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November 30, 2023
 

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CULTURE

Film
Books
Art
Music
TV & Streaming
Stage
Entertainment news
A young boy (Tsukao Oga) struggles to survive in a war-ravaged city in “Shadow of Fire.”
CULTURE / Film
The human costs of war linger in ‘Shadow of Fire’
By Mark Schilling
While the film’s message about the lasting traumas of war is at times overt, newcomer Tsukao Oga centers the drama with an unsentimental performance.
A psychopathic lawyer (Kazuya Kamenashi) finds himself targeted by a serial killer — and decides to fight back — in Takashi Miike’s “Lumberjack the Monster.”
CULTURE / Film
‘Lumberjack the Monster’ will talk you to death
By James Hadfield
Takashi Miike’s film about a psychopath battling a serial killer fails to deliver on its schlocky potential.
“The Boy and the Heron” marks Hayao Miyazaki’s return from retirement.
CULTURE / Film
What’s it like to work with Hayao Miyazaki? Go behind the scenes.
By Carlos Aguilar
The anime master is a creature of habit who talks every day with his longtime producer, and keeps it more hands off with his regular composer.

Film

A young boy (Tsukao Oga) struggles to survive in a war-ravaged city in “Shadow of Fire.”
Film
The human costs of war linger in ‘Shadow of Fire’
By Mark Schilling
While the film’s message about the lasting traumas of war is at times overt, newcomer Tsukao Oga centers the drama with an unsentimental performance.
Film
What’s it like to work with Hayao Miyazaki? Go behind the scenes.
By Carlos Aguilar
Film
Takeshi Kitano still has a head for provocation
By James Hadfield
Film
‘My Mother’s Eyes’: Psychodrama pushes to mad extremes
By Mark Schilling
Film / CULTURE SMASH
Sleeper hit anime 'Blue Giant' gets an encore
By Roland Kelts
Film
'Bad treatment happens' in Japan's showbiz world: Takeshi Kitano
Film
‘Komada: A Whisky Family’ has the complexity of a bottom-shelf bottle
By Matt Schley

Books

Trial participants listen to wartime leader Hideki Tojo give his defiant testimony in the old Army Ministry courtroom during the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in January 1948.
Books
'Judgment at Tokyo' investigates powers at play in postwar tribunal
By Martin Laflamme
Gary J. Bass' new book thoroughly delves into the prosecution of Japanese military atrocities and its divisive legacy.
Books
‘What You are Looking For is in the Library’: A tender tale with a touch of whimsy
By Louise George Kittaka
Books
Location is everything in 'The Heron Catchers'
By Iain Maloney
Books
‘Godzilla’ novellas expand on infamous monster’s origins
By Kris Kosaka
Books
Japanese thrillers and crime mysteries to curl up with this fall
By Kris Kosaka
Books
Banana Yoshimoto’s new book is a sickly sweet fantasy
By Thu-Huong Ha
Books
'The Outsider' brings out colorful personality of one of history’s great Japanophiles
By David McElhinney

Music

Milk Talk members Yuqi Shinohara (left), who goes by the moniker Q.i, and Miles Ungar officially started their electro-boogie project in 2019.
Music
Milk Talk's deliciously funky mix of sweet and sour
By Patrick St. Michel
The duo turns bottled-up feelings into electro-boogie delights on their debut album.
Music
The slow and steady rise of Lamp, a cult favorite
By Patrick St. Michel
Music
Saxophonist Jiro Inagaki’s golden age of jazz rock
By Patrick St. Michel
Music
An intimate bazaar of music and magic at Kyotophonie
By Lance Henderstein
Music
Art and politics clash at Labyrinth 2023
By Thu-Huong Ha
Music
Peter Barakan’s Live Magic! festival celebrates 10th edition
By Matt Schley
Music
Japanese singer Shinji Tanimura dies at 74

TV & Streaming

Matthew Perry at the premiere of "The Kennedys After Camelot" in Beverly Hills, California, in 2017
Entertainment news
'Friends' actor Matthew Perry dies at age 54
Law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times that Perry was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home.
TV & Streaming / Longform
When the 'Queen of Boogie' reigned in Japan
By Michael Furmanovsky
TV & Streaming
‘One Piece’: Netflix tries to translate the anime magic (again)
By Mike Hale
TV & Streaming
Beloved U.S. game show legend Bob Barker dies age 99
TV & Streaming
A call from Denmark for diversity in the arts
By Rosi Byard-Jones
TV & Streaming
'Ooku: The Inner Chambers': Alternative history explores gender norms
By Maya Phillips
TV & Streaming
Simplicity key to British TV show success, says 'naked' Japanese comedian
By Peter Masheter

