. Back in mid-century Tokyo, お正月 (o-Shōgatsu, New Year's Day) used to be so cold, according to my grandmother, that peoples' laundry froze on the 物干し竿 (monohoshizao, bamboo drying pole).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 18, 2017
'Doctor Strange': When seeing is not always believing
In case you're wondering if the entire superhero film genre is being monopolized by Marvel, it is my regrettable duty to tell you that it does look that way. There are no superhero free agents out there anymore, and if a lone wolf should be found lurking on a street corner, a Marvel representative will...
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jan 18, 2017
The truth is still out there
"The truth is out there." This tagline to the sci-fi TV series "The X-Files" used to give me chills when it was first aired on Fox in 1993. The series touted an intriguing minimalist elegance — from its set designs to FBI agent Dana Scully's pristine white shirts and smart suits, contrasted with the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 11, 2017
'Dirty Grandpa' is quite a stinker
'Dirty Grandpa." The un-ironic title is like a spray-painted graffiti sign warning everyone to stay away from this sewage-swilling clogged cesspit masquerading as a movie. Woe betide anyone who catches this on an airplane, they may wind up using all the airsick bags in their row, because it really stinks....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 4, 2017
'Nerve': For the watchers
Japanese millennials aren't interested in cars, sex or marriage according to economists and business magazines such as Toyo Keizai. Yawn — so, what else is new? Every night I go to sleep hoping to wake up to a world where people go on proper dates and then grow old together and hold hands in cafes...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 4, 2017
From Japanese horror to American intrigue
As a second-generation Japanese-American working in Hollywood, Shintaro Shimosawa stands out. Take his name for example, he prefers Shintaro over his given "American name," Edward.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 28, 2016
Mount Meru: for those who like to aim high
If Mount Everest is the iconic goddess of mountains, then Meru in the Indian Himalayas is the unattainable, unknowable bad-ass rock star, beckoning to a chosen few from an impossibly remote place high in the sky. Unlike Everest, Meru isn't famed for its legendary climbs and world records. New Zealand...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 28, 2016
'Stonewall': We need to talk about Danny
"Stonewall" is a bit of a head-scratcher. A fictional account of the 1969 Stonewall riots — a series of events that subsequently triggered the gay rights movement in America — it's directed by Hollywood's resident disaster-movie specialist, Roland Emmerich ("Independence Day," "The Day After Tomorrow")....
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 26, 2016
2016: The year Japan said 'sayonara' to some sexist terms
What a year 2016 has been. Recently, a usually frugal girlfriend of mine drained her bank account by moving into a new, swanky apartment, and by buying a bag and shoes from Prada.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 21, 2016
Finding courage and hope in 2016
The Year of the Monkey is drawing to a close. Despite the events in the real world, this year at least brought us some soulful films. Perhaps the filmmakers wanted to prepare us for the impending yuckiness of future reality. Still, my picks for the best films of the year intriguingly combined sweetness...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Dec 21, 2016
Quotes of 2016, from 'Die, Japan' to 'Trump shock'
Some of the good, bad and ugly of what various people said or shouted out loud in 2016.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 14, 2016
'Don't Breathe': To rob someone blind has its payback
'Don't Breathe" is another in a line of horror movies that confirm my belief that when it comes to scary tales, it's like burgers: Low-budget is best. When you add fancy trimmings to make them swanky, bam! — the authenticity goes out the window.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 7, 2016
'The Lady in the Van': Getting old can sometimes cause a stink
Many Japanese have dreamed of living their last days in London, just as Americans in the 1920s used to dream of romantically passing away in Paris. Now, as Japan grows grayer with each passing year, an increasing number of older Japanese are eyeing Great Britain's capital city with a particular longing....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 30, 2016
'Freeheld' stirs talk of minority rights in Japan
What's wrong with gay marriage? Absolutely nothing, as the United States finally acknowledged in 2015. Up until then, however, gay people had to fight for the same rights that heterosexual couples took for granted.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 30, 2016
'Florence Foster Jenkins': Not quite a nightingale
'Florence Foster Jenkins" is a fairy tale of glorious optimism and unclouded love. The titular lady (a real-life New York heiress and socialite during the 1940s) goes chasing after her dream of becoming an opera singer with a mountain of passion but zero talent. To say that Florence (played by the ever-brilliant...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 28, 2016
Some Japanese find frustration, others freedom in foreign tongues
The Japanese have never been skilled at communication, but they have been able to fall back on the belief that everyone understood each other without saying anything. Unfortunately, this has never applied to non-Japanese.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 23, 2016
'Ants on a Shrimp': How Rene Redzepi found himself in Tokyo
Rene Redzepi is having his moment — and it's a long one. It began in 2010 when his Copenhagen restaurant, Noma, was deemed by Restaurant Magazine to be the best on the planet. Noma has now been voted to the No. 1 slot on the magazine's World's 50 Best Restaurants list four times and Redzepi remains...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 23, 2016
'A Bigger Splash': Sex-and-power drama under the sun
'A Bigger Splash' marks Luca Guadagnino's third team-up with Tilda Swinton, and once again he has assembled just the cast to offset her majestic presence.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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