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November 22, 2024
 

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Mark Schilling
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 24, 2021
‘Ito’: Ren Komai strums the right notes
Satoko Yokohama's drama, set in the director's native Aomori Prefecture, features a troubled teen whose talent for playing the shamisen is hindered by grief.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 17, 2021
‘Around the Table’: A feast for the eyes that doesn’t quite satisfy
In this coming-of-age film, the story itself is nearly overshadowed by the beautifully decorated sets with items from North European-style everyday goods site, Hokuoh Kurashi no Doguten.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 12, 2021
Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia delivers more than A-list talent
Since its start in 1999, Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & Asia) has become the largest festival of its kind in Asia. This year, it is presenting a hybrid edition, with online venues showing films beginning on April 27 and the festival proper held June 11-21 at venues across Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 11, 2021
Detained but not silent: Stories from inside Japan’s immigration centers
Thomas Ash's documentary “Ushiku” brings to the light the experiences of detainees at Japan's immigration facilities and the harsh conditions they face.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 10, 2021
‘Colorless’: A layered love affair with an enigmatic woman
Despite its theme of duplicity in love, the film is not an exercise in black-comic cynicism.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 3, 2021
‘Hokusai’: A force of nature brought to life
In Hajime Hashimoto's sprawling biopic of Japan's most famous painter, Yuya Yagira plays a young Hokusai while Min Tanaka delivers a vibrant performance as the artist in his later years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 26, 2021
‘The Women’: A harrowing journey with a tidy end
Yukiko Shinohara's vulnerable character is put through the wringer, dealing with one disaster after another. But all is not lost in Nobuteru Uchida's latest drama.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 20, 2021
Actress Mei Nagano gets ready to rumble in 'Office Royale'
The star of NHK's 'Half Blue Sky' learns how to hit and has some laughs along the way in Kazuaki Seki's 'Office Royale.'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 20, 2021
'Office Royale': Office politics get rough-and-tumble in OL-centered comedy
Familiar fodder for goofy comedies 'Office Royale' goes heavy on gags and action but stops short of a progressive message.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 14, 2021
Director Akio Fujimoto pushes for more diversity in Japanese film
When Akio Fujimoto cast three Vietnamese actresses in a movie about the Vietnamese experience, he was actually doing something rather rare in the Japanese film industry.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 13, 2021
'Along the Sea': Akio Fujimoto presents a gripping story of young Vietnamese women trying to survive Japan
The Vietnamese technical trainees in 'Along the Sea' are seldom seen or heard in Japanese society, but the actors' performances make it hard to look away.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 28, 2021
‘Remain in Twilight’: The boys that just can't escape adolescence
Daigo Matsui gets nostalgic over the goofs in the back of math class but ultimately gets stuck in the potty humor of the past.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 21, 2021
‘Rurouni Kenshin: The Final': Impressive battles bring samurai series to a satisfying conclusion
“Rurouni Kenshin: The Final” marks the adrenaline-pumping conclusion to the saga of a former ruthless assassin who seeks to atone for his past sins.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 21, 2021
‘Over the Town’: Offbeat locals give slacker’s life color
Rikiya Imaizumi's film about modern love may center on a scruffy man-child and his series of failures, but it's the four women who become involved with him that give the story heart.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 14, 2021
‘Ride or Die’: A wild road trip worth taking
Kiko Mizuhara and Honami Sato deliver committed performances in Netflix's new emotional and sexually explicit drama about two women on the run after killing a man.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 7, 2021
‘Zokki’: Five stories, three directors, one goofy time
Actors Naoto Takenaka, Takayuki Yamada and Takumi Saitoh joined forces to direct a clever offbeat comedy containing interconnected stories based on Hiroyuki Ohashi's manga.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Apr 3, 2021
Is change sweeping the sclerotic Japanese film industry?
The Japan Academy awarded top honors to the LGBTQ-themed drama “Midnight Swan” and its star, and Tokyo International Film Festival announced that its 34th edition would see more diversity.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 1, 2021
‘Signal The Movie Cold Case Investigation Unit’: Obvious but with plenty of panache
This cop thriller based on a 2018 Fuji TV series may be gimmicky, but it delivers in the action department.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 25, 2021
‘Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction’: The politics of publishing can deliver a real bite
Warring editors of middling magazines go to battle over writers and readership in Daihachi Yoshida's intriguing drama about the publishing world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 17, 2021
‘Kontora’: A poetic meditation on the human cost of war
Director Anshul Chauhan's second feature is a haunting drama that transcends its Japan-specific World War II subject matter.
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.

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