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July 06, 2025
 

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DRAMA

Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 26, 2021
‘The Women’: A harrowing journey with a tidy end
Yukiko Shinohara's vulnerable character is put through the wringer, dealing with one disaster after another. But all is not lost in Nobuteru Uchida's latest drama.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 20, 2021
'A Madder Red': Yuya Ishii's pandemic drama is scattershot but soulful
Social realism rubs up against melodrama in the film 'A Madder Red,' which focuses on a single mother dealing with economic challenges during the pandemic.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 25, 2020
Clive Davies: A peek behind the scenes of saigen dramas
Tokyo-based actor and writer Clive Davies on what, exactly, a saigen reenactment drama is, the hardest thing he's ever done for a shoot and his film reviews — all 7,000-plus of them.
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
Oct 24, 2018
Junji Sakamoto points his camera at small-town Japan in 'Another World'
Born in Osaka in 1958, Junji Sakamoto belongs to a generation of Japanese directors who carved out independent paths in the industry, outside the then-defunct studio system. His feature debut, the 1989 boxing film "Knockout," won a shelf of domestic prizes, including the Blue Ribbon Award for best film....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2018
'Passage of Life': A family drama that treats refugees with respect
Hollywood films about the immigrant experience are common enough (see "The Godfather" and other classic gangster movies for examples), while Japanese films on the same topic are rare, save for those about Zainichi (ethnic Koreans) in Japan. (Among the best is Zainichi director Yoichi Sai's "Blood and...
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...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 26, 2018
'My Dad is a Heel Wrestler': A body-slamming celebration of a spandex brotherhood
Movies about pro-wrestling seldom star actual pro wrestlers. Instead we get Mickey Rourke ("The Wrestler") or Ryuta Sato ("Gachi Boy: Wrestling with a Memory"). But the ascent to Hollywood stardom of Dwayne Johnson, who wrestled professionally as "The Rock," has inspired New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Japan's...
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
CULTURE / Film
Jun 27, 2018
'The Name': Ren Komai's performance raises a multilayered drama
What's in a name? On one level, it's how you identify yourself to yourself (as in dorky name, dorky self-image). On another, it's your social calling card, your link to family, going back generations (or not, if an ancestor decided to exchange one name for another).
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
CULTURE / Film
Jun 13, 2018
'Shoplifters': Kore-eda's Palme d'Or winner is an eloquent look at the human condition
When a Japanese director wins the Palme d'Or — the highest award at the Cannes Film Festival, the film world's equivalent of soccer's World Cup — the response of the local media is to celebrate: Our side won.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 28, 2018
'Eriko, Pretended': Fake tears fuel a tale of self-discovery
People who secretly fear they are phonies when in actuality they aren't are said to suffer from "imposter syndrome." The title heroine of Akiyo Fujimura's debut feature "Eriko, Pretended" has the opposite problem: She calls herself an actress but in 10 years has only landed one paying gig in her chosen...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
May 14, 2017
Weekend drama can be great for the kids
My two daughters rub the backs of their ears to retrieve some magic dust, which they then use to summon a pile of pizza and ice cream, before tucking into the newly created feast with arm-waving gusto.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 23, 2017
Samurai drama to put unique spin on evolution of theater
Japanese audiences will soon join those in Holland as the only people in the world with access to a theater whose seating area rotates to face a ring of multiple stages.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 30, 2016
British envoy, Japan Times turn tide in NHK history drama
Japanese love watching historical dramas, and one of the most popular times portrayed is the final years of the Edo Period (1603-1868), when the nation went through dramatic change politically, diplomatically and socially with the fall of the shogunate.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Oct 22, 2015
Fuji TV announces Japan-first lesbian drama, but attracts criticism for 'outdated' portrayal
Fuji Television has announced a drama series featuring a lesbian love story as its central theme — a first for Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 25, 2015
Julianne Moore takes on a role that her peers would avoid in 'Still Alice'
Julianne Moore says she was surprised to learn that people in some parts of the world have mistaken "Still Alice," her film about Alzheimer's disease, as "science fiction" and even "horror-comedy."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 25, 2015
Julianne Moore shines as Alzheimer's patient in 'Still Alice'
Flashback to 1995 when a new actress named Julianne Moore was beginning to get noticed for her work in the Todd Haynes film "Safe," where she played an affluent Southern California suburbanite who becomes afflicted with a mysterious environmental illness. Some 20 years and four Oscar nominations later,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 2, 2015
Dramatist brings citizens of all ages together
Public theaters across the country are holding significantly more community productions and workshops aimed at local residents who are looking to get involved in performance art.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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