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November 22, 2024
 

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James Hadfield
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 27, 2018
'Punk Samurai Slash Down': An audacious adaptation that may look better on paper
One of the frequent complaints lodged against the Japanese film industry is that producers are reluctant to bankroll anything that isn't based on an existing novel, manga or TV series. There's a lot of truth in the criticism, but not every screen adaptation of an existing property is a product of bet-hedging....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 20, 2018
'The Cat in Their Arms': Forget the idol-pop plot points and stick with the pets
You probably know the type: lonely, maybe even a little antisocial and more comfortable talking to cats than people.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 13, 2018
Juliette Binoche gets to see the 'real' Japan in 'Vision'
"It's so warm in here!" exclaims Juliette Binoche. "You know in (Michael) Haneke's film, I have a scene where I kind of suffocate and I think that I'm going to die? It feels like that! Do you think you can open the window?"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 13, 2018
'Batman Ninja': The Caped Crusader's Japan jaunt is a missed opportunity
Following in the noble tradition of "Sharknado," "Snakes on a Plane" and "Sex and the City 2," this elaborately executed nonsense is the kind of project where you just know that the title came first. "Batman Ninja" (or "Ninja Batman" as it's being called here) answers the question nobody had thought...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2018
'50 First Kisses': Swipe left on this rom-com redo
An incorrigible playboy spots a young woman at a diner in Hawaii and is instantly smitten. After he plucks up the courage to talk to her, they hit it off and arrange to meet again at the same place the following day. But when he goes back, she treats him like a complete stranger. It turns out she has...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 30, 2018
'Deadpool 2': A tad tame but still a ton of fun
Blame it on the Bat. For a brief period, Deadpool seemed like the most subversive player on the cinematic superhero circuit, deflating the genre's pretensions with a barrage of self-referential humor and fourth wall-breaking asides. But after last year's "The Lego Batman Movie," he's starting to look...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 23, 2018
'Isle of Dogs': Mutt ado about nothing?
If you've ever flipped on a TV in a hotel room in a country whose language you don't understand, you'll know what it's like to try to grasp for meaning when all the usual semantic signposts are gone.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 17, 2018
'The Shoot Must Go On': Masayoshi Sukita captures some of rock music's most iconic figures
Even if you don't recognize the name, you probably know his shots. Photographer Masayoshi Sukita has captured images of rock gods and movie stars that deserve that most overused of epithets: iconic.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 10, 2018
Cero chooses a more complicated kind of pop on 'Poly Life Mutli Soul'
If you wanted to pinpoint the moment Cero broke the glass ceiling of Japan's indie music scene, it would be March 7, 2016. That's when the group — still cresting on the buzz generated by its "Obscure Ride" album the previous year — performed that record's signature singalong, "Summer Soul," alongside...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 9, 2018
'Amachan' star rebrands as Non and kicks out the jams on 'Super Heroes' debut
During the summer of 2013, when millions of viewers tuned in every morning to catch the latest installment of NHK's "Amachan," the show's sprightly 19-year-old star, Rena Nonen, seemed destined for big things. But her breakout role quickly became a cautionary tale about the perils of the entertainment...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 1, 2018
Hide: The musician whose death rocked Japan
On the evening of May 2, 1998, as most of Japan was basking in the annual Golden Week holidays, a few dozen young women had gathered outside an apartment building in Tokyo's Minamiazabu neighborhood.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 27, 2018
'Avengers: Infinity War': Bold, bombastic and a bit of a bummer
This review contains discussion of plot points that may be seen as mild spoilers for "Avengers: Infinity War."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 26, 2018
Back to square one in war on dancing
It has been nearly two years since Japan revised an archaic law banning late-night dancing, but don't expect any celebrations to mark the occasion. Over the past few months, the Metropolitan Police Department has quietly renewed its campaign against unauthorized boogying, because Lord knows there's nothing...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 11, 2018
'Liverleaf': Sadistic school bullies get their comeuppance in a bloody, bleak thriller
From "Battle Royale" to "The World of Kanako," the past 20 years of Japanese cinema have yielded countless examples of school kids behaving very, very badly. Director Eisuke Naito is a specialist in the genre: He started his career with the charmingly titled "Let's Make the Teacher Have a Miscarriage...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 4, 2018
'Saimon & Tada Takashi': High school drama with anime and sci-fi twists
The pangs of unrequited love are a familiar staple in high-school movies, but it's not often that they involve an altercation with a flying saucer. In his lopsided debut feature, "Saimon & Tada Takashi," writer-director Manabu Oda mixes sensitive teen drama with surreal humor and low-budget sci-fi schlock....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 28, 2018
'Sakana Zukan': Sakanaction excels when it wades through shallow territory
Now that Spotify playlists have supplanted albums as the preferred method of consuming an artist's work, the concept of greatest-hits compilations feels both prescient and redundant, like releasing DJ mix albums in the era of SoundCloud. For the musicians themselves, though, such compilations can offer...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 21, 2018
'Dynamite Graffiti': Sleaze to some and art to others
At the peak of its popularity in the 1980s, the innocuously named "Shashin Jidai" ("Photo Age") sold 350,000 copies a month. Edited by the self-made publishing impresario Akira Suei, the magazine featured cutting-edge photography by the likes of Nobuyoshi Araki and Daido Moriyama and in-depth articles...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Mar 15, 2018
Netflix's new yakuza flick has Jared Leto on the outs with critics
In his 1999 book "Tokyo Underworld," Robert Whiting told the real-life story of Nick Zappetti, a former American GI in postwar Japan who becomes embroiled in a world of yakuza and corrupt politicians. Subtitled "The Fast Times and Hard Life of an American Gangster in Japan," it had all the hallmarks...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 7, 2018
Clint Eastwood's Japan critics are always there to make his day
"Everybody knocks out a flop every now and then," quipped Clint Eastwood during a recent interview to promote his latest movie, "The 15:17 to Paris."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 28, 2018
Yorgos Lanthimos' latest is absurd, abrasive and, on second watch, rather funny
Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos has been responsible for some of the most provocative and peculiar films of the past decade. His Oscar-nominated movie "Dogtooth" (2009) depicted a married couple who had kept their grown-up children confined at home for their entire lives. "The Lobster" (2015) — his...
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.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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By Kathryn Wortley

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