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April 01, 2025
 

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FILM

Studio Ghibli’s “Kiki’s Delivery Service” draws inspiration from Sweden’s medieval town of Visby as well as Stockholm for its vibrant setting of Koriko, a fictional city where the film’s titular character decides to use her powers as a witch to benefit the inhabitants of her new home.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 27, 2024
The Swedish heart of Hayao Miyazaki's ‘Kiki's Delivery Service’
Inspiration for the 1989 Studio Ghibli classic is still very evident in Visby, a picturesque town that captivated the animator on his first trip abroad in 1971.
Andrijana Cvetkovikj is the senior programmer for the Women’s Empowerment section at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival. The former ambassador also works to promote young filmmakers in Japan’s film industry.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 24, 2024
Andrijana Cvetkovikj: ‘We have to create more opportunities for women to be playing on equal ground’
The former Macedonian ambassador to Japan is also playing a part in promoting younger film directors in the country's movie industry.
Kazuya Shiraishi's "11 Rebels," a period actioner based on a long-forgotten script by Kazuo Kasahara, will open this year's Tokyo International Film Festival.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 24, 2024
Tokyo International Film Festival boasts strong line-up of Japanese fare
An excellent chance to see films from Japan, Asia and around the world, the annual event will kick off with Kazuya Shiraishi's gritty action feature "11 Rebels."
Journalist Shiori Ito's documentary "Black Box Diaries," which follows her own investigation into her sexual assault and struggle for justice, was one of 19 Japanese films that screened at the Busan International Film Festival this month.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 18, 2024
Japan-based features generate buzz at Busan International Film Festival
With 278 films on offer, Asia's largest film festival tackled heavy themes such as assisted suicide and struggles faced by migrants.
Toshiyuki Nishida has been a mainstay in entertainment for decades, with an expansive career in film, TV, music and theater.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 17, 2024
Actor Toshiyuki Nishida dies at 76
The actor, known for his roles in works including “Beyond Outrage” and “Tsuribaka Nisshi,” was found dead at his residence in Tokyo on Thursday.
Toho's acquisition of GKIDS is a fresh push by Toho to strengthen its resources in animation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 16, 2024
Toho buys Ghibli animation distributor GKIDS to further overseas growth
The acquisition comes amid a surge in global popularity for Japanese entertainment and fits with Toho's multiyear growth strategy.
Shinobi, one of Sega's most popular video game series, is to be made into a movie.
LIFE / Digital
Oct 9, 2024
Sega's ninja game Shinobi to get the movie treatment
Sega did not give a target date for the movie's release.
Even with the success of "Crazy Rich Asians" and improvements in on-screen representation, Asian actors still comprise just 18.4% of film roles, which is an improvement compared to 3.4% in 2007.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 9, 2024
To win back audiences, put more Asians behind the camera
The movie industry is losing out at a time when it can ill-afford to do so. Betting on Asian talent would help.
As streaming services like Netflix invest in Japanese content, the hope is to revitalize the nation’s cultural exports and elevate its television landscape.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 9, 2024
Netflix’s ‘Tokyo Swindlers’ reveals some surprising truths
"Tokyo Swindlers" can reveal some home truths — even when they’re presented by a group of fraudsters.
Japanese film director Kiyoshi Kurosawa gestures as he poses for photos during a press conference at the 29th Busan International Film Festival.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 5, 2024
Japan's 'master of horror' Kiyoshi Kurosawa highlights 'B-movie' appeal
The director, who received the Busan International Film Festival's Filmmaker of the Year Award on Wednesday, said he'd like to see more artists explore genre cinema.
Kim Sang-man’s “Uprising” has attracted significant attention ahead of its world premiere thanks largely to the involvement of its producer Park Chan-wook, best-known for directing ultra-violent thrillers like 2003’s “Old Boy,” which played a key role in bringing South Korean cinema to the global forefront.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 3, 2024
Netflix war epic to open Asia's largest film festival
Streaming-only content has contributed to a significant surge in the global visibility of Korean and Korean diaspora stories.
A scene from "Whale Restaurant," a documentary film about whale food culture in Japan
JAPAN / Society
Sep 30, 2024
Documentary on whale food culture in Japan showing in U.S.
Director Keiko Yagi said she found it difficult to find theaters that would agree to show the film.
Dame Maggie Smith, a star of the stage, film and television, died Sept. 27 in London. She was 89. The actor is pictured here in 2015.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Sep 27, 2024
'National treasure' U.K. actor Maggie Smith dies aged 89
Over the course of her long career, Dame Maggie Smith won a Tony, two Oscars, three Golden Globes and five Bafta Awards.
Actor Zhu Jian, 69, rehearses with other actors on the set of a micro movie during a filming session at a banquet hall in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China, on July 16.
BUSINESS
Sep 23, 2024
Micro dramas shake up China's film industry, aim for Hollywood
The leader in the micro drama space is Kuaishou, an app that accounted for 60% of the top 50 Chinese micro dramas last year.
Marina Tsukada got the idea for her anthology “Mitsuki, Sekai” from her acquaintance with the two young lead actors, whom she first met at a video workshop she conducted in Nagano Prefecture.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 20, 2024
Marina Tsukada lets local lives shape her work
The director’s latest, “Mitsuki, Sekai,” is part of an ongoing project that traces the lives of Nagano Prefecture-based children for a decade until they reach adulthood.
"Nightbitch," which premiered at the Toronto film festival on Sept. 7, stars Amy Adams (center) as Mother, an artist who becomes a harried stay-at-home mom caring for a boisterous toddler.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 14, 2024
Amy Adams gets real about motherhood in 'Nightbitch'
The film explores various facets of motherhood — the wonder and joy, but also the darkness and exhaustion — using equal doses of comedy, drama and magical realism.
James Earl Jones in the Broadway revival of "Gore Vidal’s The Best Man” at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater in New York in March 2012. Jones, once a stuttering farm child who became a voice of rolling thunder as one of America’s most versatile actors in a stage, film and television career that plumbed race relations, Shakespeare’s rhapsodic tragedies and the faceless menace of Darth Vader, died on Monday at his home in Dutchess County, New York. He was 93.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 10, 2024
James Earl Jones, actor whose voice could menace or melt, dies at 93
He gave life to characters like Darth Vader in “Star Wars” and Mufasa in “The Lion King,” and went on to collect Tonys, Golden Globes, Emmys and an honorary Oscar.
Director Pedro Almodovar poses with his Golden Lion Award during the 81st Venice Film Festival on Saturday.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 8, 2024
Almodovar wins top Venice prize for end-of-life film
The winners were among 21 contenders vying for the top prize in a festival that swarmed with top Hollywood talent, from Angelina Jolie to George Clooney.
Hayao Miyazaki at an award ceremony in Los Angeles in November 2014
CULTURE / Film
Aug 31, 2024
Hayao Miyazaki wins prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award
The award, often called Asia's Nobel Prize, is given to people and groups who have made major contributions to the region.
Hiroshi Sunairi’s documentary “From Okinawa with Love” follows the unwavering Okinawan photographer Mao Ishikawa, who made her name documenting the relationships between Japanese bar girls and African American servicemen.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 30, 2024
‘From Okinawa with Love’: A revealing documentary about a true original
Hiroshi Sunairi takes a fly-on-the-wall approach to explore the life of Mao Ishikawa, who photographed Okinawans and the effects of the U.S. military.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

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