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October 12, 2025
 

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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 3, 2016

'Shin Godzilla': The metaphorical monster returns

Watching "Shin Godzilla," Toho's reboot of its signature monster series, I couldn't help feeling sorry for the non-Japanese fans forced to read a blizzard of subtitles for this extremely talky and densely populated film, with a break every 10 minutes or so for Godzilla rampages — the real reason they...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 30, 2016

Retreat from the heat to the cinema this summer

The summer blockbuster is dead — or at least, it has ceased to exist as a distinct entity. Four decades after "Jaws" set the template for mass-market Hollywood spectacle, the so-called event movie has expanded its turf so dramatically that July and August, once the most fiercely contested box-office...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 15, 2016

'Creepy': It doesn't get much eerier than this

The title of "Creepy," the new shocker by horror maestro Kiyoshi Kurosawa, sounds like an in-jokey self-parody. It's like titling a new Adam Sandler comedy "Goofy" (or if you're not feeling charitable, "Crappy"). But "Creepy," which premiered at this year's Berlin Film Festival, is also the title of...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jun 1, 2016

The EU is on firm ground when it comes to film

The European Union might be teetering on the brink of collapse politically, but culturally it's still presenting a united front. EU Film Days, a showcase of movies from Portugal to Lithuania, Finland to Greece, is entering its sixth year in Japan, with daily screenings throughout the rainy season at...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 27, 2016

'Terraformars': Miike's life on Mars has its bugs

Now that voyages to Mars seem likely in the next generation or so, films about the red planet are moving beyond the "John Carter" (2012) space-opera stage. But for every reality-based "The Martian," there is still a "Terraformars," Takashi Miike's latest extreme entertainment.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 27, 2016

'Captain America': Civil War: Marvel shows Superman how it's done

Have we reached peak superhero yet? After spending the winter months watching "Jessica Jones" and "Daredevil" on Netflix, viewers can now subject themselves to a barrage of comic-book spectacle at their local multiplex. Following last month's clattering, messy "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" comes...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 20, 2016

Lubezki achieves the extraordinary long shot

At this year's Oscars, while everyone was fuming about the academy's lack of diversity, few bothered to notice an incredible achievement: Mexican cameraman Emmanuel Lubezki, also known by his nickname "Chivo," became the first person ever to win three Oscars in a row for Best Cinematography. (And one...
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Dec 30, 2015

Views from Nagoya: What did you make of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'?

Cinemagoers offer their opinions after a showing of the much-anticipated seventh installment in the 'Star Wars' saga.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 29, 2015

Laurent Grasso alludes to a future in our past

A funny thing happened on the way to "Le Forum." Outside Ochanomizu Station, a small group of neo-Nazis had set up shop and were playing the Japanese national anthem. One of them was wearing a modified SS uniform and proudly let me take his picture. I noticed that his jack boots and Sam Browne belt were...
CULTURE / Film
Dec 16, 2015

Kiki Sugino: 'I'm always looking for myself'

Kiki Sugino has a one-of-a-kind resume in the domestic movie business. Many are the young "multi-talents" who act, sing and model, but most are recruited, molded and marketed by an agency. From the start, this 31-year-old actor, director and producer took a more independent route toward multi-dom.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 14, 2015

But is it art? Anime in the 'post-cinematic' age

The past 15 years have seen a boom in academic studies of anime, ranging from thematic and cultural analysis such as Susan J. Napier's "Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle" to formal theory based on technical processes and the nature of two-dimensional images such as Thomas Lamarre's "The Anime...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 11, 2015

Hungarian director Kornel Mundruczo's 'White God' lacks teeth

Man and his best friend are having some serious relationship issues in "White God." Hungarian director Kornel Mundruczo's tale of a teenage girl and her beloved hound is the stuff of canine nightmares, set in a present-day Budapest that feels more like a dog dystopia.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 10, 2015

A photo finish between ukiyo-e and the camera

The idea for the smart, complex and challenging exhibition "From Ukiyo-e to Photography" at the Edo-Tokyo Museum started from the discovery of two images. One is a photograph of the Meiji-Era (1867-1912) Minister of Home Affairs Toshimichi Okubo, taken in Paris in 1878. The second is a color ukiyo-e...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 7, 2015

'Bakuman' depicts a life-or-death quest for manga success

High school kids dream big dreams, and in Japan one of the biggest is to be a successful manga artist. The financial rewards for a hit manga published in a national magazine and sold in paperback editions are substantial. And the accompanying recognition and power — with adoring fans pleading for autographs...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 6, 2015

New theme park, old problems, but 'Jurassic World' is still wild

Time hasn't been kind to Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park," the 1993 blockbuster that paved the way for every CGI-driven popcorn flick of the past two decades. But it isn't the movie's visual effects that betray its age: it's the setting. The film's titular theme park may have spent millions on cloning...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 5, 2015

Tom cruises through 'Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation'

Tom Cruise is 53. I repeat: Tom Cruise is 53. In seven years he will officially be eligible for retirement and a cushy 401(k) plan. That will probably be what's going on in the minds of most people who watch "Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation," the latest but not last installment in the "Mission:...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 17, 2015

'Mad Max: Fury Road' is so good at spectacular violence that it injures itself

If you want a vision of the future, at least from George Miller's perspective, picture a boot stamping on a human face for about two hours. Those in search of a bludgeoning good time will find it in his new scorched-earth action extravaganza, "Mad Max: Fury Road" — it's hard to remember the last time...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 22, 2015

