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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 5, 2019

'Talking the Pictures': Talking up the magic of silent films

Masayuki Suo's comedy celebrates a bygone era of Japanese silent films and live narrators.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Dec 2, 2019

Gkids brings anime's best to big screens in the U.S.

Though relatively unheralded, Gkids scored the rights to U.S. re-releases of the work of anime giants — including Isao Takahata and Makoto Shinkai — by only showing them in cinemas.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Nov 29, 2019

Eclectic offerings at Hawaii International Film Festival

Hikari's '37 Seconds' takes the main prize at the festival, which presented a varied program of films focusing on the Asia-Pacific region
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 9, 2019

Exploring the artistic subtleties at play behind the controversial Aichi Triennale exhibition

The Aichi Triennale arts festival closed on Oct. 14, and, along with it, a controversial exhibition titled "After 'Freedom of Expression?'", which had been temporarily shut down following threats of violence and complaints. The main point of contention was a statue of a Korean "comfort woman," the inclusion...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Nov 7, 2019

French film star Catherine Deneuve, 76, said hospitalized after 'limited' stroke

French actress Catherine Deneuve, 76, was admitted to hospital in Paris after suffering a "limited" stroke, French media reported.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Nov 3, 2019

Hideo Kojima unleashes his latest

Hideo Kojima's much anticipated Death Stranding, the latest in the Persona series and a sneak preview of Nintendo's new Tokyo store
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 30, 2019

Shin Adachi's mission to bust the myth of marital bliss in 'A Beloved Wife'

Shin Adachi discusses his latest feature, 'A Beloved Wife,' which will be screened in the main competition at the 2019 Tokyo International Film Festival
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 14, 2019

Martin Scorsese says he wanted to 'enrich' past Robert De Niro work with 'The Irishman'

Martin Scorsese reunites with Robert De Niro in "The Irishman," a 3½-hour-long mob drama the acclaimed director said he chose to do with his frequent collaborator to build on their past work together rather than replicate it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 8, 2019

'Reading Images': Take the time to read into photography

The Tokyo Photographic Art Museum exhibition "The Time of Photography" starts with kitsch late 19th-century Yokohama shashin — hand-colored photos of Japanese scenes for sale to foreigners — and ends with the evanescence of Rinko Kawauchi's photography of everyday life made poetic through the artist's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 2, 2019

'The Forest of Love': Netflix feature lets Sono be Sono

Sion Sono's return to filmmaking sees him blend all of his hallmarks into one gore-drenched epic
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 25, 2019

'Ninkyo Gakuen': Yakuza comedy fails to make the grade

Hisashi Kimura's latest film sees a band of yakuza get involved with a local high school, serving justice and forming bonds along the way
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 11, 2019

'They Say Nothing Stays The Same': Stunning visuals and a stellar cast

Actor Joe Odagiri makes his directorial debut with a beautifully shot tale of the life of a boatman in a Japan of the past.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 5, 2019

Elite Ushio lights the way to next-gen computer chips in Japan

Chipmakers have spent two decades pouring investment into a revolutionary new technique to push the limits of physics and cram more transistors onto slices of silicon. Now that technology is on the cusp of going mainstream, thanks to a secretive Japanese company that's mastered the skill of manipulating...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 4, 2019

'Stormy Family': Dysfunctional family, dysfunctional film

Masahide Ichii delivers a drama about family members dealing with their own long-standing resentments while facing an impending typhoon
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 3, 2019

Weathering the storms of judgment

As the competition for the 92nd annual Oscar foreign film shortlist heats up, the rivalry between Japan and South Korea will no doubt intensify in the world of cinema as well.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 27, 2019

Conspiracy theories risk becoming new currency of post-truth politics

Spreading conspiracy theories for political ends is hardly new, but the last decade has seen an explosion of such activity and it is continuing to intensify.
Japan Times
ESG CONSORTIUM
Aug 25, 2019

Businesses aim for increased sustainability

In response to the increasing problem of plastic waste worldwide, Commons Asset Management Inc., which focuses on long-term investment, organized a seminar themed around recycling plastic on July 26 in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 22, 2019

'Dance With Me': A homegrown Japanese musical has landed

Genres never really die, but they often mutate into something different on foreign soil. John Ford's cowboys became Akira Kurosawa's samurai, and Kurosawa's samurai became Sergio Leone's serape-clad, cigarillo-chewing "The Man With No Name." And the list goes on.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 7, 2019

'Paradise Next': When the music is better than the story

The lone, wandering gangster is as standard a figure in Japanese cinema as the lone, wandering samurai. Traditionally, both fought out of a self-imposed sense of duty and obligation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 31, 2019

'Melancholic': When cleaning the tub brings dirtier jobs

Almost every year at the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) at least one film by a new Japanese director gets talked up by visiting programmers, journalists and critics as a find.
SUMO
Jul 12, 2019

Sumo 101: Wakanohana-Tochinishiki rivalry

As with boxing, wrestling, MMA or any other activity where two contestants face off in a ring, great rivalries are the lifeblood of Japan's national sport.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 6, 2019

Hot new Japan book releases for the sweltering summer

Time travel, yakuza, street photography and more feature in the best upcoming J-Lit releases for this summer (and beyond).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 20, 2019

Japan's summer festivals plan for a final party before Olympic fever hits

As Yo La Tengo once sang, "summer's what you make it," and that's especially true in Japan this year. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are likely to throw a major wrench (or should that be hammer?) in the works for next summer's festival calendar, so it's worth enjoying things while the going...
Japan Times
WORLD
May 28, 2019

Blood and thunder at sea: British veteran remembers D-Day, 75 years on

Seventy-five years ago, a young British sailor stood on the bridge of a warship, its gun barrels pointing out to the coast of France, and watched the devastation being rained down on a country he wanted to liberate.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
May 19, 2019

I walked the line: Getting reacquainted with Tokyo on the Yamathon

Riding the full length of Tokyo's central Yamanote railway line takes about an hour, but walking it has its own rewards.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 16, 2019

Despite being only 10 years old, actor Kokoro Terada is taking on tough topics

A heart-warming tale about an elderly woman's struggles with dementia as seen from the perspective of her young grandson, "Grandma is Okay" ("Baba wa, Daijobu") is the latest movie by Yokohama-born filmmaker Jacky Woo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 24, 2019

'Lust in a Karaoke Box': Celebrating the joys of student life

When I taught at colleges here in the 1980s, I marveled at my students' freedom, including freedom from study. They could spend most of their waking hours at part-time jobs or club activities and still, somehow, graduate.
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Apr 6, 2019

'Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths' review: Pulling no punches when it comes to the realities of war

In 'Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths,' manga artist and veteran Shigeru Mizuki brings the Pacific front of World War II to life with unflinching realism and a grotesque and sardonic humor.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 21, 2019

A new lease of life for Macoto Tezka's cult classic 'The Legend of the Stardust Brothers'

Like so many authors of cult movies, Macoto Tezka didn't set out to make a commercial bomb. His debut feature, "The Legend of the Stardust Brothers" ("Hoshikuzu Kyodai no Densetsu"), was widely lambasted upon its release in 1985, but over the years it has steadily acquired a reputation as a delightful...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 20, 2019

'Shinjuku Tiger': A story of one man and his mask

Spend enough time on the streets of Shinjuku, and you'll eventually spot a flamboyantly dressed figure in a tiger mask carrying fake flowers, stuffed animals and a boombox. This is Shinjuku Tiger, the subject of a documentary of the same name out this week.

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake