Film / Reviews Oct 16, 2019
'The Promised Land': Zeze's latest is far from heaven-sent
by Mark Schilling
Takahisa Zeze unveils his latest feature, an ambitious film based on two short stories by best-selling author Shuichi Yoshida
Basketball Apr 2, 2019
Performance staff plays big role for Japan hoopsters
by Kaz Nagatsuka
Right after the final buzzer, the TV camera momentarily caught head coach Julio Lamas giving a strong hug to athletic trainer Takeo Ichiyanagi after they helped accomplish a big feat in the Middle East in late February. Koichi Sato, the sports performance director for the ...
Film May 4, 2016
'Six Four': Japan held hostage by the Showa Era
by Kaori Shoji
'Don't you understand what is to have a child taken from you? How could you be a policeman and not understand that?" That's a line from "Rokuyon" ("Six Four") the latest addition to Japan's host of films about kidnapping. "Six Four" is distinctive in the ...
Film | Wide Angle Sep 30, 2015
Tokyo International Film Festival showcases classic anime, J-horror and yakuza films
by Kaori Shoji
The Tokyo International Film Festival, Japan's biggest film fest and a showcase for foreign movies that otherwise might never see the light of day here, will run from Oct. 22 to 31 this year. Opening the festival is Robert Zemekis' "The Walk," and the ...
TV | CHANNEL SURF Mar 14, 2014
A single mother's 'big family'; profile of Toyota's founder; CM of the week: Hyoketsu Strong
Each of the major networks have at least one "big family" they follow in fly-on-the-wall fashion over a period of years to yield two specials per annum. With their reality-show veneer of the joys and sorrows of raising a lot of kids, these shows ...