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October 29, 2025
 

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CULTURE

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Ikken Yamamoto plays a shell-shocked Self-Defense Force veteran whose past comes back to haunt him in “Flames of a Flower.”
CULTURE / Film
‘Flames of a Flower’: A bold interrogation of Japan’s pacifist identity
Oudai Kojima’s PTSD drama turned politically charged thriller takes aim at Japan’s postwar contradictions.
CULTURE / Film
‘Baka's Identity’ exposes an underworld of stolen names and lost souls
In Koto Nagata’s thriller, Japan’s vulnerable youth on society’s margins risk everything — even who they are.
CULTURE / Film
‘Climbing for Life’ doesn’t break new ground, but knows its footing
Sayuri Yoshinaga brings quiet strength to the biopic about the first woman to summit Mount Everest — even when the film itself plays it safe.
Yukari (Hana Sugisaki, right) is brought out of her shell by a beautiful hostess (Kotona Minami) in “Meets the World.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 23, 2025
‘Meets the World’: A tragicomic hunger for connection
By Mark Schilling
Between grilled meat and gay manga, Daigo Matsui’s latest is a darkly funny tale of friendship, fantasy and female loneliness.
Jessie Buckley attends the premiere of "Hamnet" at the London Film Festival on Oct. 11.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2025
Oscar-buzzy 'Hamnet' changed me, actress Jessie Buckley says
By Hanna Rantala
Chloe Zhao’s “Hamnet” reimagines Shakespeare’s family life, with Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal exploring love, loss and artistic rebirth.
A hitman (Ryuhei Matsuda, left) and a spiritual ascetic (Yosuke Kubozuka, right) go to infinity and beyond in “Transcending Dimensions.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 16, 2025
‘Transcending Dimensions’: A wild trip to enlightenment
By James Hadfield
Toshiaki Toyoda’s latest feature is a spiritual odyssey with punk energy and cosmic chaos.
A shy transfer student (Kento Nagao, right) is befriended by a popular girl at his high school in “The Sickness Unto Love.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 16, 2025
‘The Sickness Unto Love’: Teen romance spirals into dark cruelty
By Mark Schilling
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.

Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell
Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
At first summit with Trump, Takaichi pledges 'new golden age' for alliance
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi raises her fist as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech in front of U.S. Navy personnel on board the U.S. Navy's USS George Washington aircraft carrier at the American naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
Trump arrives in Japan for security and trade talks in test for Takaichi
U.S. President Donald Trump is welcomed by Emperor Naruhito upon his arrival at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Monday evening.
Japanese firms keep expanding in Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia
A Nishiyama Seimen employee works at its factory in Sapporo.
Bear kills another person in Japan in record year for fatal attacks
Police investigate the scene of a bear attack that killed one person and injured three others on Friday in the village of Higashinaruse in Akita Prefecture.
Tokyo Film Festival opens with global stars and a spotlight on Asian storytelling
Director Junji Sakamoto (left) walked the Tokyo International Film Festival red carpet with Sayuri Yoshinaga (center) and Non (right), who both play mountaineer Junko Tabei, the first woman to summit Mount Everest, in the biopic "Climbing for Life."
Hawks aim to bring energy from Japan Series blowout to Koshien
Hawks players celebrate victory over the Tigers at Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka on Sunday.
Spanish artist and Japanese writer duos diversify the manga talent pool in Japan
"Menheim” is a dark fantasy manga with a story that centers on a girl’s quest to find a cure for her ill brother.
Japan’s youth are apathetic toward the climate crisis. Could anime change that?
“Future Kid Takara,” a series of anime shorts to be aired on NHK Educational TV in November, attempts to educate children about climate change.
Loss to Wallabies doesn't dampen Japan’s optimism
Japan's Michael Leitch controls the ball during the match against Australia on Saturday.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons
Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

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