Tag - film

 
 

FILM

Masanori Murakami became the first MLB player from Japan when he made his debut with the Giants on Sept 1, 1964.
BASEBALL
Oct 16, 2025
New film explores how Japan and the U.S. found common ground through baseball
Baseball has been a shared love between Japan and the United States for over 150 years — a sport that has connected the nations despite disagreements large and small.
Actress Diane Keaton speaks during the handprints and footprints ceremony to celebrate "Mack & Rita" at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, in August 2022. Keaton, known for her Oscar-winning performance in 1977's "Annie Hall" and her role in "The Godfather" films, has died at age 79.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 12, 2025
Oscar-winning actress Diane Keaton dead at 79
Keaton was a frequent collaborator of director Woody Allen, portraying the titular character in "Annie Hall," the charming girlfriend of Allen's comic Alvy Singer.
Colorful displays promote the Japanese film "Demon Slayer" at a cinema in the Ikebukuro earlier this month.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2025
Japan government to support domestic digital content overseas
The package includes multi-year support for the digital content industry's overseas expansion.
Channing Tatum, one of the English-language voice actors, and others attend the premiere of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle” at the TCL Chinese 6 Theater in Los Angeles on Sept. 9. Japanese anime has surged from niche fandom to global box-office powerhouse with the latest “Demon Slayer” installment.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 19, 2025
Anime’s ‘Demon Slayer’ hit is a watershed for Japan
Its animation finally has a global box-office smash. Now the country must capitalize on it.
The government is considering raising the upper limit on the industry ministry's subsidies for video productions costing ¥300 million or more from the current ¥200 million.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2025
Japan to boost support for its anime and film industry
The government is aiming to triple overseas revenue from Japanese content to ¥20 trillion in 2033.
Robert Redford attends the Toronto International Film Festival in 2018. The famed U.S. actor and director died at his home in Utah at the age of 89.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Sep 16, 2025
Robert Redford, screen idol turned director and activist, dies at 89
Known for roles in "The Sting" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," the actor also founded the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.
A scene from "Kokuho"
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Aug 19, 2025
'Kokuho' rakes in over ¥10 billion at the box office
"Kokuho" is now the third-highest-grossing Japanese live-action movie ever after the 2003 film "Bayside Shakedown 2" and the 1983 movie "Antarctica."
Currently, operators of theaters and music halls can get a one-third reduction in the fixed property and city planning taxes if they carry out barrier-free renovations that meet government standards.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2025
Japan eyes tax relief for barrier-free movie theaters
The initiative aims to help people enjoy cultural and artistic activities regardless of their disability.
Filmmakers interview the general manager of a Bald Men's club for an upcoming Flix Oven documentary that will be available via the streaming platform Samansa.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Aug 14, 2025
Samansa bets on commuter cinema
As attention spans get shorter, a Japanese startup is banking on short films as easily digestible entertainment.
A scene from the Taiwanese television drama "Zero Day Attack," which will stream in Japan from Friday.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 12, 2025
Taiwanese drama 'Zero Day Attack' on Chinese invasion to stream in Japan
The cast includes Japanese actors Issei Takahashi, who appears in the third episode, and Asami Mizukawa, who makes an appearance in the fifth episode.
Residential buildings in Cairo. The Japan Foundation will begin distributing Japanese movies online for free in all 54 countries in Africa on Tuesday, with many users in north African countries such as Egypt.
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2025
Japan Foundation to distribute Japanese movies in Africa
The move comes ahead of the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD 9, to be held in the city of Yokohama Aug. 20-22.
Vast improvements in AI-generated video is shaking the foundations of the creative industry.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 8, 2025
AI video becomes more convincing, rattling creative industry
To measure the progress of AI video, you need only look at Will Smith eating spaghetti.
Mika Sasaki (center) checks a scene of her film "Bougainvillea no Yume" ("Bougainvillea Dream") while shooting it in Kolkata, India, in February.
JAPAN
May 27, 2025
Japanese student in India reflects on her grandfather while filming World War II movie
The filmmaker's late grandfather is believed to have survived one of the fiercest battles during the war in India, though he never spoke of it.
Mixue, a Chinese bubble tea chain, has become the world’s largest food and beverage chain, with tens of thousands of stores all over Asia. The company is just one example of the increasing reach and popularity of Chinese cultural exports across the globe.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 23, 2025
How China’s soft power is rewriting Asian culture
Chinese cultural exports are becoming increasingly popular across the world and especially Asia. Do they promote cross-border understanding or are they tools for propaganda?
Lewis Hamilton waves to fans before the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, on May 18.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
May 23, 2025
Lewis Hamilton has more movies in mind after working with Brad Pitt
Hamilton is also planning to do documentaries and possibly a television series with his Dawn Apollo production company.
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.
''A Minecraft Movie'' star Jack Black attends the films world premiere in London on March 30. Video-game adaptations like the movie are overtaking superhero films at the box office.
COMMENTARY / World
May 20, 2025
Success of ‘Minecraft’ shows the future of movies is games
The big-screen feature from Warner Bros. Discovery, "A Minecraft Movie," has outearned every other U.S. movie so far in 2025.
Yi Liu (right), one of 10 directors involved in Taiwanese television series "Zero Day," works on post-production with colorist Liang Yu Fang in Taipei on March 5.
CULTURE / Film
May 13, 2025
Taiwanese war drama 'wake-up call' to Chinese invasion threat
The on-screen chaos of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is the basis of a new Taiwanese television series called "Zero Day."
Two teenagers stand in front of a poster for "Jumbo" at a cinema in Bekasi, West Java.
CULTURE / Film
May 8, 2025
'Jumbo': the animated Indonesian film smashing records
A hit at home, Indonesian cinema watchers are hoping the family-friendly movie will appeal to neighboring countries and markets farther abroad.
The Hollywood sign is framed by palm trees as Donald Trump unveils a 100% tariff on films made outside of the U.S., in Los Angeles, California, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 6, 2025
Trump tariff order on movies leaves film industry flummoxed
Tariffs on movies might prove more difficult to implement than even the highly integrated North American automobile industry.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building