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September 19, 2025
 

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JAPANESE FILM

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.
Yoshihiko Matsui’s “There Was Such a Thing Before” follows two high-school friends (Oshiro Maeda, left, and Airu Kubozuka) growing up in the aftermath of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant meltdown.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 18, 2025
‘There Was Such a Thing Before’: Fukushima grief and fury in monochrome
Eighteen years since his last feature, Yoshihiko Matsui is back with a somber Fukushima tale that demands attention, even as its drama feels stilted.
A woman walks past the poster of Lee Sang-il’s kabuki drama "Kokuho" outside a cinema in Tokyo's Roppongi district.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Sep 18, 2025
From high risk to record-breaker, ‘Kokuho’ defied expectations to become a megahit
Lee Sang-il's three-hour kabuki drama overcame doubts over subject matter to find its audience.
A statue of young swordsman Tanjiro Kamado, the main character in the "Demon Slayer" anime franchise, is on display at a cinema in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Sep 17, 2025
Japan’s box office belongs to 'Demon Slayer' as latest film ranks second all time
“Infinity Castle” entry has overtaken “Spirited Away,” making the franchise the undisputed king of Japan’s all-time box office.
A statue of young swordsman Tanjiro Kamado, the title character in the "Demon Slayer" anime franchise, is displayed at a cinema in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district on Sept. 9.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 15, 2025
Sony’s ‘Demon Slayer’ sets $70 million anime debut record
The "Infinity Castle" film brought in $70 million, topping the previous $31 million record set by "Pokemon: The First Movie — Mewtwo Strikes Back" in 1999.
Two 100-meter sprinters face the pressures of their sport, sometimes as friends, sometimes as rivals, from childhood to the pros in "100 Meters."
CULTURE / Film
Sep 11, 2025
‘100 Meters’ brings kinetic energy to rivalry drama
In his latest film, Kenji Iwaisawa turns a 10-second dash into cinema with rotoscoping and a bigger production than his indie masterpiece "On-Gaku: Our Sound."
Anton Felix Schindler (Yuki Yamada, left) sets out to rewrite the history of his late employer, Ludwig van Beethoven (Arata Furuta, right), in Kazuaki Seki’s “Faking Beethoven.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 10, 2025
'Faking Beethoven’: Comedic musical biopic forgets to have fun
Kazuaki Seki’s comedy centers on the notorious fibber who shaped a maestro’s myth.
The first installment of "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Infinity Castle" trilogy released in July, had earned ¥31.42 billion as of Sunday.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 9, 2025
Latest 'Demon Slayer' film slays at box office, earning over ¥30 billion
The latest film topped ¥10 billion in box-office revenue in the first eight days of its release and ¥22 billion in the first 25 days before hitting ¥31.42 billion as of Sunday.
A group of children try to save the world from environmental collapse, one prank at a time, in “How Dare You.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 4, 2025
‘How Dare You’ turns environmental activism into a youthful adventure
In her latest film, director Mipo Oh brings a serious edge to the lighthearted hijinks of three kids trying to save the world from environmental collapse, one prank at a time.
Suzu Hirose stars in the film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s first novel, “A Pale View of Hills.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 4, 2025
‘A Pale View of Hills’: A chilling, borderless adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s first novel
Kei Ishikawa turns the Nobel Prize-winning author’s novel into a haunting meditation on memory, loss and elusive truths.
Many schools in Japan show "Grave of the Fireflies" as educational material to tell the emotionally grueling story of a boy who has no means to prevent his sister from starving to death.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Aug 28, 2025
Can anime carry the memories of World War II?
The medium could serve as a doorway to exploring the complexities behind the war and the horrors associated with it.
A middle school student (Chiyuri Nishiguchi) tries to keep her family afloat following the sudden death of her mother in Yoshihiko Taniguchi’s “Happy Life.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 22, 2025
‘Happy Life’ brings dignity to family’s struggle with grief and poverty
Yoshihiko Taniguchi’s film balances realism and compassion in its depiction of a family adrift after a sudden death.
Artistically talented 14-year-old Sosuke (Konosuke Harada) finds himself pulled into deeper currents in his coastal town in “Seaside Serendipity.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 22, 2025
‘Seaside Serendipity’: A pastel-soaked reverie on youthful creativity
Satoko Yokohama’s film blends watercolor whimsy, bohemian houseguests and a school newspaper scoop gone too far into a youth-skewed summer tale.
A Japanese soldier (Eiji Funakoshi) with tuberculosis struggles to survive in the Filipino countryside during World War II in “Fires on the Plain.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 20, 2025
‘Fires on the Plain’: Haunting imagery in restored 1959 war film stands the test of time
Now restored in 4K, Kon Ichikawa’s film is a far from simple survival story that stares into humanity’s darkest corners.
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."
Sho Miyake receives the Pardo d'Oro, or Golden Leopard, prize at the award ceremony of the 78th Locarno Film Festival held in Locarno, southern Switzerland, on Saturday.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 17, 2025
Sho Miyake's 'Tabi to Hibi' wins top prize at Locarno Film Festival
This is the first Japanese movie to receive the award since 2007, when "Ai no Yokan" ("The Rebirth"), directed by Masahito Kobayashi, was given the prize.
Modeled on a real-life World World II figure, Yutaka Takenouchi plays the captain of a “lucky” Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer in “Yukikaze.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 14, 2025
‘Yukikaze’ turns fabled warship into floating snoozefest
The story of a “lucky” Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer that survived World War II is given a lightly fictionalized treatment in Toshihisa Yamada's first feature.
“ChaO” is a romantic comedy centered on a mild-mannered human and a mermaid princess. A spin on Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” the animated film takes place in a near-future Shanghai.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 8, 2025
Futuristic mermaid tale ‘ChaO’ makes a splash
Yasuhiro Aoki’s feature film debut reimagines “The Little Mermaid” in vibrant detail.
Sony’s music unit has grown to be a reliable pillar of the group, bringing in a steady flow of revenue as opposed to the company’s more prominent consumer electronics, PlayStation and image sensors.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 7, 2025
Sony lifts outlook on entertainment demand despite tariff threat
The company now expects its operating profit for the year ending March to reach a total of ¥1.33 trillion, compared with a previous forecast of ¥1.28 trillion.
Three teenage student nurses (from left: Karin Ono, Asuka Kawatoko and Hinako Kikuchi) face the aftermath of the atomic bombing of their hometown in “Nagasaki: In the Shadow of the Flash.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 7, 2025
‘Nagasaki: In the Shadow of the Flash’ honors young nurses thrust into hellish nightmare
Searing and based on true accounts, Jumpei Matsumoto’s drama follows teenage girls turned wartime caregivers as they navigate the unthinkable.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japan dispatches five language education 'partners' to India
Five members of the Japan Foundation's Nihongo Partners program (front) gather at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Monday.
End of U.S. de minimis exemption causes headaches for some businesses in Japan
Proxy-shopping services — companies that ship Japanese products ranging from cosmetics and snacks to limited-edition stationery on behalf of customers abroad — are already feeling the impact of the U.S. suspending de minimis exemptions.
Over 90% of low-income families in Japan struggling to feed children
Save the Children Japan domestic program chief Sonoko Kawakami speaks at a news conference in Tokyo in July. A survey conducted by the group in June has found that over 90% of low-income households with children face food insecurity.
Struggling train firm in Chiba Prefecture turns to self-deprecating humor
"Laughter is important when you're in a difficult situation," said Katsunori Takemoto, president of Choshi Electric Railway, on Aug. 5 in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture.
Japan’s front-line researchers see bright path ahead for dementia treatment
A scientist looks at scans of grains at the Memory Centre at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital (HUG) in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 6, 2023.
Still plenty to fight for, says Japan’s team leader at worlds
Race walker Hayato Katsuki earned bronze for Japan on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships on Saturday.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japanese athletes inspired by raucous home fans at World Athletics Championships
Fans cheer on the home favorites during the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.

Podcast

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

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’
By Alex K.T. Martin

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