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March 03, 2025
 

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CULTURE

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Toma Ikuta plays a former hit man who wakes from a coma to exact vengeance on a gang of masked criminals in “Demon City.”
CULTURE / Film
‘Demon City’: Live-action manga adaptation is ultra-violent — and ultra-dull
Seiji Tanaka’s Netflix film about a former hit man determined to avenge his family is relentlessly unsatisfying.
CULTURE / Film
Actor Gene Hackman and wife found dead alongside dog at home
A statement from the sheriff said deputies had found the 95-year-old actor and Arakawa, 64, deceased on Wednesday afternoon.
CULTURE / Film
Oscar-nominated documentaries put Japan under the microscope
Shiori Ito’s “Black Box Diaries” and Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s “Instruments of a Beating Heart” both mark firsts in their respective categories.
A scene from Satoko Yokohama's "Umibe e Iku Michi" ("Seaside Serendipity")
CULTURE / Film
Feb 23, 2025
Japanese movies win accolades at Berlin International Film Festival
"Futsu no Seikatsu," an animated movie directed by Yoriko Mizushiri, was awarded the Silver Bear Jury Prize for a short film at this year's Berlin International Film Festival.
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2025
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
By Yukana Inoue
Lawyers including an attorney who fought alongside the journalist in a civil suit against her attacker have raised legal and ethical concerns over the film.
“Yasuko, Songs of Days Past” centers on a real-life love triangle between poet Chuya Nakahara (Taisei Kido, left), actor Yasuko Hasegawa (Suzu Hirose, center) and literary critic Hideo Kobayashi (Masaki Okada).
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2025
‘Yasuko, Songs of Days Past’ puts overlooked star in the spotlight
By Mark Schilling
Kichitaro Negishi’s drama, based on a real-life love triangle among notable figures of the Japanese literati, captures the flavor of a bygone era.
“Hypnosismic — Division Rap Battle — Movie” centers on groups of male rappers from neighborhoods around Tokyo and Japan at large.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2025
‘Hypnosismic — Division Rap Battle — Movie' lets viewers remix the narrative
By Matt Schley
Armed with LED-lined gloves and their smartphones, audiences take control of the action for Japan’s first interactive movie.
Director Park Chan-wook (center) and his cast hit commercial gold with “Joint Security Area,” a film about North and South Korean friendship.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 18, 2025
South Korean blockbuster 'Joint Security Area' strikes a chord 25 years on
By Claire Lee
Park Chan-wook's tale of inter-Korean friendship was a risky undertaking at the time of filming, but it has since become a celebrated cinematic masterpiece.
A hapless rakugo comic storyteller, Tamon Saito (Tomizo Nobe, left), strikes up an unlikely relationship with a young comedian (Nagiko Tsuji) who wants to rip off his routine in “Laugh, Everyone!”
CULTURE / Film
Feb 13, 2025
'Laugh, Everyone!’: A wonky but endearing double act
By James Hadfield
Taichi Suzuki’s comedian buddy movie walks a fine line between funny and bleak.
In “Kanasando,” when Mika (Ruka Matsuda, left) returns to her hometown in Okinawa Prefecture, she starts to see her estranged father (Tadanobu Asano) in a new light as his health deteriorates.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 13, 2025
‘Kanasando’: Heartwarming homecoming inspires a change of heart
By Mark Schilling
Tadanobu Asano shows a vulnerable side of his tough-guy image while playing a dementia-afflicted father reconnecting with his daughter in Toshiyuki Teruya’s film.

Aboard Japan’s most luxurious train, the journey is the destination
The luxury Seven Stars in Kyushu train trades the hyper-efficiency of typical rail travel in Japan for a slower, more decadent version.
Europe's nightmare is here: They have to fight Putin without the U.S.
Ukrainian servicemen play with dogs at their position on a front line in the nation's Zaporizhzhia region on Feb. 21.
Japan struggles to fend off a world without enough matcha
Once a boon to tea farmers' bottom lines, the global matcha craze is now pushing producers and distributors to their limits with few options to adequately meet demand.
Japan battles biggest wildfire in decades
Smoke rises from a forest fire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Feb. 28
Prince Hisahito's coming-of-age ceremony set for Sept. 6
Prince Hisahito in the city of Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, on Feb. 12
Redevelopment and resistance in historic Nishiogikubo
Tsuyoshi Mizukoshi, owner of a pub in Nishiogi’s commercial area, is a community organizer who is rallying local residents against the road development plan.
Aboard Japan’s most luxurious train, the journey is the destination
The luxury Seven Stars in Kyushu train trades the hyper-efficiency of typical rail travel in Japan for a slower, more decadent version.
Taiwan comics on the rise: Local storytellers, global aspirations
Taiwanese comic artist Rishiazao and interpreter Yun-wen Huang greet an attendee at the 2025 Angouleme International Comics Festival in France.
Not even Japan is safe from counterfeit luxury goods
While Japan's luxury goods market remains strong, its seconhand resale market is proving just as much a draw for tourists searching for great bargains — as long as they can manage to get their hands on the real deal.
Nils Nielsen's vision for Nadeshiko Japan comes to life at SheBelieves Cup
Nadeshiko Japan celebrates after winning the SheBelieves Cup in San Diego on Wednesday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Pedestrians commute through Shibuya Station in central Tokyo, an area that is almost never devoid of people.
As the rest of Japan shrinks, Tokyo grows
By Alex K.T. Martin

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