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November 21, 2024
 

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Mark Schilling
Ryo Onishi’s debut feature “Feelingscape” tells a slice-of-life story about a blind man struggling to connect to others while affirming his agency.
CULTURE
Sep 16, 2023
‘Feelingscape’: Ordinary lives made poignant
Ryo Onishi’s debut feature about a man living with a visual disability and his relationships goes into close detail that is both rare and revealing.
Yoji Yamada cast familiar faces in his latest heartwarming family drama “Mom, Is That You?!” including veteran Sayuri Yoshinaga (right), who has appeared in three other Yamada films. Yoshinaga plays the mother of a stressed salaryman (Yo Oizumi, left) in the new film.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 15, 2023
Film veteran Yoji Yamada warms the soul with 'Mom, Is That You?!'
Even after 60 years in the industry, the director continues to make hits. His latest offers a hearty helping of deeply felt human truths.
A former boxer (Koichi Sato, left) trying to restart his life in Japan takes on a young trainee (Ryusei Yokohama) with aspirations to win big in “One Last Bloom.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 7, 2023
‘One Last Bloom’: Pugilist melodrama feels all too familiar
While the film takes the approach of local TV dramas, with broad narrative strokes and a zero-to-hero arc, the boxing scenes deliver insider details.
Actor Nahana says she considers her role as a punk rocker who falls in love with an avenging hero in Takahisa Zeze’s four-hour epic “Heaven’s Story” a turning point in her career.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 6, 2023
Indie film royalty Nahana looks back on 22 years
The Cinema Novecento theater in Yokohama is set to screen 12 of the versatile actor's films as a tribute to her long career.
A couple with a young daughter move into their dream house but soon realize there is something sinister afoot in “Home Sweet Home.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 2, 2023
‘Home Sweet Home’: Horror house is light on frights
While the main cast delivers strong performances, Takumi Saitoh’s film about a dream home with spooky secrets offers chills rather than true terror.
An internet influencer (Tina Tamashiro) loses her identity to AI in Daisuke Miyazaki’s “#Mito.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 24, 2023
‘#Mito’: Sharp satire riffs on the dark side of AI and social media
Daisuke Miyazaki’s drama offers an intimate look at an influencer’s life and career stripped of surface glamour and glitz.
A father-daughter duo keeps a beloved local tofu shop running despite disagreements and obstacles in Mitsuhiro Mihara’s “Takano Tofu.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 17, 2023
'Takano Tofu': Cranky craftsman serves up heartwarming drama
In Mitsuhiro Mihara’s touching drama, Tatsuya Fuji adds layered nuance that sets his tofu-making protagonist apart from the typical cinematic elder.
A divorced mother (Aika Yukihira) finds herself wrapped up in a complicated sexual relationship with her old high school boyfriend (Sho Aoyagi) in Hideo Jojo’s “S-friends.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 12, 2023
‘S-friends’: Female-centered plot proves refreshing
Hideo Jojo’s drama about a divorcee venturing into a sexual relationship with a man from her past touches on the real-life problems of middle-aged women.
Members of the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists walk a picket line outside of Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles. Hollywood actors and writers are currently on strike, effectively bringing the giant movie and television business to a halt in the first industry-wide walkout in 63 years.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Aug 10, 2023
The Hollywood strike is a wake-up call to Japan's film industry
With Hollywood writers and actors on strike, what lessons can creatives in the Japanese film industry learn from the fray?
A retired assassin (Haruka Ayase) fights off military imperialists in Isao Yukisada’s “Revolver Lily.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 10, 2023
‘Revolver Lily.’: Lavish anti-war actioner racks up body count
Haruka Ayase plays the titular assassin intent on thwarting an imperialist plot to start a war with stylish confidence.
A woman (Rinko Kikuchi) shut off from the world confronts her unresolved fury toward her dead father in “Yoko.”
CULTURE / Film
Jul 28, 2023
Rinko Kikuchi completely commits to raw performance in ‘Yoko’
The Oscar-nominated actor plays a socially isolated woman who attempts to hitchhike her way to her estranged father's funeral in Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s powerful road movie.
Director Christopher Nolan (right) poses with "Oppenheimer" cast members (from left) Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt at the film's premiere in Paris earlier this month.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jul 27, 2023
Summer film releases in Japan and the 'Oppenheimer' problem
Moviegoers may not get their "Barbenheimer" moment, as Japan likes to keep things family friendly in summer.
Director Hirobumi Watanabe (second from left) stars alongside his brother Yuji (far right), who has served as composer on all of his films, in his new feature “Techno Brothers,” which follows a sibling trio on the road to Tokyo to find success in the music business.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 21, 2023
Foolish Piggies Films keeps humor at its heart
Indie director Hirobumi Watanabe looks back on 10 years of making distinctive, micro-budget films with his brother and seeking out new challenges on and off screen.
A lonely woman (Ayaka Nakagochi, left) develops romantic feelings for her personal care humanoid (Kosei Kudo) in “12 Months of Kai.”
CULTURE / Film
Jul 20, 2023
‘12 Months of Kai’: When Prince Charming is too perfect to be real
Mutsuki Kameyama’s sci-fi romance about a woman who falls in love with a handsome humanoid delves into the difficulties of “unconventional” relationships.
Japan Times
Film / Reviews
Jul 13, 2023
'Techno Brothers': Off-kilter road trip comedy pays homage to techno pioneers
Hirobumi Watanabe finds inspiration in Kraftwerk and 'The Blues Brothers' while maintaining his personal style, which blends minimalist arthouse influences with offbeat humor.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 7, 2023
Director Takeshi Fukunaga opts for authenticity over 'falsely uplifting' in new film, 'Mountain Woman'
With ‘Mountain Woman,’ director Takeshi Fukunaga has looked back at a time of famine and woe in Japan, and given viewers lessons for the modern day.
Japan Times
Film / Reviews
Jul 6, 2023
'One Second Ahead, One Second Behind': Rom-com remake benefits from fantastical twist
A remake of the Taiwanese hit 'My Missing Valentine,' Nobuhiro Yamashita’s rom-com gets decidedly quirkier with a midpoint twist.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Reviews
Jun 29, 2023
‘Mountain Woman’: A steep slope of rural, human cruelty
Co-scripted by Takeshi Fukunaga, the film is set in the latter half of the 18th century with a story inspired by the folklore collection “The Legends of Tono.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 23, 2023
Why are Hollywood films falling out of favor in Japan?
American films used to dominate the box office in Japan, but over the past 20 years Hollywood's share has slowly shrunk.
Japan Times
Film / Reviews
Jun 23, 2023
‘Insomniacs After School’: A cute film that barely passes the grade
Chihiro Ikeda’s adaptation of Makoto Ojiro’s manga tugs on the heartstrings but feels devoid of a truly compelling conflict.
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
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.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
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’

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
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