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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 16, 2019

'The Nikaidos' Fall': What's in a name? Everything.

The weight of tradition threatens to crush a once-great family in "The Nikaidos' Fall," a contemporary drama about people with an unhealthy fixation on the past. Iranian director Ida Panahandeh's film starts in a cemetery and never really leaves the realm of the dead. Its characters are so haunted by...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 9, 2019

'His Lost Name': A lack of more than just a name

Cinema abounds with tales of imposters and con artists, but some of the most interesting stories are the ones where people get wise to a deception and decide to go along with it anyway. In "His Lost Name," a young drifter arrives in a rural backwater under a fake identity, only to get sucked into a relationship...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 2, 2019

'Astral Abnormal Suzuki-san': YouTube comedy series makes it to the big screen

What is the future of films in Japan? Bigger spectacles backed by media conglomerates? Maybe at the top end of the industry. At the lower end, though, indie filmmakers have to find other ways to draw audiences and finance films. Crowdfunding helps some get made, while ceaseless and creative PR on social...
Dec 28, 2018

Cinema Kabuki: Nodaban Nezumikozo / Movix Kyoto / 2018-12-29 to 2019-01-04

until Jan. 3 9:50 / Jan. 4 9:20
Dec 28, 2018

The Grinch (dubbed) / Aeon Cinema Minatomirai / 2018-12-29 to 2019-01-04

Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Dec 13, 2018

Mitsuki Kimura and her film award without the film

Year-end awards season is in full swing, which means a lot of looking back on the past 12 months. Part of the fun of best-of lists and 2018-in-a-minute thinkpieces is arguing about placement and positioning: Did X really deserve to get so much love? Was Y not actually bloated and overrated?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 27, 2018

'Killing': A modern take on a samurai staple

Screening in competition at this year's Venice Film Festival, "Killing" is veteran provocateur Shinya Tsukamoto's first venture into the samurai genre. Made, like most of Tsukamoto's films, on a tiny budget and tight schedule, it does not attempt the scale of classics like "Seven Samurai" (1954) or "Yojimbo"...
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Nov 3, 2018

Japan Times 1918: Tokyo celebrates the Allies' victory in World War I

Today the citizens of the capital of Japan rejoice with the Allies, of whom Japan has been so important a member, and celebrate the triumph of their common cause.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 30, 2018

The ghosts that have been haunting cinema-goers in Japan for over a century

Twenty years ago, people packed theaters to watch a couple of Japanese teenagers view a strange videotape and soon after receive an ominous phone call with a cryptic message: "Seven days."
JAPAN / History / Defining the Heisei Era
Oct 27, 2018

Defining the Heisei Era: When anime and manga went global

The Heisei Era commenced after two gods fell in rapid succession. The first, Emperor Hirohito, was no longer officially a god, having repudiated his quasi-divine status under the terms of Japan's surrender in World War II, but he remained god-like in stature. His January death in 1989 at age 87 signaled...
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Oct 27, 2018

The faces of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2018: Competition

The 31st Tokyo International Film Festival, which opened on Thursday, is screening a variety of cinema from all over the world at various venues in Tokyo. The festival runs until Nov. 3, when the jury will announce the winning films from the competition.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Oct 27, 2018

The faces of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2018: Special screenings

The 31st Tokyo International Film Festival, which opened on Thursday, is screening a variety of cinema from all over the world at various venues in Tokyo. The festival runs until Nov. 3, when the jury will announce the winning films from the competition.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 22, 2018

London film fest resurrects comedic universality of Laurel and Hardy

Laurel and Hardy, perhaps the greatest comedy double act in cinema history, returned to London on Sunday, twiddling their bowler hats to a delighted West End crowd as they arrived for the world premiere of the biopic "Stan & Ollie.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 21, 2018

Gamma-ray constellation named after Japanese movie monster Godzilla

An international research group, using the orbiting Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, names a constellation of gamma ray-emitting stars Godzilla.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 10, 2018

'The Chaplain': Ren Osugi shines as a clergyman working on death row

The sudden death of Ren Osugi last February robbed Japanese cinema of one of its most dependable actors. That loss is rendered all the more acute by "The Chaplain," Osugi's final screen role, and his debut as producer. It's the kind of serious, intelligent drama that might struggle to get made without...
Sep 23, 2018

Mirai / Apollo Cinema 8 / 2018-09-22 to 2018-09-28

until Sept. 27 12:10
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Sep 17, 2018

Pussy Riot-linked anti-Kremlin activist seen doing better in German hospital after apparent poisoning in Moscow

An anti-Kremlin activist lost his sight, hearing and ability to walk in a suspected poisoning last week but is doing better since he arrived in Berlin for treatment, two friends said Sunday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 5, 2018

Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Cannes submission tackles the difficulties of relationships

It has been more than two decades since Takeshi Kitano, Naomi Kawase, Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Hirokazu Kore-eda began collecting major festival invitations and prizes as the leaders of Japanese cinema's 1990s new wave. Since then younger directors have struggled to crack this "4K" establishment to gain...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 25, 2018

Making the cut in Japan's film industry

Film producer Yukie Kito talks about making movies, her favorite actor and how the entertainment industry in Japan differs to that in the U.S.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 31, 2018

More hip-hop, more J-pop and a typhoon: Fuji Rock 2018 was full of new energy

Nothing encapsulated the strangeness of this year's Fuji Rock Festival than the spectacle that unfurled on the main Green Stage on Saturday night. After delivering what was already one of the silliest sets of the weekend, EDM producer Skrillex returned for his encore, accompanied by a surprise guest...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jul 22, 2018

India scraps tax on sanitary pads in boost for girls' education

India scrapped a controversial tax on sanitary pads Saturday, a move hailed by campaigners who say it will help more girls to go to school during their periods and boost their job prospects.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 13, 2018

A tour of the Kirin Fuji Gotemba Distillery answers a whisky lover's curiosity

Nestled at the base of Mount Fuji, the Kirin Fuji Gotemba Distillery offers free tours sure to interest the whisky novice and expert alike.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 27, 2018

'Punk Samurai Slash Down': An audacious adaptation that may look better on paper

One of the frequent complaints lodged against the Japanese film industry is that producers are reluctant to bankroll anything that isn't based on an existing novel, manga or TV series. There's a lot of truth in the criticism, but not every screen adaptation of an existing property is a product of bet-hedging....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 16, 2018

Ken Watanabe: Japan's flag-bearer in the world of entertainment

Ahead of the opening of 'The King and I' in London on June 21, the award-winning actor calls on young Japanese to step outside their comfort zone.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 14, 2018

Meghan Markle joins Queen Elizabeth II on first royal trip without Harry

Britain's newest royal Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will join Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday for her first official engagements without husband Prince Harry.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 13, 2018

Juliette Binoche gets to see the 'real' Japan in 'Vision'

"It's so warm in here!" exclaims Juliette Binoche. "You know in (Michael) Haneke's film, I have a scene where I kind of suffocate and I think that I'm going to die? It feels like that! Do you think you can open the window?"
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 9, 2018

Anthony Bourdain drew endless inspiration from Japan

Anthony Bourdain — who was found dead in his hotel room Friday in France — had a knack for discovering the best of each country he visited over the course of his colorful career, but always seemed to have a special place in his heart for Japan.

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