Art

Heidrun Holzfeind documents urban and rural scenes, such as two policemen on bicycles nonchalantly rolling down a street, in her video piece "The 49th Year." The footage is presented alongside incarcerated New Left group leader Toshihiko Kamata’s writings about Japan’s highly supervised society in the exhibition "News from K."
Art
'News From K' captures the oppression of landscape
By John L. Tran
Letters from prison by New Left group leader Toshihiko Kamata reveal a sense of limbo in Heidrun Holzfeind’s new work.
Art
A first look inside teamLab’s new Borderless museum
By Thu-Huong Ha
Art
‘Panta Rhei’: Yukimasa Ida is still searching for his own voice
By Lance Henderstein
Art
American museums keep the spotlight on Korean art
By Ted Loos
Art
Major retrospective traces hero's journey of 'Japan's van Gogh'
By John L. Tran
Art
Tokyo Biennale 2023 seeks healing through art
By John L. Tran
Art
An introspective Go For Kogei turns its attention to Toyama
By Mio Yamada

Stage

Various aspects of Japan’s Sado Island — noh, taiko drumming, business investment and cultural regeneration projects — weave their way into “L’ile d’Or Kanemu-Jima,” with characters and cultures coming together in a melting pot of real-world political problems, theater styles and dark humor.
Stage
Cultures collide in Ariane Mnouchkine's Sado Island-inspired play
By Andrew Eglinton and Mika Eglinton
The Kyoto Prize-winning French theater director's latest production, "L’ile d’Or Kanemu-Jima," draws from her experiences in Japan, both old and new.
Stage
DamaDamTal turns abstract dreams into visual art
By Alex Ehrenreich
Stage
A 'Drag Race' tour brings inspiration and profits
By Kat Joplin
Stage
Kyoto Experiment explores fluidity of culture with performance works
By Andrew Eglinton and Mika Eglinton
Stage
Chelfitsch challenges Japanese theater's language barriers
By Andrew Eglinton and Mika Eglinton
Stage
Ichikawa Eno, founder of 'Super Kabuki,' dies at 83
Stage
Rome Opera's tragic heroes resonate in modern times
By Kris Kosaka

Entertainment news

Acts represented by the talent agency formerly known as Johnny & Associates have not been included in this year’s lineup for “Kohaku Uta Gassen,” public broadcaster NHK’s annual New Year’s Eve musical show.
Entertainment news
NHK ditches Johnny's acts for year-end musical bonanza
By Patrick St. Michel
For the first time in 44 years, performers represented by the beleaguered talent agency will not appear on "Kohaku Uta Gassen."
Entertainment news
Latest Godzilla movie is a beast at the Japan box office
By Yukana Inoue
Entertainment news
Three Japanese musicians win top prizes in Geneva quartet event
Entertainment news
Japanese actor Tatsuya Fuji wins top lead actor prize at San Sebastian
Entertainment news
Striking Hollywood writers reach tentative deal with studios
Entertainment news
Ryusuke Hamaguchi revives himself with dark nature film
By Hanna Rantala
Entertainment news
Ryuichi Sakamoto's last performance captured by son in Venice 'Opus'
By Hanna Rantala
View Older Articles
A new wave of Chinese elites is flocking to Japan
Toyosu, a reclaimed area and former industrial zone in the Tokyo Bay area, has become popular with a new wave of Chinese immigrants for its breathtaking views of the Tokyo skyline.
Japan is enticing for digital nomads, but visa hurdles remain
Akina Shu has visited around 50 countries as a speaker and ambassador on the digital nomad lifestyle since 2020.
Reluctant CEO becomes billionaire at Netflix rival in Japan
Yasuhide Uno, Usen-Next Holdings CEO, has transformed his father’s company into Netflix’s biggest competitor in Japan.
Children of Jehovah’s Witnesses submit report detailing sexual abuse
Ayuko Kato, minister in charge of child policies. A group of children of Jehovah’s Witnesses have submitted a report to the Child and Family Agency detailing sexual abuse.
Wasabi effective in improving memory of elderly: study
A research has found that hexaraphane — a component found in wasabi — helps improve the episodic and working memories of elderly people.
Children of Jehovah’s Witnesses submit report detailing sexual abuse
Ayuko Kato, minister in charge of child policies. A group of children of Jehovah’s Witnesses have submitted a report to the Child and Family Agency detailing sexual abuse.
Japan is enticing for digital nomads, but visa hurdles remain
Akina Shu has visited around 50 countries as a speaker and ambassador on the digital nomad lifestyle since 2020.
Nature-focused theme park to open in Okinawa in 2025
A rendering of the new Junglia theme park scheduled to open in Okinawa in 2025
Japan to start trial of over-the-counter sales of morning-after pills
Customers look at products on display outside a drug store in Tokyo on Friday. As part of a trial, 145 stores nationwide will be allowed to sell morning-after pills until the end of March.
Bedbugs are spreading in South Korea and China. Is Japan next?
A bed bug in Paris in September

Podcast

An official shot for this year’s lineup for NHK’s annual “Kohaku Uta Gassen.”
Things get warmer with Xi; Johnny’s get the cold shoulder

Longform

Yoshiko Koide sits in a classroom at Nagoya College where she teaches a Japanese-language observation seminar.
How a dictionary came to spark outrage among the web’s otaku
By Thu-Huong Ha and Yukana Inoue

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

The home front: A new way to save architecture
The home front: A new way to save architecture

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