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July 05, 2025
 

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TAKESHI KITANO

In addition to directing “Kubi,” Takeshi Kitano (second from left) plays Oda Nobunaga’s successor, Hashiba (later Toyotomi) Hideyoshi, in the blood-soaked period film.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 23, 2023
Takeshi Kitano still has a head for provocation
The “Kubi” director doesn’t shy away from causing a commotion, whether it’s in public or in his latest film about a pivotal moment in Japan’s history.
Ryo Kase (top center) gives an audacious performance as warlord Oda Nobunaga in “Kubi.”
CULTURE
Nov 23, 2023
Takeshi Kitano’s ‘Kubi’ cuts great men of history down to size
The blood-drenched period epic offers a queer retelling of the 1582 Honnoji Incident with a ruthless and sadistic Oda Nobunaga at its center.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 19, 2023
Takeshi Kitano returns to Cannes with an 'indifferent' outlook
The director's first feature-length film in six years will premiere at the festival, but Kitano says he does things his own way, regardless of success.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Apr 14, 2023
Cannes lineup features films by Hirokazu Kore-eda and Takeshi Kitano
Hirokazu Kore-eda's 'Monster' is a nominee for the top prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival, while Takeshi Kitano's 'Kubi' will be screened under the Cannes Premiere category.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 28, 2020
Composer Joe Hisaishi opens up to streaming
Film composer Joe Hisaishi says he is writing more as a result of COVID-19, but is determined not to write about the pandemic itself.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Aug 8, 2019
Marking 30 years since Takeshi Kitano's debut feature, 'Violent Cop'
On Aug. 12, 1989, "Beat" Takeshi Kitano's debut as a director, "Violent Cop," was released in Japan. Kitano was already famous here as a TV comic and emcee, and was known abroad for his role as a brutal POW camp guard in Nagisa Oshima's 1983 World War II drama "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence."
CULTURE / Film / Heisei Icons,Heisei Icons
Mar 1, 2019
Takeshi Kitano: From manzai comic to giant of Japanese film
Many Japanese filmmakers try to promote their films and talents abroad but stumble more than they succeed: Either Cannes rejects their latest masterpiece or Hollywood turns down their J-horror script.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 2, 2018
Is the feudal era over for Japan's talent agencies?
Japanese show business definitely has a feudal side. Talent agencies control their tarento (talent) much in the way the daimyō (feudal lords) controlled the samurai in their clans, supporting their livelihoods in return for absolute fealty. And just as samurai were expected to stay with one clan their...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 31, 2018
Takeshi Kitano to abandon his 'army' of talent
There's a tired adage that goes, "Behind every great man is a great woman." In Japan, you could amend it to: "Behind every great older man is a great woman making sure he stays relevant, especially if he's in show business." The tabloid press have had a grand time exploring how the late beloved movie...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 18, 2017
'Outrage Coda': Takeshi Kitano's kill count climbs high for trilogy's finale
In his nearly three decades as a director, "Beat" Takeshi Kitano has won many critical plaudits and prizes abroad. But in Japan he is best known as a TV personality and comedian. These two strands of his artistic personality — master director and mass entertainer — have come together in his "Outrage"...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 11, 2016
Japan's empty-home epidemic; 'Beat' Takeshi makes sense of art; CM of the week: Kirin Beverage
The problem of akiya (empty homes) has become more prominent in recent years as the population continues to dwindle. A 2013 survey found there were around 8.2 million vacant residences, detached houses and apartments in Japan, and many are worth next to nothing.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 24, 2016
Takeshi Kitano and the men who watch women sleeping
An older man, a much younger woman and a mystery that surrounds their relationship — for the Japanese, it's a familiar story. The woman doesn't say much, letting her youthful allure and beauty do most of the talking. The man doesn't say much either; he's more interested in looking at and pampering...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 24, 2016
Languorous women and amorous men in Wayne Wang's first Japanese film
An extended stay at a resort hotel, seaside villa or a similar escape hatch is only a dream for most of Japan's working adults. But local filmmakers — who are in the dream business — have made enough ensemble dramas about romantic/erotic entanglements in such places to launch a small subgenre. Wayne...
CULTURE
Nov 21, 2015
Yukio Mishima's enduring, unexpected influence
Forty-five years ago this week — at just after 10 a.m. on the bright, cold morning of Nov. 25, 1970 — a telephone rang at the Tokyo home of popular enka singer Hideo Murata. On the line was author Yukio Mishima, a man who in the short space of his 45 years had lived life more fully than perhaps seemed...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 29, 2015
Takeshi Kitano's gang of nursing-home yakuza
Takeshi Kitano has had some of his biggest critical and commercial successes with gangster films, beginning with his 1993 international breakthrough "Sonatine" and continuing through to his 2012 hit "Outrage Beyond" ("Beyond Outrage"), which screened in competition at the 2012 Venice Film Festival.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 25, 2015
Japan's Academy Prizes — the fix is in?
Comedian, actor and director Takeshi Kitano had some scathing things to say about the Japanese film industry at last year's Tokyo International Film Festival, where he was given a career achievement award. One target he singled out was the Japan Academy Prizes — the local equivalent of the Oscars —...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 3, 2014
Looking Japan's film-industry myths in the eye
Who doesn't love a listicle titled "(X) surprising things you never knew about (Y)"? What surprises me about a lot of commentary on the Japanese film industry — from insiders and outsiders alike — is how it substitutes judgment calls (usually of the "Japanese films are crap" variety) for out-in-plain-sight...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 29, 2014
Takeshi Kitano blasts domestic film industry
Rather than seeking bloody vengeance, Takeshi Kitano, director of yakuza films "Violent Cop," "Outrage" and "Beyond Outrage," expressed his frustrations with the domestic film industry with pointed comments at a recent talk event in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 3, 2014
A quarter century of Japanese films in review
In 25 years of reviewing Japanese films and interviewing Japanese filmmakers for this newspaper, I've written 1 million words, give or take a few. This is clearly something no normal person would do, but for me it beats working.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 7, 2013
'The 15th Entertainment Art Exhibition'
The first "Entertainment Art Exhibition" began as a charity project in 1999, and it has held exhibitions in museums and cultural centers around Japan ever since. For its 15th year, the exhibition aims to help support areas recovering from the Great East Japan Earthquake by displaying works based on "Human...
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. 
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Japan to require flight passengers to keep power banks within sight
The transport ministry has announced new regulations requiring flight passengers to keep power banks within sight to mitigate fire risks while on board planes.
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."
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.
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.

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One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Muji has been sustainable from the beginning
Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

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