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June 08, 2025
 

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FILM FESTIVALS

"Dandelion's Odyssey" an animated film by Japanese director Momoko Seto, won the International Federation of Film Critics' award on Saturday at the 78th Cannes Film Festival.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 25, 2025
Japan's Seto wins International Critics Award at Cannes
The French-Belgian production tells the story of dandelion seeds that travel the universe after surviving a nuclear explosion.
Director Jafar Panahi, Palme d'Or award winner for the film "Un simple accident" ("It Was Just an Accident"), poses during a photocall after the closing ceremony of the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 25, 2025
Iranian filmmaker Panahi urges 'freedom' as he wins top prize at Cannes
The dissident filmmaker's "Un Simple Accident" tells the tale of five Iranians confronted with a man they believed tortured them in jail.
American actor and Cannes jury member Jeremy Strong has been turning heads on the red carpet at this year's film festival in southern France.
LIFE / Style & Design
May 25, 2025
Jeremy Strong brings male power-dressing to Cannes
A member of the film festival's jury, the "Succession" star believes at a moment when truth is under assault, film matters more than ever.
Director Koji Fukada and actor Kyoko Saito pose during a photocall for Fukada's new film, "Love on Trial," in Cannes, France.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 25, 2025
At Cannes, Fukada spotlights J-pop’s ban on idol romance
Director Koji Fukada’s new film, "Love on Trial," explores Japan’s idol industry and the contracts that ban young women from dating.
“Marion” provides a glimpse into the lives of bull dodgers, who perform a nonlethal version of bullfighting.
CULTURE / Film
May 23, 2025
Six short films that capture our world in mere minutes
The Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia proves that less time doesn't have to mean a lack of substance.
Thai film "A Useful Ghost" won top prize in the Critics' Week sidebar section of the Cannes film festival.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 22, 2025
LGBTQ Thai ghost story wins prize in Cannes
Film director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke says he hoped his LGBTQ story could touch more on politics.
Author Kazuo Ishiguro (left) and director Kei Ishikawa pose during a photocall for the film “Toi Yamanamino Hikari” ("A Pale View of Hills") at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.
CULTURE / Film
May 21, 2025
Adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's first novel premieres at Cannes
The author says that adapting the novel — which he wrote when he was 25 — was different from bringing his other books to the big screen.
The cast and crew of Indian drama film "All We Imagine As Light" pose with their award for best film at the 18th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong on March 16.
CULTURE / Film
May 21, 2025
Women fight for the spotlight in India's macho movie industry
Women filmmakers in India are reshaping cinema with authentic, female-led stories, challenging outdated stereotypes and finding box office success.
The film to beat for the Niigata International Animation Film Festival’s top prize seems to be Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s “Look Back,” one of the two Japanese features in competition.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 20, 2025
Indie films vie for views at Niigata animation festival
From Satoshi Kon tributes to indie gems, this year's Niigata International Animation Film Festival continues its dedication to feature-length animation.
Globally, women are severely underrepresented among leading roles in cinema, with female directors accounting for just over 10% of the industry in Japan. Achieving gender equality on-set would have far-reaching consequences for the whole of society.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 7, 2025
Without women behind the camera, equality stays out of the frame
Cinema isn't only about what stories are told, but who tells them. Overcoming severe underrepresentation, women are reshaping the film industry and cultural narratives.
Film festivals around the world are giving space to AI-generated cinematic experiences, with Venice and Cannes among the heavy hitters with sections dedicated to "immersive" works, including those made using virtual and augmented reality.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 23, 2024
Asia’s film industry should balance AI with human creativity
AI is revolutionizing cinema. Japan and Asia as a whole are well-positioned to harness technology to empower storytelling while retaining film's essentially human nature.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.
CULTURE / Film / 2024 in Review
Dec 20, 2024
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
International collaborations and indie risk-takers steered the film industry in a fresh direction in 2024.
Chung Suet-ying poses with the Best Leading Actress award for "The Way We Talk" at the 61st Golden Horse Awards in Taipei on Nov. 23.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Nov 26, 2024
Chinese films about COVID-19 and gay romance win big at Taiwan awards
The Golden Horse awards are the Chinese-speaking world's version of the Oscars.
