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April 01, 2025
 

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James Hadfield
Two lovers on the run (Misa Wada, left, and Takahiro Fukuya) wrestle with poverty and a monstrous mutant appendage in Taichiro Natsume’s “The Beast Hand.”
CULTURE / Film
Jan 25, 2024
‘The Beast Hand’: Splatter movie has more soul than guts
Misa Wada proves a standout in Taichiro Natsume’s surprisingly soulful low-budget horror flick.
A scarred war veteran (Kento Yamazaki, center) in early-20th century Hokkaido embarks on a quest to find buried Ainu treasure in “Golden Kamuy.”
CULTURE / Film
Jan 18, 2024
‘Golden Kamuy’: Big-budget adaptation glitters rather than dazzles
Shigeaki Kubo’s live-action version of Satoru Noda’s manga series has terrific visuals but doesn't quite stick the landing.
Haru (An Ogawa, center) searches for the origin of a recording left by her late mother, while keeping a watchful eye over two older acquaintances, in “Following the Sound.”
CULTURE / Film
Jan 4, 2024
‘Following the Sound’: A tantalizing and enigmatic study on grief
While Kyoshi Sugita’s fourth feature is a quietly absorbing drama, it leaves a great deal open to interpretation.
A sullen high schooler (Haruka Fukuhara, left) travels back in time and falls in love with a kamikaze pilot (Koshi Mizukami) in “Till We Meet Again on the Lily Hill.”
CULTURE / Film
Dec 14, 2023
‘Till We Meet Again on the Lily Hill’ has its head in the clouds
Yoichi Narita’s romance about a time-traveling teenager who falls for a kamikaze pilot in wartime Japan has the wholesome feel of a propaganda film.
Tomo Kasajima (left) and Asami Shibuya rehearse a scene in Natsuka Kusano’s striking sophomore feature, “Domains.”
CULTURE / Film
Dec 7, 2023
‘Domains’: Hypnotic and truly original
Natsuka Kusano’s experimental, multilayered drama breaks down a tragic event and probes how performances are constructed.
A psychopathic lawyer (Kazuya Kamenashi) finds himself targeted by a serial killer — and decides to fight back — in Takashi Miike’s “Lumberjack the Monster.”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 30, 2023
‘Lumberjack the Monster’ will talk you to death
Takashi Miike’s film about a psychopath battling a serial killer fails to deliver on its schlocky potential.
In addition to directing “Kubi,” Takeshi Kitano (second from left) plays Oda Nobunaga’s successor, Hashiba (later Toyotomi) Hideyoshi, in the blood-soaked period film.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 23, 2023
Takeshi Kitano still has a head for provocation
The “Kubi” director doesn’t shy away from causing a commotion, whether it’s in public or in his latest film about a pivotal moment in Japan’s history.
Ryo Kase (top center) gives an audacious performance as warlord Oda Nobunaga in “Kubi.”
CULTURE
Nov 23, 2023
Takeshi Kitano’s ‘Kubi’ cuts great men of history down to size
The blood-drenched period epic offers a queer retelling of the 1582 Honnoji Incident with a ruthless and sadistic Oda Nobunaga at its center.
An out-of-work porn director (Go Ayano, right) goes on a drunken trip down memory lane with one of his dead lover’s former partners (Tasuku Emoto, left) in “A Spoiling Rain.”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 2, 2023
‘A Spoiling Rain’: A boozy, rueful requiem for love and porn
Based on a novella, Haruhiko Arai’s drama keeps the melancholy core of its source material but expands it into a personal ode to the erotic film industry.
A young university grad (Kana Kita, right) is introduced to the world of "shunga" erotic art by an older academic (Seiyo Uchino) in “Picture of Spring.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 19, 2023
‘Picture of Spring’: Smart, silly and lots of fun
Akihiko Shiota’s film about the world of Japanese erotic art feels like a crash course in “shunga” before veering into playfully risque territory.
A struggling novelist (Rie Miyazawa) wrestles with life’s bigger questions after taking a job at a care facility for people with severe disabilities in “The Moon.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 12, 2023
‘The Moon’: Provocative drama bites off more than it can chew
Yuya Ishii’s film courts controversy with a fictionalized retelling of a real-life knife attack at a care facility for people with mental disabilities.
Sosuke Ikematsu plays two pianists — or is it just one? — pursuing dreams of becoming a jazz musician in late-1980s Tokyo in “Between the White and Black Keys.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 5, 2023
'Between the White and Black Keys': Offbeat biopic will have you seeing double
Masanori Tominaga’s free-spirited film about jazz pianist Hiroshi Minami captures the vibe of 1980s Tokyo nightlife but remains mostly on the surface.
A Japanese submarine captain (Takao Osawa, center) goes rogue with a nuclear-armed vessel in “The Silent Service.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 28, 2023
‘The Silent Service’: Submarine thriller runs shallow
While it has the makings of a potent geopolitical thriller, Kohei Yoshino’s film struggles to work as a standalone feature — or generate thrills.
A con artist (Sakura Ando, top) and her half-brother (Ryosuke Yamada) try to make a getaway from the Osaka underworld in Masato Harada’s “Bad Lands.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 21, 2023
‘Bad Lands’: Sakura Ando steals scenes in fast-paced thriller
The actor delivers a hypnotic lead turn as a con artist running from the law and a violent ex in Masato Harada’s high-octane film.
Arata Oshima follows the events of Sept. 27, 2022 — the day of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s funeral — to capture the state of the nation in the documentary, “The Day of the State Funeral.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 14, 2023
‘The Day of the State Funeral’ bears witness to the end of the Abe era
Arata Oshima’s documentary about the official send-off for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is a portrait of a nation adrift.
"Lost in Translation" was a sleeper hit about two people meeting in an unfamiliar city and forming an intense and fleeting emotional bond.
CULTURE / Film / Longform
Sep 9, 2023
'Lost in Translation' at 20: A Tokyo perspective
The Japanese cast and crew of Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation" reflect on their experiences decades later.
A married couple (Arata Iura, left, and Rena Tanaka) returning to their home village from a posting in occupied Korea become witnesses to a bloodbath in Tatsuya Mori’s historical drama, “September 1923.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 31, 2023
‘September 1923’ stylizes an oft-overlooked brutality
Tatsuya Mori’s drama is an important act of historical reclamation, but it’s practically indigestible.
A transfer student (Yuta Kishi, bottom center) hoping to find romance at his new school gets more than he bargained for in Toichiro Ruto’s manga adaptation, “G-Men.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 24, 2023
‘G-Men’: Pop heartthrobs surprise in silly smackdown
Toichiro Ruto’s film about a class of delinquent high-school brawlers scrapes by with a passing grade.
A deceased schoolgirl lures members of pop group Generations into her world with a killer earworm in “Sana.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 10, 2023
‘Sana’: Boy band horror flick is largely fan service
Takashi Shimizu’s film about a deadly ditty infecting members of J-pop group Generations offers generic scares with real-life concert footage.
As zombies take over the world, a salaryman (Eiji Akaso) decides to live his best life before his inevitable demise in “Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 3, 2023
‘Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead’: Zombie comedy has no bite
Netflix’s adaptation of the manga series about a salaryman making the most out of a zombie apocalypse is like scrolling through a mediocre Instagram feed.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
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.
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.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

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
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