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October 21, 2025
 

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CULTURE

Film

Film
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Entertainment news
Jessie Buckley attends the premiere of "Hamnet" at the London Film Festival on Oct. 11.
CULTURE / Film
Oscar-buzzy 'Hamnet' changed me, actress Jessie Buckley says
Chloe Zhao’s “Hamnet” reimagines Shakespeare’s family life, with Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal exploring love, loss and artistic rebirth.
CULTURE / Film
‘Transcending Dimensions’: A wild trip to enlightenment
Toshiaki Toyoda’s latest feature is a spiritual odyssey with punk energy and cosmic chaos.
CULTURE / Film
‘The Sickness Unto Love’: Teen romance spirals into dark cruelty
Behind the soft glow of young love, Ryuichi Hiroki’s drama exposes the brutal games teenagers play.
Chloe Zhao’s "Hamnet"
CULTURE / Film
Oct 16, 2025
What you need to see at this year's Tokyo film festival
By James Hadfield, Mark Schilling and Matt Schley
From slow cinema and satire to moving biopics and restorations of classics, the TIFF lineup has something for every cinephile.
Masami Nagasawa plays the talented but circumscribed offspring of a famed ukiyo-e artist in “Hokusai’s Daughter.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 9, 2025
‘Hokusai’s Daughter’ captures the ferocity of a forgotten painter
By James Hadfield
Masami Nagasawa delivers one of her most compelling performances yet in Tatsushi Omori’s historical biopic.
Takuya Matsumoto and Masayuki Ino play hitmen in Yugo Sakamoto’s mockumentary-style action comedy, “Flame Union.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 9, 2025
‘Flame Union’: Hitman returns with fighting finesse and comic firepower
By Mark Schilling
Yugo Sakamoto steps back from bullets and banter for a sharper, funnier kind of action in his latest film.
Anshul Chauhan’s Japanese film “Tiger” won the Hylife Vision Award for independent films at this year’s Busan International Film Festival.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 4, 2025
Japanese films win crowds but few prizes at Busan festival
By Mark Schilling
From art house cinema to commercial hits, 24 films showcased Japan’s range at the 30th edition of the Busan International Film Festival.
Director Park Chan-wook and the cast of his latest film “No Other Choice” attended the Busan International Film Festival’s glittering opening ceremony where the film’s lead actor, Lee Byung-hun, served as host.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 2, 2025
Revamped Busan film festival turns 30 with expanded cinematic showcase
By Philip Brasor
Since its inception, BIFF has been a launchpad for Asian cinema. This year, it grew bigger and brighter with a new Competition section, 90 world premieres and high-profile guests.
An elderly inmate (voiced by Kaoru Kobayashi in the present and Junki Tozuka in flashback) confides in a potted balsam flower (voiced by Pierre Taki) about the decisions that led him to prison in "The Last Blossom."
CULTURE / Film
Oct 2, 2025
Pieces fall perfectly into place in the reflective ‘The Last Blossom’
By Matt Schley
Reflective and heartfelt, Baku Kinoshita’s animated feature tells a story of second chances without being overly sentimental.
A young man (Kodai Kurosaki) has a tense reunion with his estranged father in “Brand New Landscape.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 2, 2025
‘Brand New Landscape’ captures family dysfunction in a shimmering city
By Mark Schilling
In director Yuiga Danzuka’s first feature, Tokyo gleams with promise — but loneliness lingers in every corner.

Why I chose Japanese citizenship over permanent residency
Jon Heese (second left) takes part in a 2024 New Year's nihonshu barrel opening ceremony.
Path clears for Takaichi to become PM as LDP and JIP agree to form coalition
Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi (right) reaches out to shake hands with Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura after signing a coalition deal Monday evening in Tokyo.
EV battery race heats up among Japanese automakers
Japanese EV production is focusing on batteries as automakers compete for the lightest, most durable models and the longest driving range.
LDP and Nippon Ishin no Kai to form coalition government, report says
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin no Kai have agreed to form a coalition, paving the way for the country's first female prime minister, Kyodo reports.
Suntory and Sapporo to halt gift beer sales after cyberattack against Asahi
Suntory will gradually suspend the sale of 13 beer sets for winter gifts, including a set of Chinese zodiac-themed cans of The Premium Malt's.
Japan leads in in-depth AI awareness, new global study finds
In Japan, 55% were “equally concerned and excited” about the rise of AI in daily life, while 28% were “more concerned than excited.”
What does Jimbocho think of its unexpected ‘cool’ status?
Tokyo's Jimbocho neighborhood is a haven for book lovers, its rows of secondhand bookstores spilling over with printed materials.
What you need to see at this year's Tokyo film festival
Chloe Zhao’s "Hamnet"
New film explores how Japan and the U.S. found common ground through baseball
Masanori Murakami became the first MLB player from Japan when he made his debut with the Giants on Sept 1, 1964.
As they wrestle for power, Japan’s political parties must remember their base
Rengo's head Tomoko Yoshino speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Oct. 8.

Podcast

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

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building
By Patrick St. Michel

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