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April 05, 2025
 

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Mark Schilling
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 9, 2020
‘Bolt’: A noirish depiction of the dark days after 3/11
Director Kaizo Hayashi's three-part film based on the meltdown disaster of 2011 at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is a mishmash of noir, sci-fi and fantasy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 3, 2020
‘Mrs. Noisy’: Loving your neighbor can be tough
Chihiro Amano's humorous film about rowdy next-door neighbors coming to blows makes a well-meaning plea for tolerance and kindness toward others.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 25, 2020
‘Underdog’: This two-part boxing epic packs a punch
Director Masaharu Take's 276-minute film was inspired by Martin Scorsese's boxing saga “Raging Bull.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 18, 2020
‘Any Crybabies Around?’: Banishing your inner child is hard to do
Taiga Nakano gives a raw performance as a social pariah who attempts to make amends with his family and town in Takuma Sato's film.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 11, 2020
‘Life: Untitled’: The fables and foibles of sex work
Kana Yamada's film about a motley crew of employees at an escort agency called Crazy Bunny is based on her own stage play.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 6, 2020
'Sumodo' documentary offers a rare inside look at the competitive world of sumo
Director Eiji Sakata's documentary reveals the human side of Japan's wrestlers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 5, 2020
‘Ora, Ora Be Goin’ Alone’: Grandma isn’t done living life to the fullest
Shuichi Okita's film about a lonely elderly woman searching for meaning in her life presents old age with humor and pathos.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 28, 2020
‘Living in the Sky’: Trust your cat, not your lover
Cannes winner Shinji Aoyama and the pop group collective Exile Tribe joined forces for this film about the complexities of personal relationships.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 21, 2020
10 days of J-horror: From funny frights to shock and gore
Halloween is only 10 days away, so here's a list of J-horror films to watch each day to settle into the spooky season.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 21, 2020
‘Ainu Mosir’: A coming-of-age tale, respectfully told
Takeshi Fukunaga's film centered on the indigenous people of northern Japan tells the story of a 14-year-old boy learning to appreciate his heritage.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 14, 2020
‘Wife of a Spy’: Gripping drama lays bare wartime atrocities
Fresh off a win for best director at the Venice International Film Festival, Kiyoshi Kurosawa's masterful look at war heroes is out in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 7, 2020
‘Under the Stars’: Parents have stars in their eyes
In Tatsushi Omori's coming-of-age drama, Mana Ashida plays a teenager who is conflicted about her loving parents who are members of a cult.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Oct 1, 2020
‘Tenet’ triumphs at the Japanese box office
Christopher Nolan's sci-fi epic may not be doing well in the U.S., but in Japan, the film has held the No. 1 box-office slot for two weeks.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 30, 2020
‘Kamata Prelude’: Four tales of the exploitation women face in Japan's film industry
Actress and producer Urara Matsubayashi stars in an omnibus that makes sexual harassment, particularly in the workplace, a central theme.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 24, 2020
‘Midnight Swan’: A gloomy drama, with moments of realism and grace
Eiji Uchida's film about a transgender woman who takes in her troubled niece is dark but shines a light on the struggles faced by the LGBTQ community.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 18, 2020
Actress and producer Urara Matsubayashi takes control of narrative on societal struggles
“Kamata Prelude” is an omnibus by four directors that is based on the life experiences of Urara Matsubayashi, the film's star and producer.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 18, 2020
Kiyoshi Kurosawa's best director win at Venice is a career changer
The reaction to Kiyoshi Kurosawa winning the Silver Lion for best direction has been overwhelmingly positive, but 'Wife of a Spy' isn't entirely free of controversy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 17, 2020
'Cenote': A hypnotic dive into a wellspring of stories, ancient and new
Kaori Oda's documentary delves into the allure of natural sinkholes and the people who live around them in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 10, 2020
‘A Beloved Wife’: Marital woes deliver laughs and pull at the heartstrings
Director Shin Adachi's comedy about sparring spouses is based on his 2016 semi-autobiographical novel, “Chibusa ni Ka” (“Mosquito on the Breast”).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 3, 2020
‘Reiwa Uprising’: Political passions make for a compelling watch
Kazuo Hara's documentary about the Reiwa Shinsengumi political party's 2019 campaign is worth sitting through even though it's just over four hours long.
U.S. tourist arrested after bringing a handgun into Japan
Hyogo police believe the handgun a U.S. tourist inadvertently brought into Japan slipped through security procedures at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture.
3D printer used to construct train station building in Japan
A train station building (front) is assembled from parts printed using 3D printer technology, in Arida, Wakayama Prefecture, on Wednesday.
Japan’s leader didn’t read the job description
Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba is facing a political funding scandal that has damaged his reputation and sparked speculation that internal efforts to remove him are underway.
Japan promises 'bold and speedy' response to Trump’s surprise 24% tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump unveils new U.S. tariffs at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
Tokyo’s KK Line to close for decadelong overhaul as public greenway
People enjoy running and yoga on Tokyo Expressway’s KK Line, a 2-kilometer elevated expressway cutting through the capital’s commercial Ginza district, when it was opened as a pedestrian space in May last year.
Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
Nintendo to launch the Switch 2 on June 5
The controllers for the Switch 2 will attach to the console magnetically rather than sliding on rails as with the original device.
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.

Podcast

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

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
By Johan Brooks

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