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January 15, 2025
 

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James Hadfield
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Dec 4, 2022
Ryuichi Sakamoto keeps the music going with a 'profound' concert
The upcoming “Playing the Piano 2022” concert will showcase a musician still exploring new horizons while contemplating the finiteness of life.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 1, 2022
‘First Love’: More of a fling than a true romance
A Netflix series inspired by two Hikaru Utada pop songs is frivolously entertaining but doesn't carry much weight.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 24, 2022
‘Motherhood’: More soap opera than psychological thriller
Erika Toda and Mei Nagano offer contrasting perspectives on a frosty parent-child relationship in Ryuichi Hiroki's “Motherhood.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 17, 2022
‘Remember to Breathe’: Tensions simmer in mother-daughter drama
Mao Inoue gives a subtle but poignant performance as the long-suffering adult child of an aging single mother in Masakazu Sugita's muted sophomore feature.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 11, 2022
'By the Window' offers a cinematic lesson in taking your time
Director Rikiya Imaizumi throws convention aside to focus on complex characters that audiences can relate to in his new film, which won the Audience Award at the recent Tokyo International Film Festival.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 5, 2022
Tokyo International Film Festival sees welcome uptick in crowds
The 35th edition of the major movie event struck a noticeably different tone after relocating from Roppongi Hills to its new home in one of the more scenic areas of central Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 3, 2022
‘The Zen Diary’: Simple life lessons to feed the soul
Yuji Nakae's foodie drama, adapted from a 1978 book by the late Tsutomu Mizukami, plays out like a feature-length episode of “Chef's Table.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 27, 2022
‘Goodbye, Bad Magazines’: A sympathetic eulogy to adult entertainment
Shoichi Yokoyama's lighthearted romp offers an inside view of the collapse of Japan's pornography industry, but sidesteps some of the trickier ethical issues.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 20, 2022
‘Journey Beyond the Night’: A bad trip worth savoring
Takayuki Kayano's genre-switching drama starts slow but delivers a one-way ticket to weirdness.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 6, 2022
'Mondays: See You “This” Week!’: Zany office comedy gets stuck on repeat
Ryo Takebayashi's film about coworkers caught in a time loop is packed with knowing winks and references to the highs and lows of corporate culture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 22, 2022
‘I Am Makimoto’: Sadawo Abe isn't what this ‘Still Life’ remake needed
Sadawo Abe plays a lonely, eccentric bureaucrat assigned with tracking down the relatives of those who have died alone in Nobuo Mizuta's remake of a British drama by Uberto Pasolini.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 15, 2022
‘Drifting Home’ gets marooned in a sea of allegory
Hiroyasu Ishida's magical realist tale about learning to let go of the past is poignant — until it loses its moorings.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 8, 2022
‘Love Life’ tells a meandering story about grief
Koji Fukada's drama about a married couple hit by tragedy is a little too oblique for its own good.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 1, 2022
'A Hundred Flowers': A sumptuous drama of forgiving and forgetting
Genki Kawamura's debut feature about a strained mother-son relationship is a richly cinematic experience.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 25, 2022
Eiji Uchida loses the rhythm with ‘Offbeat Cops’
Director Eiji Uchida's musical police procedural, starring Hiroshi Abe as a detective who is relegated to play the drums in the force's band, is corny and predictable pro-cop propaganda.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 25, 2022
‘Bullet Train’ proves that Hollywood hasn’t lost its knack for topsy-turvy visions of Japan
David Leitch's hyper-violent comedy may be the least authentic screen depiction of the country since “Austin Powers,” but it's hardly the first Western movie to take such liberties.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 18, 2022
‘Sabakan’: A whimsical throwback to the halcyon days of childhood
Director Tomoki Kanazawa revisits his own boyhood growing up in Nagasaki Prefecture with a light and sentimental drama about two youngsters finding friendship during a summer road trip.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 11, 2022
‘Tang’: The future is bright, bland and low on surprises
Kazunari Ninomiya and his CGI co-star are full of pep, but Takahiro Miki's “Tang” is not.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 4, 2022
‘Torao’: A striking foray into true crime
Fact and fiction blur but justice remains elusive in Kazuya Murayama's debut feature, centering on an unsolved murder and the real-life detective who worked the case.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 28, 2022
‘Yokaipedia’: Fantasy flick takes a page out of ‘Harry Potter’
Takashi Yamazaki's supernatural adventure film will cast a spell on younger viewers, but parents should find it entertaining, too.
Japan avoids commenting on Cleveland-Cliffs CEO's provocative comment
Cleveland-Cliffs is reportedly in talks with North Carolina-based steelmaker Nucor to acquire U.S. Steel.
Strong quake strikes southwestern Japan
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck southwestern Japan at 9:19 p.m. on Monday evening
Miyazaki quake falls short of triggering Nankai Trough megaquake advisory
A mirror reflects a collapsed house in the city of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Dec. 10, nearly one year after a major earthquake struck nearby on New Year's Day in 2024.
Japanese companies rush to up English-language disclosures in 2025
The Tokyo Stock Exchange will soon require some companies to publish their financials in English in addition to Japanese.
Tokyo plans to subsidize epidurals, but are hospitals ready?
Epidurals during childbirth have long been uncommon in Japan, though they have been growing more popular in recent years.
Japanese companies rush to up English-language disclosures in 2025
The Tokyo Stock Exchange will soon require some companies to publish their financials in English in addition to Japanese.
From wrath to radiance: Why the 'Manyoshu' feels like paradise lost
The entrance gate to Arakura Sengen Shrine in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, with Mount Fuji in the distance.
Tokyo plans to subsidize epidurals, but are hospitals ready?
Epidurals during childbirth have long been uncommon in Japan, though they have been growing more popular in recent years.
Due north: Foreign-born guides introduce Hokkaido’s unique charms
Lantoko, a company operated by Taiwan native Ping-Fang Lan, offers drift ice walking tours and other exhilarating experiences in and around Shiretoko National Park.
30 minutes with Yuzuru Hanyu
Yuzuru Hanyu smiles during an interview in his hometown of Sendai in between performances of his latest tour, Ice Story.

Podcast

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

Longform

It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?
By Tomoko Otake

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SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

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