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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 2, 2019

'The Forest of Love': Netflix feature lets Sono be Sono

Sion Sono's return to filmmaking sees him blend all of his hallmarks into one gore-drenched epic
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 25, 2019

'Ninkyo Gakuen': Yakuza comedy fails to make the grade

Hisashi Kimura's latest film sees a band of yakuza get involved with a local high school, serving justice and forming bonds along the way
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 11, 2019

'They Say Nothing Stays The Same': Stunning visuals and a stellar cast

Actor Joe Odagiri makes his directorial debut with a beautifully shot tale of the life of a boatman in a Japan of the past.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 5, 2019

Elite Ushio lights the way to next-gen computer chips in Japan

Chipmakers have spent two decades pouring investment into a revolutionary new technique to push the limits of physics and cram more transistors onto slices of silicon. Now that technology is on the cusp of going mainstream, thanks to a secretive Japanese company that's mastered the skill of manipulating...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 4, 2019

'Stormy Family': Dysfunctional family, dysfunctional film

Masahide Ichii delivers a drama about family members dealing with their own long-standing resentments while facing an impending typhoon
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 3, 2019

Weathering the storms of judgment

As the competition for the 92nd annual Oscar foreign film shortlist heats up, the rivalry between Japan and South Korea will no doubt intensify in the world of cinema as well.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 27, 2019

Conspiracy theories risk becoming new currency of post-truth politics

Spreading conspiracy theories for political ends is hardly new, but the last decade has seen an explosion of such activity and it is continuing to intensify.
Japan Times
ESG CONSORTIUM
Aug 25, 2019

Businesses aim for increased sustainability

In response to the increasing problem of plastic waste worldwide, Commons Asset Management Inc., which focuses on long-term investment, organized a seminar themed around recycling plastic on July 26 in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 22, 2019

'Dance With Me': A homegrown Japanese musical has landed

Genres never really die, but they often mutate into something different on foreign soil. John Ford's cowboys became Akira Kurosawa's samurai, and Kurosawa's samurai became Sergio Leone's serape-clad, cigarillo-chewing "The Man With No Name." And the list goes on.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 7, 2019

'Paradise Next': When the music is better than the story

The lone, wandering gangster is as standard a figure in Japanese cinema as the lone, wandering samurai. Traditionally, both fought out of a self-imposed sense of duty and obligation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 31, 2019

'Melancholic': When cleaning the tub brings dirtier jobs

Almost every year at the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) at least one film by a new Japanese director gets talked up by visiting programmers, journalists and critics as a find.
SUMO
Jul 12, 2019

Sumo 101: Wakanohana-Tochinishiki rivalry

As with boxing, wrestling, MMA or any other activity where two contestants face off in a ring, great rivalries are the lifeblood of Japan's national sport.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 6, 2019

Hot new Japan book releases for the sweltering summer

Time travel, yakuza, street photography and more feature in the best upcoming J-Lit releases for this summer (and beyond).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 20, 2019

Japan's summer festivals plan for a final party before Olympic fever hits

As Yo La Tengo once sang, "summer's what you make it," and that's especially true in Japan this year. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are likely to throw a major wrench (or should that be hammer?) in the works for next summer's festival calendar, so it's worth enjoying things while the going...
Japan Times
WORLD
May 28, 2019

Blood and thunder at sea: British veteran remembers D-Day, 75 years on

Seventy-five years ago, a young British sailor stood on the bridge of a warship, its gun barrels pointing out to the coast of France, and watched the devastation being rained down on a country he wanted to liberate.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
May 19, 2019

I walked the line: Getting reacquainted with Tokyo on the Yamathon

Riding the full length of Tokyo's central Yamanote railway line takes about an hour, but walking it has its own rewards.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 16, 2019

Despite being only 10 years old, actor Kokoro Terada is taking on tough topics

A heart-warming tale about an elderly woman's struggles with dementia as seen from the perspective of her young grandson, "Grandma is Okay" ("Baba wa, Daijobu") is the latest movie by Yokohama-born filmmaker Jacky Woo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 24, 2019

'Lust in a Karaoke Box': Celebrating the joys of student life

When I taught at colleges here in the 1980s, I marveled at my students' freedom, including freedom from study. They could spend most of their waking hours at part-time jobs or club activities and still, somehow, graduate.
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Apr 6, 2019

'Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths' review: Pulling no punches when it comes to the realities of war

In 'Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths,' manga artist and veteran Shigeru Mizuki brings the Pacific front of World War II to life with unflinching realism and a grotesque and sardonic humor.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 21, 2019

A new lease of life for Macoto Tezka's cult classic 'The Legend of the Stardust Brothers'

Like so many authors of cult movies, Macoto Tezka didn't set out to make a commercial bomb. His debut feature, "The Legend of the Stardust Brothers" ("Hoshikuzu Kyodai no Densetsu"), was widely lambasted upon its release in 1985, but over the years it has steadily acquired a reputation as a delightful...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 20, 2019

'Shinjuku Tiger': A story of one man and his mask

Spend enough time on the streets of Shinjuku, and you'll eventually spot a flamboyantly dressed figure in a tiger mask carrying fake flowers, stuffed animals and a boombox. This is Shinjuku Tiger, the subject of a documentary of the same name out this week.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 6, 2019

'Running Again': Solving problems with a good run

Running scenes have been a staple since the start of the movies, but in the silent days the fleet-footed hero was usually trying to outrun the police. Now, competitive running in its various forms, from the ekiden relay to the marathon, has become a subset of the feel-good sports film in Japan, with...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 6, 2019

'Siblings of the Cape': Uncomfortable, yet compelling

There are films that take you places you rather wish they wouldn't. Within the first 10 minutes of "Siblings of the Cape," I was ready to stop watching, but something about Shinzo Katayama's scruffy, transgressive debut kept me hooked.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Mar 6, 2019

Hello Kitty headed for Hollywood after years of talks on film rights

One of Japan's most beloved cat cartoon characters is headed for Hollywood.
Mar 5, 2019

Cinema Meta

cinema-meta
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 26, 2019

Delving deep into the Kanto jazz bar scene

The tourist boom in Japan shows no sign of ending, with the number of visitors only set to increase in the lead up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Whether for bulk shopping, temple visiting or sushi-counter hopping, Tokyo and surrounding neighborhoods have endless adventures just waiting to be discovered....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 23, 2019

'Tokyo Ueno Station' shows the dark side of the postwar boom

In her new novel, 'Tokyo Ueno Station,' writer Yu Miri connects Japan's modern past with the homeless in Ueno Park, giving faces and voices to the dispossessed.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 24, 2019

The Japanese family, seen through Iranian eyes

Iranian director Ida Panahandeh's fourth feature, "The Nikaidos' Fall," took her way beyond her comfort zone. She didn't speak Japanese nor had she ever visited the country, and yet there she was with a Japanese crew and cast, filming a story about the Japanese family dynamic in the ancient city of Tenri...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 21, 2019

Producer Andrew Vajna of 'Rambo' and 'Evita' fame dies in Budapest at 74

Andrew G. Vajna, the Hungarian movie producer behind "Rambo," "Evita" and other international hits, died in his Budapest home on Sunday following a long illness, the Hungarian National Film Fund said.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan