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February 04, 2025
 

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CULTURE

Film

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Documentary director Kaku Arakawa’s filming style — naturalistic, intimate and unobtrusive — proved essential to portraying anime powerhouse Hayao Miyazaki as a man as flawed and human as he is a visionary artist in “Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron.”
CULTURE / Film
Two decades of unparalleled access into the world of Hayao Miyazaki
Documentary director Kaku Arakawa has spent years filming the anime powerhouse to reveal the man beyond the myth.
CULTURE / Film
Indie animator Gensho Yasuda paves his own way with a DIY spirit
With “Make a Girl,” the young Japanese creator takes the leap from short videos to full-length films.
CULTURE / Film
‘The Rose of Versailles’ opts for empty opulence
Riyoko Ikeda’s seminal manga that tackled themes of political and sexual revolution gets a film adaptation that lacks the depth of its source material.
A young couple (Ryuya Wakaba and Mai Fukagawa) fulfill a lifelong dream of moving to the countryside, only to find their new community may have sinister intentions toward them in “Welcome to the Village.”
CULTURE / Film
Jan 30, 2025
‘Welcome to the Village’: Tradition takes a twisted turn in the countryside
By Mark Schilling
The ancient tradition of “murahachibu,” ostracizing community members as punishment, gets a contemporary twist in Hideo Jojo’s slow-burn thriller.
Strange things are afoot in Ryota Kondo’s “Missing Child Videotape” as Keita (Rairu Sugita) investigates the 13-year-old disappearance of his younger brother.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2025
‘Missing Child Videotape’: Subtle chiller may leave J-horror fans underwhelmed
By James Hadfield
Ryota Kondo’s eerie ghost story debut goes for ambient dread rather than jump scares.
Reality and dreams begin to blur for a former French literature professor (Kyozo Nagatsuka, front) after he receives a cryptic message in “Teki Cometh.”
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2025
‘Teki Cometh’ slides in and out of a hypnotic dreamworld
By Mark Schilling
Kyozo Nagatsuka gives a finessed performance as an elderly gentleman who is not as gentle as he seems in Daihachi Yoshida’s drama.
A keen fisherman from Tokyo (Masaki Suda) moves to a tight-knit community in Miyagi Prefecture during the COVID-19 pandemic in “Sunset Sunrise.”
CULTURE / Film
Jan 21, 2025
‘Sunset Sunrise’: Rom-com finds pathos in peak pandemic setting
By Mark Schilling
Yoshiyuki Kishi’s film delivers a deliciously uplifting story with humor and heart in a tight-knit community impacted by disasters.
Filmmaker David Lynch at his Hollywood Hills home in Los Angeles in 2002. The painter turned avant-garde film artist, whose fame, influence and distinctively skewed worldview extended far beyond the movie screen, died on Thursday at 78.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 17, 2025
David Lynch, maker of florid and unnerving films, dies at 78
By J. Hoberman
A painter turned artist whose films included “Eraserhead,” “Blue Velvet” and “Mulholland Drive,” Lynch also brought his visionary view to the small screen with “Twin Peaks.”
A masterless samurai in 15th-century Japan (Yo Oizumi) leads a popular uprising against the authorities in “Muromachi Outsiders.”
CULTURE / Film
Jan 16, 2025
‘Muromachi Outsiders’: Yo Oizumi commands attention in rebellion tale
By James Hadfield
The actor convincingly breaks the mold of his comedy persona to inhabit the role of a sword-wielding folk hero in Yu Irie’s period epic.
The film version of “The Solitary Gourmet” is a directorial debut for Yutaka Matsushige, long known for his leading role as salaryman and gourmand Goro Inogashira.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 9, 2025
‘The Solitary Gourmet’: Palatable movie adaptation may leave you wanting more
By James Hadfield
Lead actor Yutaka Matsushige’s film directing debut offers ambient pleasure for fans of the long-running TV series.

Residents near Japan sinkhole urged to evacuate
Rescuers on Thursday continue to try and free a truck driver after his vehicle plunged into a sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, earlier in the week.
Crashed U.S. Army Black Hawk unit was responsible for doomsday readiness
A U.S. Coast Guard vessel attempts to retrieve the remains of a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Friday after it crashed into the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport earlier in the week.
Job-hopping Japanese workers push salaries higher
Japanese workers are increasingly job-hopping from one full-time position to another.
LDP conservatives frustrated by Ishiba's diplomacy with China
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a Lower House plenary session last week.
Japan’s ‘children’s cafeterias’ are booming — but is that a good thing?
Eme-Ima Kitchen is one of over 10,000 kodomo shokudō in Japan. A term first used in 2012 to describe makeshift eateries offering free or cheap meals to disadvantaged kids, it now refers to a diverse range of individuals, groups and organizations working to provide not only food but a sense of belonging to both children and adults.
Job-hopping Japanese workers push salaries higher
Japanese workers are increasingly job-hopping from one full-time position to another.
At the new Ginza Sony Park, listening is an art form
In addition to the commercial benefits from Ginza Sony Park's music-centered exhibition — such as promoting Sony's artists and products — there is a real effort to put music in focus.
Home away from home: My first time at a Tet festival in Japan
Billed as a “cultural bridge that connects Japan and Vietnam,” Tet Viet Saitama drew tens of thousands of attendees from across the Kanto region.
First official survey set to change backcountry Hokkaido skiing
The first official government survey of Hokkaido backcountry skiing could spell changes for trails in the northern prefecture.
Fuji TV’s go-big PR strategy wins grudging praise globally
Fuji TV executives take questions during a news conference on Monday in Tokyo in which some participants became unruly.

Podcast

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

Longform

Eme-Ima Kitchen is one of over 10,000 kodomo shokudō in Japan. A term first used in 2012 to describe makeshift eateries offering free or cheap meals to disadvantaged kids, it now refers to a diverse range of individuals, groups and organizations working to provide not only food but a sense of belonging to both children and adults.
Japan’s ‘children’s cafeterias’ are booming — but is that a good thing?
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Challenging spirit and teamwork keep ANA flying high
Challenging spirit and teamwork keep ANA flying high

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