August 05, 2025

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CULTURE

Film

Entertainment news

Asuna Yanagi (right, with Misa Tsugawa) plays a high-school student who gets hooked on classic cinema in “Rainy Blue,” a coming-of-age tale that she also wrote, edited and directed.

CULTURE / Film

Jul 24, 2025

‘Rainy Blue’: Behind-the-scenes drama tarnishes an intriguing debut

By James Hadfield

Made while she was still a teen, Asuna Yanagi’s coming-of-age tale blurs the lines between life, fiction and cinephile obsession.

Before multiplexes entered the Japanese theatrical market in the early 1990s, moviegoers frequented “roadside theaters” — cinemas located in central urban areas near train lines. The Marunouchi Toei, which will close July 27, is the last of such theaters in Tokyo.

CULTURE / Film

Jul 24, 2025

Marunouchi Toei closes as Japan’s cinema landscape evolves

By Mark Schilling

As audiences gravitate toward the luxury, tech and varied lineups of multiplexes, Tokyo’s last "roadside theater" closes after 65 years, marking the end of an era in moviegoing.

Yukio Iokibe’s “Noto Democracy" centers on Motoyuki Takii, a former junior high school teacher who publishes a handwritten newspaper every month to encourage the residents of Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, to engage in local politics.

CULTURE / Film

Jul 20, 2025

‘Noto Democracy’ and the slow work of civic change

By Moe Shimizu

As rural towns in Japan decline, Yukio Iokibe’s documentary offers a hopeful reminder that democracy endures through advocacy, persistence and human connection.

Two university students (Sara Minami, left, and Fumika Baba) with grim family lives find camaraderie and warmth in each other in “Love Doesn't Matter to Me.”

CULTURE / Film

Jul 17, 2025

‘Love Doesn't Matter to Me’: Romance takes a backseat to female friendship

By Mark Schilling

In Aya Igashi’s unconventional coming-of-age drama, not all people deserve forgiveness and not all women need love to thrive.

A call girl (Kaho Seto) traumatized by the death of her young daughter becomes entangled with a strange client in “New Religion.”

CULTURE / Film

Jul 17, 2025

‘New Religion’: Chic debut is low on shivers

By James Hadfield

Keishi Kondo’s horror film dives deep into dream logic and dread, but its emotional detachment leaves a chill that’s more cold than scary.

A high school senior (Taisuke Niihara, center), his girlfriend (Yuki Araho, left) and their alcoholic teacher (Yuka Kouri, right) find themselves in a lopsided love triangle in Toshiya Kominami’s “Young & Fine.”

CULTURE / Film

Jul 11, 2025

‘Young & Fine’: Teenage horndog tale balances heart and hormones

By James Hadfield

The oddball sensibility of Toshiya Kominami’s coming-of-age film, paired with Yuka Kouri’s winning performance, elevates a questionable setup into something surprisingly human.

Hyun Bin (center) plays real-life Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun in “Harbin.”

CULTURE / Film

Jul 11, 2025

‘Harbin’: Somber historical drama sees act of mercy lead to bloodshed

By Mark Schilling

Hyun Bin portrays real-life Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun as a complex figure shrouded in a sense of doom in Woo Min-ho’s film.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.

With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear

By Jason Coskrey

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

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