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July 07, 2025
 

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JAPANESE FILM

Ubu (Saki Miyashita) is a bounty hunter who takes down cyborg criminals in "Virgin Punk: Clockwork Girl."
CULTURE / Film
Jul 4, 2025
‘Virgin Punk: Clockwork Girl’: Beautiful, brutal and bringing back ’90s anime energy
The first chapter of Yasuomi Umetsu's new "Virgin Punk" project delivers old-school action and animation in a cyberpunk future.
Satoshi Kirishima (Katsuya Maiguma) goes into hiding after becoming a wanted man for his alleged involvement in bomb attacks in “I Am Kirishima.”
CULTURE / Film
Jul 3, 2025
‘I Am Kirishima’ peels back the mystery of a fugitive radical
Banmei Takahashi's drama gives shape to a man whose face appeared on wanted posters in police stations across Japan — and who stayed hidden for decades.
In adapting Masataka Matsuda’s 1998 play “On Summer Sand” to film, director Shinya Tamada decided to age up the central character, played by Joe Odagiri (left), by 10 years to bring out a deeper sense of despondency and grief.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 1, 2025
From stage to screen, a story of quiet connection in the still heat of Nagasaki
Director Shinya Tamada adapts "On Summer Sand" for film by filling the silences between scenes with heartbreak and slow healing.
An 11-year-old girl (Yui Suzuki) finds glimpses of hope while coping with her father’s terminal illness in “Renoir.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 26, 2025
‘Renoir’: An impressionistic portrait of grief and girlhood
Chie Hayakawa’s latest feature about a young girl facing losing a parent to cancer is a shining, soulful study of quiet mourning.
Elementary school teacher Seiichi Yabushita (Go Ayano) is taken to court for allegedly driving one of his students to attempt suicide in Takashi Miike’s “Sham.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 25, 2025
‘Sham’ flirts with ambiguity, then picks a side
Takashi Miike’s legal drama draws from a real-life incident and makes a clear but frustratingly simplified case.
Gentleman thief Lupin (Kanichi Kurita) and crew head to an uncharted island in the Bermuda Triangle and find themselves up against vaguely human monsters inspired by "The Island of Doctor Moreau” in “Lupin the IIIrd The Movie The Immortal Bloodline.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 19, 2025
‘Lupin the IIIrd The Movie The Immortal Bloodline’ goes big on action, light on plot
Takeshi Koike’s latest “Lupin” film needs more than poison gas, bullets and nudity — its characters need something to do.
A Disaster Medical Assistance Team commander (Shun Oguri, right) and a health ministry official (Tori Matsuzaka) work together to respond to Japan’s first brush with COVID-19 in “Frontline — Yokohama Bay.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 19, 2025
‘Frontline — Yokohama Bay’ revisits nation’s first pandemic struggles
Part docudrama, part recognition of unsung crisis responders, “Frontline — Yokohama Bay” looks back at the ship that warned a nation: COVID-19 is here.
A pirated DVD of the 1954 film "Godzilla", colorized and illegally sold without permission, on Tuesday in the city of Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 19, 2025
Osaka man arrested for selling colorized 'Godzilla' film from 1954
Ippei Miyamoto, a part-time worker in the Osaka city of Toyonaka, has admitted to the allegation.
Yasuhiro Aoki's "ChaO" won the Jury Award in the feature films category at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on Saturday.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 15, 2025
Japanese director Yasuhiro Aoki wins French animation award for 'ChaO'
"ChaO" tells the story of a romance between an office worker and a mermaid princess in a future society where humans and mermaids coexist.
“Junk World” is Takahide Hori’s second entry in his stop-motion “Junk” series, which is populated by cyborgs, monsters and artificial lifeforms called “Mulligans.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 13, 2025
Stop-motion sci-fi saga ‘Junk World’ expands its bizarre universe
The monsters are cute, the war is weird and interior designer turned director Takahide Hori’s creativity stretches far beyond his budget.
Politics find a way into the bedroom as a stay-at-home wife (Ami Chong, left) clandestinely tends to a series of johns (including Kenji Iwaya, right) in “A Unique Country in Asia.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 12, 2025
‘A Unique Country in Asia’: Sex and politics make for strange bedfellows
With sex work and small talk, Kenji Yamauchi’s politically sharp film paints a complex portrait of modern Japan.
In “Dollhouse,” a grieving mother (Masami Nagasawa) finds comfort in an old doll that resembles her deceased child, until the toy starts wreaking havoc on her family.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 12, 2025
Parental grief and spiritual terror collide in ‘Dollhouse’
Previously known for feel-good comedies, Shinobu Yaguchi turns to delivering creeping unease in his mysterious film.
Activists, filmmakers and survivors attend a symposium in Tokyo marking 60 years since the discovery of Niigata Minamata disease.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 11, 2025
Film symposium marks 60 years since Niigata Minamata disease outbreak
The disease caused by mercury poisoning was documented in such films as “Fighting Pollution” and “Minamata Mandala.”
Vice president of events and exhibitions for Studio Ghibli, Kenichi Yoda (right), and director and Ghibli Park creative development manager, Goro Miyazaki (left), pose at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival before receiving an Honorary Palme d'Or.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2025
Studio Ghibli marks 40 years, but future looks uncertain
A look into the legacy of the beloved anime studio.
A Tokyo bride (Mai Fukagawa, centers) finds that marrying the heir to a traditional folding-fan shop and navigating the subtleties of Kyoto’s social etiquette isn’t as easy as she expected.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2025
‘Strangers in Kyoto’: Tea, tradition and passive-aggressive politeness
Masanori Tominaga’s comedy of manners — and missteps — centers on a newcomer from Tokyo who tests the limits of the city's social etiquette.
Lee Sang-il’s “Kokuho,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year, follows the life of an "onnagata," a male kabuki actor who plays female roles, from his childhood as the son of a yakuza boss in 1960s Nagasaki to his official designation as a living national treasure.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2025
'Kokuho' illuminates the high price of becoming a national treasure
Director Lee Sang-il turns a long-held vision into reality with his sumptuously shot film that reveals the dedication, sacrifice — and loneliness — behind kabuki greatness.
Artists offer their own interpretations of Japan's most famous monster at "Godzilla The Art Exhibition."
CULTURE / Art
May 31, 2025
'Godzilla The Art Exhibition' reimagines film icon as monstrous muse for modern art
The Mori Arts Center Gallery exhibition takes Japan's most famous monster beyond the world of filmmaking and asks nine artists to interpret the beast from their own point of view.
Anime director Shunsuke Nakashige accepts the anime of the year award for “Solo Leveling” at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
CULTURE / Film
May 30, 2025
Anime's big night out is getting bigger — and more surreal
The soft-power spectacle at Crunchyroll's awards ceremony in Tokyo underscores anime's expanding global influence.
Five high school classmates bond and grow over the course of their sophomore to senior years in “I Have a S/e/c/r/e/t.”
CULTURE / Film
May 29, 2025
‘I Have a S/e/c/r/e/t’ gives teen angst a whimsical twist
Shun Nakagawa’s emotionally resonant ensemble drama reveals deep truths about the inner lives of adolescents.
"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.
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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