Daihachi Yoshida receives the Tokyo Grand Prix award for his film, “Teki Cometh,” at the closing ceremony of the Tokyo International Film Festival on Nov. 6.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 8, 2024
Festival glory for a dark Japanese comedy
With sold-out screenings, international stars and an increase in guests, this year's Tokyo International Film Festival revived its rep as a global cinematic gathering.
An AI robot is cast into a wild environment and forced to adapt to her surroundings in “The Wild Robot.”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 8, 2024
TIFF’s animation entries rediscovered the art of the fable at this year's festival
This year’s animated lineup championed nature, connection and simplicity through stories that revel in the beauty of coexistence.
A cruel twist of fate upends the life of Jin Ai-hsia (Sylvia Chang) in "Daughter's Daughter," director Huang Xi's meditation on maternal grief.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 6, 2024
Chinese ghosts and grief compete at Tokyo International Film Festival
A slate of evocative features at Tokyo's major film event showcased established and upcoming directors from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
A woman walks past a poster with an image of Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi for the 2024 Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), which is currently underway through Nov. 6.
CULTURE
Nov 2, 2024
Spend Culture Day weekend in Ginza with TIFF and Yuko Mohri
The Tokyo International Film Festival is great chance to see noteworthy films, while the Artizon Museum presents playful art installations by Yuko Mohri.
Andrijana Cvetkovikj is the senior programmer for the Women’s Empowerment section at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival. The former ambassador also works to promote young filmmakers in Japan’s film industry.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 24, 2024
Andrijana Cvetkovikj: ‘We have to create more opportunities for women to be playing on equal ground’
The former Macedonian ambassador to Japan is also playing a part in promoting younger film directors in the country's movie industry.
Kazuya Shiraishi's "11 Rebels," a period actioner based on a long-forgotten script by Kazuo Kasahara, will open this year's Tokyo International Film Festival.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 24, 2024
Tokyo International Film Festival boasts strong line-up of Japanese fare
An excellent chance to see films from Japan, Asia and around the world, the annual event will kick off with Kazuya Shiraishi's gritty action feature "11 Rebels."
Journalist Shiori Ito's documentary "Black Box Diaries," which follows her own investigation into her sexual assault and struggle for justice, was one of 19 Japanese films that screened at the Busan International Film Festival this month.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 18, 2024
Japan-based features generate buzz at Busan International Film Festival
With 278 films on offer, Asia's largest film festival tackled heavy themes such as assisted suicide and struggles faced by migrants.
Japan eyes tougher rules for foreign residents and tax hike for tourists
A tax-free shop in Kyoto in April 2024. Last week, members of a Liberal Democratic Party study group drafted a proposal seeking to scrap the country's tax-free shopping system altogether.
From ridicule to redemption: Rice crisis returns Koizumi to the spotlight
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to the media as he inspects a warehouse storing stockpiled rice in Kanagawa Prefecture on May 30.
Hakuho’s departure highlights worrying sumo trend
Former <i>yokozuna</i> Hakuho performs a ring-entering ceremony at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.
Trump and Musk trade barbs on social media as alliance crumbles
The trouble between U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk started brewing days ago, when Musk denounced Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill.
Japan won’t wait for G7 summit for possible U.S. trade deal
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's top negotiator in tariff talks with the U.S. speaks to reporters at the Japanese Embassy in Washington on Friday.
What can Kenji Yanobe’s cosmic cats teach us about humanity?
Kenji Yanobe’s spacesuited cats are the main characters of “Ship’s Cat Island,” the inaugural exhibition at Hyper Museum Hanno in Saitama Prefecture.
From ridicule to redemption: Rice crisis returns Koizumi to the spotlight
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to the media as he inspects a warehouse storing stockpiled rice in Kanagawa Prefecture on May 30.
New Naoshima museum bets on Asia, not the West
Detail of Takashi Murakami, “Rakuchu-Rakugai-zu Byobu: Iwasa Matabei RIP” (2023-25)
Japan’s prison reform focuses on rehabilitation
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday. Suzuki said preparations for the changes that will focus more on rehabilitation are being actively made at each correctional facility.
Accidents raise concern over how Japan vets foreign drivers
Keita Ueno (right), the owner of Kiki Driving School and an instructor who supports both foreign nationals and Japanese citizens returning from abroad in getting their foreign driver’s licenses converted, is worried about the current lax system for the process.

Podcast

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

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
By Alex K.T. Martin

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