Surviving the night of the long tentacular knives in 'Parasyte: Part 2'

When we left Shinichi (Shota Sometani) and his inseparable parasite companion Migi at the end of Takashi Yamazaki's 2014 sci-fi/horror hit "Kiseiju" ("Parasyte: Part 1"), the space-alien organisms who had found human hosts in the city of Higashi Fukuyama were not only slaughtering humans for food —...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 29, 2015

Exodus: 'Verisimilitude alone doesn't make a story more engaging'

You could read the Book of Exodus in less time than it takes to watch Ridley Scott's provocatively pointless big-screen version, and it would probably be more entertaining. Even at 2½ hours, this biblical blockbuster feels rushed, as if the story has been shorn of all its connective tissue. Sweeping...
CULTURE / Film
Jan 1, 2015

What if 'The Interview' had been made in Japan?

It couldn't happen here — that was my first takeaway from the massive cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment prompted by the Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy "The Interview." In the film, the two heroes journey to North Korea ostensibly to interview its real-life leader, Kim Jong Un, but in fact,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 1, 2015

Son of God: 'There is little to no poetic license taken here'

Just in time to be too late for Christmas is "Son of God," Hollywood's latest attempt to reboot the Jesus franchise. Director Christopher Spencer tries to give a more family-friendly version of the life of Jesus than the torture-porn brutality of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ."
CULTURE / Film
Dec 24, 2014

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (Japan title: TinTin Noboken: Unicorn go no Himitsu)

Director: Steven Spielberg Language: English
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 26, 2014

Documentaries at the margins of modern life

There is no film festival in Japan quite like the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (YIDFF).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 15, 2014

Minuscule: 'A refreshingly different approach to animation'

Most children's animation these days is motor-mouthed to the extreme and larded with snarky pop-culture gags, but French film "Minuscule" takes a refreshingly different approach. Filmmakers Helene Giraud and Thomas Szabo honed their skills on animated shorts over the past decade and now drop a full-length...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2014

Storytelling in the future will be transforming

A new form of analysis is emerging for the future of storytelling that will let us better understand why some tales grip us. If it succeeds, it will fuel new creative forms and make less vulnerable to manipulation by governments and companies.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 3, 2014

I, Frankenstein

Compared with vampires, who always seem to be sleek and sexy, Frankenstein's monster has had it rough. Those head bolts are one thing, and then there are the leathery scars all over his face and his massive, clunky awkwardness. To make matters worse, while vampires are never deprived of dating and relationships...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 7, 2014

The robots return in 'Transformers: Age of Extinction'

Filmmaker Michael Bay thinks there's something interesting about Japanese samurai that sets them apart from English knights.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 6, 2014

Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika-hen (Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno)

The jidaigeki (samurai period drama) is dying, we have been told again and again. Topknots and swords have become rare sights on television, while Japanese studios, which once devoted nearly half their production to the genre, now essay only the occasional chanbara (swordplay) film, with mixed box-office...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 10, 2014

'Maleficent'

"Maleficent" takes you on a ride into a non-kiddie realm of betrayal, vengeance and mother-daughter brouhaha. Is that a good thing for a Disney audience? On the other hand, look at "Frozen," which dealt with some sibling rivalry and female empowerment issues. That worked, so there's no reason why "Maleficent"...
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jul 3, 2014

Happy birthday, Sailor Moon!

In 1992, a 14-year-old Japanese girl set out to save our universe from total annihilation.
University of Tokyo lands its highest spot ever in global higher education ranking
The University of Tokyo in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward
‘Save the Ring’ calls intensify as Osaka Expo’s end nears
Visitors lounge on the grassy hill on the top of the Grand Ring during the 2025 Osaka Expo in the city of Osaka in May.
Takaichi's PM bid faces further headwinds with coalition split
LDP leader Sanae Takaichi and Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito attend a party leaders' meeting on Friday in Tokyo.
After ruling bloc breakup, CDP and Komeito eye unified PM candidate
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda speaks to reporters at the Diet in Tokyo on Friday.
Ghost of Yotei’s bloodstained fun sidesteps Ainu identity
Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to 2020's smash hit Ghost of Tsushima, is a violent, vengeful and engaging romp through 17th-century Hokkaido that fails to stick the landing on its most sensitive cultural material.
Ghost of Yotei’s bloodstained fun sidesteps Ainu identity
Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to 2020's smash hit Ghost of Tsushima, is a violent, vengeful and engaging romp through 17th-century Hokkaido that fails to stick the landing on its most sensitive cultural material.
‘Takaichi trade’ starts unwinding as political calculus upended by Komeito exit
Less than a week ago, Sanae Takaichi seemed set to become Japan's first female prime minister.
‘Save the Ring’ calls intensify as Osaka Expo’s end nears
Visitors lounge on the grassy hill on the top of the Grand Ring during the 2025 Osaka Expo in the city of Osaka in May.
A Japanese comedian walks into an Aussie bar … and stays there
Takashi “Waka” Wakasugi stopped by the Tokyo Comedy Bar in Shibuya Ward last month following his stint at Edinburgh Festival Fringe performing his show “Comedy Samurai.”
Chemistry Nobel winner Kitagawa says downtime helped him think up new material
Susumu Kitagawa speaks to reporters at Kyoto University on Wednesday after receiving the news that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry the same day.

Podcast

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

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

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