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October 31, 2025
 

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CULTURE

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Ikken Yamamoto plays a shell-shocked Self-Defense Force veteran whose past comes back to haunt him in “Flames of a Flower.”
CULTURE / Film
‘Flames of a Flower’: A bold interrogation of Japan’s pacifist identity
Oudai Kojima’s PTSD drama turned politically charged thriller takes aim at Japan’s postwar contradictions.
CULTURE / Film
‘Baka's Identity’ exposes an underworld of stolen names and lost souls
In Koto Nagata’s thriller, Japan’s vulnerable youth on society’s margins risk everything — even who they are.
CULTURE / Film
‘Climbing for Life’ doesn’t break new ground, but knows its footing
Sayuri Yoshinaga brings quiet strength to the biopic about the first woman to summit Mount Everest — even when the film itself plays it safe.
Yukari (Hana Sugisaki, right) is brought out of her shell by a beautiful hostess (Kotona Minami) in “Meets the World.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 23, 2025
‘Meets the World’: A tragicomic hunger for connection
By Mark Schilling
Between grilled meat and gay manga, Daigo Matsui’s latest is a darkly funny tale of friendship, fantasy and female loneliness.
Jessie Buckley attends the premiere of "Hamnet" at the London Film Festival on Oct. 11.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2025
Oscar-buzzy 'Hamnet' changed me, actress Jessie Buckley says
By Hanna Rantala
Chloe Zhao’s “Hamnet” reimagines Shakespeare’s family life, with Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal exploring love, loss and artistic rebirth.
A hitman (Ryuhei Matsuda, left) and a spiritual ascetic (Yosuke Kubozuka, right) go to infinity and beyond in “Transcending Dimensions.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 16, 2025
‘Transcending Dimensions’: A wild trip to enlightenment
By James Hadfield
Toshiaki Toyoda’s latest feature is a spiritual odyssey with punk energy and cosmic chaos.
A shy transfer student (Kento Nagao, right) is befriended by a popular girl at his high school in “The Sickness Unto Love.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 16, 2025
‘The Sickness Unto Love’: Teen romance spirals into dark cruelty
By Mark Schilling
Behind the soft glow of young love, Ryuichi Hiroki’s drama exposes the brutal games teenagers play.
Chloe Zhao’s "Hamnet"
CULTURE / Film
Oct 16, 2025
What you need to see at this year's Tokyo film festival
By James Hadfield, Mark Schilling and Matt Schley
From slow cinema and satire to moving biopics and restorations of classics, the TIFF lineup has something for every cinephile.
Masami Nagasawa plays the talented but circumscribed offspring of a famed ukiyo-e artist in “Hokusai’s Daughter.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 9, 2025
‘Hokusai’s Daughter’ captures the ferocity of a forgotten painter
By James Hadfield
Masami Nagasawa delivers one of her most compelling performances yet in Tatsushi Omori’s historical biopic.
Takuya Matsumoto and Masayuki Ino play hitmen in Yugo Sakamoto’s mockumentary-style action comedy, “Flame Union.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 9, 2025
‘Flame Union’: Hitman returns with fighting finesse and comic firepower
By Mark Schilling
Yugo Sakamoto steps back from bullets and banter for a sharper, funnier kind of action in his latest film.

Takaichi buys time and builds trust with ‘near-perfect’ Trump summit
U.S. President Donald Trump walks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during a visit to the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
Trump trims fentanyl-linked China tariffs after 'amazing' Xi meeting
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping greet each other as they arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base, next to the Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell
Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Kyushu banzuke sets the stage to cement 2025’s sumo narratives
Onosato ahead of his bout against Aonishiki at The Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Oct. 18
Takaichi pushed back on U.S. request to ban Russian gas imports, sources say
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reportedly turned down a request from the U.S. to cease imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia.
At Japan Mobility Show, BYD gears up to conquer Japan's EV market
BYD Auto Japan President Atsuki Tofukuji unveils the Racco at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Oasis returns to Tokyo: Rain, rapture and rock
Fans wait to get into the Oasis show at Tokyo Dome on Saturday. While lining up in the rain, some broke into impromptu versions of the British rock group's hits.
Kyushu banzuke sets the stage to cement 2025’s sumo narratives
Onosato ahead of his bout against Aonishiki at The Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Oct. 18
Tokyo Film Festival opens with global stars and a spotlight on Asian storytelling
Director Junji Sakamoto (left) walked the Tokyo International Film Festival red carpet with Sayuri Yoshinaga (center) and Non (right), who both play mountaineer Junko Tabei, the first woman to summit Mount Everest, in the biopic "Climbing for Life."
Spanish artist and Japanese writer duos diversify the manga talent pool in Japan
"Menheim” is a dark fantasy manga with a story that centers on a girl’s quest to find a cure for her ill brother.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo
Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo

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