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November 21, 2024
 

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Mark Schilling
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 2, 2023
'Baian the Assassin M.D.': Lead actor brings gravitas to killer role
While Etsushi Toyokawa portrays the film's murderous hero with nuance and depth, the period drama's storyline creaks with age.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 27, 2023
Japanese films set to dominate cinemas in 2023
Toei looks to challenge Toho's box-office supremacy with blockbuster hopefuls, while anime maestro Hayao Miyazaki and film auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda are set to unveil new features this year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 26, 2023
‘The Legend & Butterfly’: A political romance gets a fresh spin
Haruka Ayase dominates the screen as the wife of Oda Nobunaga in a heavily fictionalized telling of the couple's relationship amid the warlord's quest to unify Japan.
Japan Times
Film / Reviews
Jan 19, 2023
‘Natchan's Little Secret': Outdated comedy runs out of gas
Yasujiro Tanaka’s comedy about three drag queens who hit the road for a friend’s funeral feels like a throwback to old-school TV shows with over-the-top portrayals of gay characters.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 12, 2023
‘Trapped Balloon’: Grief-stricken characters rise above cliched plot
Though the storyline offers few surprises, Toko Miura and Masahiro Higashide give layered and raw performances as two islanders grappling with loss in Hiroyuki Miyagawa's drama.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 5, 2023
‘We Make Antiques! Osaka Dreams’: Con-men hijinks bring on laughs
The third installment in the “We Make Antiques!” series may not steal many new hearts, but Kiichi Nakai and Kuranosuke Sasaki provide enough laughs to keep the capers going.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 22, 2022
‘I Am What I Am’: Knights in shining armor need not apply
Toko Miura takes on her first starring role in Shinya Tamada's drama that pushes back on rom-com conventions and focuses on a woman who seeks out independence rather than a romantic partner.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / 2022 in Review
Dec 16, 2022
Marginalized voices in film spoke louder in 2022
While Ryusuke Hamaguchi's 'Drive My Car' and Chie Hayakawa's 'Plan 75' received wide acclaim at home and abroad, the Japanese film industry took stock of a sobering reality.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 15, 2022
‘Small, Slow but Steady’: An exploration of human fragility
The focus of Sho Miyake's drama is less on blood-flecked pugilism and more on outside-the-ring drama, including the protagonist's struggle with her own reasons for fighting.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 8, 2022
‘Dr. Coto's Clinic 2022’: Heartwarming drama offers predictable prognosis
Much of the original cast from Fuji TV's 2003 drama “Dr. Koto's Clinic” return for this feature film about the highs and lows of life as an island physician.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 1, 2022
‘Phases of the Moon’: A thoughtful yet unconvincing tale of rebirth
Ryuichi Hiroki's melodrama about reincarnation adeptly navigates multiple timelines with a sensitive touch while revealing unspoken Japanese beliefs.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 25, 2022
Kah Wai Lim's ode to Japanese mini-theaters gets meta
The director's new film, 'Your Lovely Smile,' is a love letter to indie cinema that doubles as a plea for help to keep struggling theaters open.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 24, 2022
‘She Is Me, I Am Her’: A masterful portrayal of pandemic life
Actor Nahana delivers powerful performances as four different characters in Mayu Nakamura's omnibus film about the loneliness of the pandemic.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 17, 2022
‘A Man’: A searing study of Japan’s prejudices
Kei Ishikawa's piercing drama unravels the mystery of a man's decisions to leave his past behind while laying out society's intolerance of “outsiders.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 10, 2022
'2 Women': Shinobu Terajima shines as celebrated novelist
The actress gives a luminous performance as a fictional version of Jakucho Setouchi, an author turned Buddhist nun, in Ryuichi Hiroki's biopic.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 3, 2022
‘Your Lovely Smile’: A sincere tribute to indie cinemas
In Kah Wai Lim's drama about a struggling director who wanders around Japan pitching his films to independent theaters, Hirobumi Watanabe plays a version of himself with heart and humor.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 27, 2022
‘Whisper of the Heart’: First love story is sweet but shallow
Yuichiro Hirakawa's live-action adaptation of a manga by Aoi Hiiragi predictably pulls at heartstrings, but doesn't measure up to the classic anime version released in 1995.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 20, 2022
‘The Three Sisters of Tenmasou Inn’: Life in limbo becomes too sentimental
The stellar main cast and Non's undeniable energy are the bright spots of Ryuhei Kitamura's cloying drama about a woman who finds herself in a realm between life and death.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 13, 2022
‘Sadako DX’: J-horror icon goes viral
Japan's favorite long-haired spook gets tech savvy in a Hisashi Kimura film that takes on horror cliches with meta commentary and comedy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 6, 2022
‘To the Supreme!’: Clever rom-com keeps twists coming
Santa Yamagishi's rom-com about four women with lackluster love interests is cleverly plotted but takes a while to get to the drama.
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

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Longform

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By Kathryn Wortley

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