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November 21, 2024
 

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HORROR

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.
A grandmother fights back when the angry ghost of a social recluse starts killing off family members in “House of Sayuri.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 29, 2024
'House of Sayuri': J-horror fights ghosts with pitch-black humor
Koji Shiraishi’s horror comedy matches the darkness of the deeds on display with a fiery grandma who takes on a wicked spirit with her tai chi skills.
A substitute teacher (Nagisa Shibuya, center front) at a junior high school finds herself caught up in strange goings-on with violent outcomes in “Who’s That Girl?”
CULTURE / Film
Jul 26, 2024
‘Who’s That Girl?’: Junior high school antics just got scarier
J-horror master Takashi Shimizu’s latest offers familiar genre elements with a practiced hand and fresh twists.
Horror artist Junji Ito adds just a dash of comedy to his work, though he aims for it to be understated. “If it’s truly a horror story, the humor must be restrained and more veiled,” he says.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 29, 2024
Fear still matters to Junji Ito
Currently on view at Tokyo's Setagaya Literary Museum is an extensive collection of the horror master's work, the first large-scale exhibition of it's kind in Japan.
A bloody demonic outbreak strikes Japan in “Visitors: Complete Edition.”
CULTURE / Film
Feb 22, 2024
‘Visitors’ revels in all its gory glory with deadpan humor
Kenichi Ugana’s extended version of his brilliant splatter short is endearingly shaggy — and messy.
Two lovers on the run (Misa Wada, left, and Takahiro Fukuya) wrestle with poverty and a monstrous mutant appendage in Taichiro Natsume’s “The Beast Hand.”
CULTURE / Film
Jan 25, 2024
‘The Beast Hand’: Splatter movie has more soul than guts
Misa Wada proves a standout in Taichiro Natsume’s surprisingly soulful low-budget horror flick.
A nursing student (Kotone Furukawa, right) is terrified by the bizarre goings-on in her hometown in “Best Wishes to All.”
CULTURE / Film
Jan 18, 2024
‘Best Wishes to All’: Home is where the horror is
Yuta Shimotsu’s first feature about a small town gone mad delivers shocking frights but its message fails to surprise.
After losing her eyesight in a car accident, a woman goes to the home of an eye doctor and his son to receive a miracle device to restore her sight in “My Mother’s Eyes.”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 23, 2023
‘My Mother’s Eyes’: Psychodrama pushes to mad extremes
Takeshi Kushida’s atmospheric horror film about toxic parent-child relationships unfolds in a fantasy world that strains credulity.
Meiji University professor and cinema expert Lindsay Nelson writes about J-horror (Japanese horror) in her book, “Circulating Fear.”
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 28, 2023
‘Horror has always been a vehicle to talk about social problems’
A J-horror expert gives her take on the essence of the genre and the cultural roots of its creative choices.
The classic Japanese ghost story often features a vengeful female ghost.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 12, 2023
[Rebroadcast] Japan’s got ghosts
This week we discuss a few horror movies before “Uncanny Japan” podcast host Thersa Matsuura tells a classic Japanese ghost story.
A TV director (Kanna Hashimoto, left) is haunted by the dead wife of an old office crush (Daiki Shigeoka) in “The Forbidden Play.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 21, 2023
‘The Forbidden Play’: J-horror mishmash offers satisfying scares
Horror legend Hideo Nakata's latest flick is a halfway return to form, in part due to actor First Summer Uika's chilling turn as a vengeful wraith.
A couple with a young daughter move into their dream house but soon realize there is something sinister afoot in “Home Sweet Home.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 2, 2023
‘Home Sweet Home’: Horror house is light on frights
While the main cast delivers strong performances, Takumi Saitoh’s film about a dream home with spooky secrets offers chills rather than true terror.
A deceased schoolgirl lures members of pop group Generations into her world with a killer earworm in “Sana.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 10, 2023
‘Sana’: Boy band horror flick is largely fan service
Takashi Shimizu’s film about a deadly ditty infecting members of J-pop group Generations offers generic scares with real-life concert footage.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 23, 2023
Math rock act Jyocho provides a cheerfully chilling soundtrack to new Junji Ito series
The quartet brings its unique blend of frenzy and sweetness to horror artist Junji Ito's new macabre Netflix series.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 20, 2022
‘The Ring’ at 20: Millennial horror that’s still infecting movies today
The film that kicked off the West's J-horror fascination was made in the shadow of 9/11. Its influence can be seen in “Smile,” “It Follows” and more.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 13, 2022
‘Sadako DX’: J-horror icon goes viral
Japan's favorite long-haired spook gets tech savvy in a Hisashi Kimura film that takes on horror cliches with meta commentary and comedy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 29, 2021
Scary Japanese stories to read in the dark
The hook on the car door, Bloody Mary, there are plenty of urban legends in the West that will provide frights on Halloween. Japan has its share of scares, too.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 28, 2021
Yukiro Dravarious: ‘Before, drag queens were feared. Now, we’re celebrated!’
The TV show “RuPaul's Drag Race” has led to a boom in the popularity of drag that even extends to scenes that focus on both gore and glamour.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 30, 2021
‘Yellow Dragon's Village’: Scrappy indie delivers a weekend to die for
Yugo Sakamoto's latest feature is an action-packed horror flick about a trip to the mountains gone horribly wrong thanks to some creepy locals.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 3, 2021
‘Suicide Forest Village’: Little box of horrors goes over the top
Takashi Shimizu's latest horror offering about two sisters tormented by a deadly box presents the urban legends of Aokigahara, the titular forest, as fact.
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

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