Most Japanese films focus almost exclusively on Japanese characters, with non-Japanese typically relegated to bit roles, if they appear at all. This may have been excusable when non-Japanese were relatively scarce in the country, but now that more and more are living and working here, this omission is glaring.
Numbers back up this impression: In 2019, Japan had nearly 3 million residents of foreign nationality who account for 2.3% of the population. The often-heard assertion that “Japan is a homogenous country” sounds less and less convincing.
Chinese-Malaysian director Lim Kah Wai redresses this oversight with a vengeance in "Come and Go," the final film in his Osaka trilogy (the others being 2011’s “New World” and 2013’s “Fly Me to Minami”). Nine different nationalities are represented in this ensemble drama, from a Japanese retiree (Jakujaku Katsura) who bridles at his son’s suggestion to relocate to Malaysia, to a Myanmar woman (Nang Tracy) who works at a convenience store to finance her education, while contending with sexual harassment by the store’s manager.
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