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July 06, 2025
 

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CULTURE

Film

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Ubu (Saki Miyashita) is a bounty hunter who takes down cyborg criminals in "Virgin Punk: Clockwork Girl."
CULTURE / Film
‘Virgin Punk: Clockwork Girl’: Beautiful, brutal and bringing back ’90s anime energy
The first chapter of Yasuomi Umetsu's new "Virgin Punk" project delivers old-school action and animation in a cyberpunk future.
CULTURE / Film
‘I Am Kirishima’ peels back the mystery of a fugitive radical
Banmei Takahashi's drama gives shape to a man whose face appeared on wanted posters in police stations across Japan — and who stayed hidden for decades.
CULTURE / Film
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
A new show at Tokyo’s Azabudai Hills Gallery explores the painstaking process of the late “Grave of the Fireflies” and “Pom Poko” director.
In adapting Masataka Matsuda’s 1998 play “On Summer Sand” to film, director Shinya Tamada decided to age up the central character, played by Joe Odagiri (left), by 10 years to bring out a deeper sense of despondency and grief.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 1, 2025
From stage to screen, a story of quiet connection in the still heat of Nagasaki
By Matt Schley
Director Shinya Tamada adapts "On Summer Sand" for film by filling the silences between scenes with heartbreak and slow healing.
An 11-year-old girl (Yui Suzuki) finds glimpses of hope while coping with her father’s terminal illness in “Renoir.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 26, 2025
‘Renoir’: An impressionistic portrait of grief and girlhood
By Mark Schilling
Chie Hayakawa’s latest feature about a young girl facing losing a parent to cancer is a shining, soulful study of quiet mourning.
Many recent video games, including Breath of the Wild and Planet of Lana, have borrowed from the pastoral aesthetic of Studio Ghibli films like “Princess Mononoke.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 25, 2025
Studio Ghibli’s majestic sensibility is drawing imitators
By Lewis Gordon
Forty years after the Japanese animation studio was founded, game creators are embracing its legacy of moral integrity.
Elementary school teacher Seiichi Yabushita (Go Ayano) is taken to court for allegedly driving one of his students to attempt suicide in Takashi Miike’s “Sham.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 25, 2025
‘Sham’ flirts with ambiguity, then picks a side
By James Hadfield
Takashi Miike’s legal drama draws from a real-life incident and makes a clear but frustratingly simplified case.
Gentleman thief Lupin (Kanichi Kurita) and crew head to an uncharted island in the Bermuda Triangle and find themselves up against vaguely human monsters inspired by "The Island of Doctor Moreau” in “Lupin the IIIrd The Movie The Immortal Bloodline.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 19, 2025
‘Lupin the IIIrd The Movie The Immortal Bloodline’ goes big on action, light on plot
By Matt Schley
Takeshi Koike’s latest “Lupin” film needs more than poison gas, bullets and nudity — its characters need something to do.
A Disaster Medical Assistance Team commander (Shun Oguri, right) and a health ministry official (Tori Matsuzaka) work together to respond to Japan’s first brush with COVID-19 in “Frontline — Yokohama Bay.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 19, 2025
‘Frontline — Yokohama Bay’ revisits nation’s first pandemic struggles
By Mark Schilling
Part docudrama, part recognition of unsung crisis responders, “Frontline — Yokohama Bay” looks back at the ship that warned a nation: COVID-19 is here.
“Junk World” is Takahide Hori’s second entry in his stop-motion “Junk” series, which is populated by cyborgs, monsters and artificial lifeforms called “Mulligans.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 13, 2025
Stop-motion sci-fi saga ‘Junk World’ expands its bizarre universe
By Matt Schley
The monsters are cute, the war is weird and interior designer turned director Takahide Hori’s creativity stretches far beyond his budget.

Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

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