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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
Feb 10, 2016
'Carol' shows women trapped in the moral confines of 1950's America
'Carol" is a wondrously beautiful piece of filmmaking by American director Todd Haynes. Set in New York during the 1950s — when homosexuality was viewed as a disease on par with leprosy — the film reminds us of the incredible freedom allowed in romantic relationships these days.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 4, 2016
'The Martian' has thrills for the sci-fi nerd in everyone
'The Martian" (released in Japan as "Odyssey") is one of those movies where you kick yourself afterward for not having read the book first. Otherwise, you'll be going into this unprepared for the blasts of wondrousness, which hit you right in the eyes and light up the part of the brain that delights...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 3, 2016
Japan's epic samurai dramas are in a tight spot
Japanese can roughly be split into two camps: those equipped with an encyclopedic knowledge of history and those who have only a vague idea of who the samurai were or that a Shogun once lived in what is now the Imperial Palace. The history geeks on one side and those who couldn't care less on the other....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 3, 2016
Sean Penn creates mayhem and feel-bad vibes in 'The Gunman'
Globalism has hit the action genre hard, and the movies coming out of the wreckage are apt to be more than a tad disappointing. We once knew (or were told to believe) that democracy was good, everything else was bad and Americans had the God-given right to go after profits abroad and protect their families...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Feb 3, 2016
Could an aging population save Japan's independent cinemas?
Only a few years ago, movie industry pundits sighed and said that cinema was dead (again), and that streaming networks would soon sweep that corpse aside.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 27, 2016
Satoko Yokohama: The girl from Aomori taking on Japan's film industry
The Japanese film industry is one of the most antiquated in the world. Well, that seems to be the general opinion among media pundits here. Those working in film are slaves, enduring terrifically long working hours; budgets are minuscule; old-fashioned apprenticeships still reign; and women rarely get...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 27, 2016
'5 Flights Up' turns the horror of selling an apartment into a gentle fairy tale
Living in Tokyo has taught me that relationships matter but real estate matters more. My mom used to tell me never to date anyone who didn't have a down payment on a condo, which basically doomed me to permanent datelessness.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 20, 2016
'The Walk' brings an infamous tightrope walker to life, in terrifying detail
If you could go back to one particular moment in history, what would it be? Someone (most likely the devil) must have asked Robert Zemeckis that question several times during his career and, in a way, many of his films could be described as different answers. In fact, the films Zemeckis is most well...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 18, 2016
Another year of living precariously in 21st-century Japan
2015 was a pretty gloomy year worldwide. And the same could be said for life on the archipelago.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 13, 2016
'Paddington': Can the 'other bear' crack the Japanese market?
'I can't pinpoint the exact reason, but Paddington remains a somewhat distant character for me." So wrote teddy bear aficionado Satomi Terakawa in an email interview. Terakawa harbors a lifelong love for stuffed toy bears, and spent 15 years designing and making teddy bears for a toy boutique in Ginza....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 13, 2016
Brutal true story behind 'Moby Dick'
Finally we can start talking about something other than "the force" and how a guy in New York had his name legally changed to Darth Vader. "In the Heart of the Sea" is opening this weekend, and it's an adventure story on a whole other level, involving a killer whale instead of aliens. Set in 1820 and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jan 13, 2016
A golden year for aging stars in film
A while back we heard that 50 is the new 30, but Hollywood has gone beyond that, as a whole new reserve corps of talent is emerging to tell us that 70 is the new 35, and that at 60 you're a mere baby.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jan 8, 2016
'The Forest' can't see the woods for the props
Mount Fuji now has worldwide fame thanks to its World Heritage status, but less-known is the fact that some of the surrounding area — specifically the Aokigahara Jukai forest — is a suicide hot spot. This is common knowledge among Japanese, especially those who live in the Kanto area, but who would...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 6, 2016
Spielberg captures Cold War fears in 'Bridge of Spies'
Mankind owes much to Steven Spielberg. Without him, many of us would never have known the existence of Oskar Schindler ("Schindler's List"), become aware of the events behind the Munich Olympics in 1972 ("Munich"), seen the U.S. slave trade depicted in a major Hollywood production ("Amistad") or learned...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 3, 2016
New Denki Groove documentary uncovers two decades of strange techno
Way back in the 1990s, when the "Cool Japan" campaign was but a faint, distant blip on the nation's radar, a synth-pop group called Denki Groove was doing its best to represent Japanese "cool."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 1, 2016
Setsuko Hara and the changing face of Japanese womanhood
At the risk of sounding unpatriotic, Yasujiro Ozu's "Tokyo Story" remains on my list of least favorite movies. I'm in good company — every woman I know dislikes it, and the passing of the film's star, Setsuko Hara (at 95 years old), in September was observed by the media with understated obituaries....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 30, 2015
Del Toro's 'Crimson Peak' alluring but far from scary
Real estate, sexual passion and family secrets are crammed into the atmospheric thriller "Crimson Peak," directed by Guillermo del Toro ("Pan's Labyrinth," "Pacific Rim"). I have an inkling Del Toro dislikes modern society and abhors modern notions of security. His films always unfold in lavish settings...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 28, 2015
Remembering men we loved (and one we 'lost') in 2015
2015 was the year the Nihon danji (Japanese male) came through for us.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 23, 2015
Top 10 films of 2015: Inspired acting and difficult characters
The international lineup proved to be something of a mixed bag for film buffs in 2015. But the one thing that stood out among other features in this year's films were the acting performances. Some were skilled, others were extraordinary, but mostly they were memorable and gutsy, delivered with the kind...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 16, 2015
'Life' tears down the myth of James Dean
If you're reading this and not some rogue, jump-the-gun review of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," it means you and I are friends forever. This is the day — 24 hours before the opening of the latest chapter in the "Star Wars" franchise — when other movies currently screening in theaters are destined...
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.
Russia launched intercontinental ballistic missile during attack on Ukraine, Kyiv says
A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile is launched during a test from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in Northern Arkhangelsk region of Russia, in this still image captured from video released on Oct. 29.
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.
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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