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November 28, 2024
 

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Mark Schilling
Eriko Nakamura (left) and Ryo Narita play star-crossed lovers in Shinzo Katayama’s hallucinatory romp through past and present, dreams and reality.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 28, 2024
The mind-bending melancholy of ‘Lust in the Rain’
Shinzo Katayama’s hallucinatory film boldly explores both the absurdities of wartime violence and the erotic psyche.
A failed actor (Koji Seki, left) revisits memories of his ex-wife (Kano Ichiki) after learning about her unexpected death in “Performing Kaoru's Funeral.”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 21, 2024
‘Performing Kaoru's Funeral’: Ambitious drama reflects on love that doesn’t die
Koji Seki brings gravitas to his role as a man tasked with serving as chief mourner for his dead ex-wife in Noriko Yuasa’s drama.
A socially awkward janitor (Haruka Ayase, left) hits the road to pick up a dying woman’s daughter (Kana Osawa) in “Route 29.”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 18, 2024
‘Route 29’: Misfits come together in touching road movie
Though the protagonists spend more time on their feet than in a car, Yusuke Morii’s feature about two strangers hitting the road is picaresque and borderline precious.
Daihachi Yoshida receives the Tokyo Grand Prix award for his film, “Teki Cometh,” at the closing ceremony of the Tokyo International Film Festival on Nov. 6.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 8, 2024
Festival glory for a dark Japanese comedy
With sold-out screenings, international stars and an increase in guests, this year's Tokyo International Film Festival revived its rep as a global cinematic gathering.
Sakuya Ishikawa (Sosuke Ikematsu) wakes up from a coma to find his mother gone and decides to virtually re-create her with harvested data in “The Real You.”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 7, 2024
‘The Real You’: Provocative dystopia combines sci-fi concerns with melodrama
In Yuya Ishii’s drama, a young man’s existential crisis amid the rise of artificial entities feels very much of the present moment.
Eight warriors fight to end a curse placed on a samurai clan in “Hakkenden: Fiction and Reality.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 31, 2024
‘Hakkenden’ has fun with Edo-era pulp fiction
The film presents both a bio of Takizawa Bakin, whose writing had a large impact on Japanese pop culture, and a snazzy live-action digest of his influential novel.
Kazuhiro Soda’s “The Cats of Gokogu Shrine” follows not only the felines that live on the grounds of the title shrine in Ushimado, Okayama Prefecture, but also the local community members, many of whom are of retirement age.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 25, 2024
‘The Cats of Gokogu Shrine’: Documentary paints intimate portrait of a community in decline
While stray cats that inhabit the grounds of a local shrine take center stage, the film also celebrates the aging humans doing their best to preserve their neighborhood.
Kazuya Shiraishi's "11 Rebels," a period actioner based on a long-forgotten script by Kazuo Kasahara, will open this year's Tokyo International Film Festival.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 24, 2024
Tokyo International Film Festival boasts strong line-up of Japanese fare
An excellent chance to see films from Japan, Asia and around the world, the annual event will kick off with Kazuya Shiraishi's gritty action feature "11 Rebels."
A young woman named “Chacha” (Marika Ito) defies the rules of Japanese society in the romantic drama “Cha-Cha.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2024
‘Cha-Cha’: Romantic drama doesn’t take itself too seriously
Mai Sakai’s twisty and quirky film features a protagonist who is about as untethered from conventional roles and rules as it is possible to be in Japanese society.
Two childhood friends (Hayato Kurihara, left, and Yukito Hidaka) living in a near-future Japan see a rise in student protests against oppressive surveillance in “Happyend.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 10, 2024
‘Happyend’ tests teen friendship with authoritarian dystopia
Neo Sora’s ambitious coming-of-age film follows a group of friends attempting to disrupt a surveillance society with something less than life-or-death urgency.
A talented photographer (Makoto Tanaka, left) can’t help outshining her tight-knit circle of art school friends in “See You Tomorrow.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 3, 2024
‘See You Tomorrow’: A pursuit of passion grounded in reality
Saki Michimoto's stylish and accomplished debut feature centers on a gifted photographer, her art school friends and their uncertainty about what comes next in life.
A small-time online hustler (Masaki Suda) moves to the countryside after a big score but soon finds his enemies closing in in “Cloud.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 26, 2024
‘Cloud’: Dangers of the internet deliver full-throttle action
Kiyoshi Kurosawa's masterful psychological thriller features the director's signature creepy vibe as well as blazing guns and falling bodies.
Marina Tsukada got the idea for her anthology “Mitsuki, Sekai” from her acquaintance with the two young lead actors, whom she first met at a video workshop she conducted in Nagano Prefecture.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 20, 2024
Marina Tsukada lets local lives shape her work
The director’s latest, “Mitsuki, Sekai,” is part of an ongoing project that traces the lives of Nagano Prefecture-based children for a decade until they reach adulthood.
Marina Tsukada’s “Mitsuki, Sekai” features young nonprofessional actors in the director’s native Nagano Prefecture as their characters mature from childhood to adulthood.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 19, 2024
Intimate and revelatory, ‘Mitsuki, Sekai’ explores the quiet trials of girlhood
Marina Tsukada’s anthology feature containing two unconnected short films lays bare the inner lives of young Japanese women in unexpected ways.
A young boy (Keitatsu Koshiyama, center) and his skating partner (Kiara Nakanishi, left) blossom under the dedicated guidance of their coach (Sosuke Ikematsu) in “My Sunshine.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 12, 2024
‘My Sunshine’ brings together realism and lyricism to a rare degree
Hiroshi Okuyama’s feature about teen skaters is a gentle masterwork that illustrates Japanese society’s deep conservatism with poignance and bite.
A cold and self-centered 21-year-old (Yuumi Kawai) drifts through life in Yoko Yamanaka's “Desert of Namibia.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 5, 2024
'Desert of Namibia' makes its difficult protagonist hard to hate
Yoko Yamanaka's enigmatically titled drama is true to the messy complexity of human beings and their relationships in its own quirky and sharply observant way.
Hiroshi Sunairi’s documentary “From Okinawa with Love” follows the unwavering Okinawan photographer Mao Ishikawa, who made her name documenting the relationships between Japanese bar girls and African American servicemen.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 30, 2024
‘From Okinawa with Love’: A revealing documentary about a true original
Hiroshi Sunairi takes a fly-on-the-wall approach to explore the life of Mao Ishikawa, who photographed Okinawans and the effects of the U.S. military.
A grandmother fights back when the angry ghost of a social recluse starts killing off family members in “House of Sayuri.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 29, 2024
'House of Sayuri': J-horror fights ghosts with pitch-black humor
Koji Shiraishi’s horror comedy matches the darkness of the deeds on display with a fiery grandma who takes on a wicked spirit with her tai chi skills.
A Tokyo man who scuttles around the city in a dirty cardboard box finds himself fighting off odd characters in Gakuryu Ishii’s “The Box Man.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 17, 2024
'The Box Man': Absurdist Kobo Abe adaptation speaks to the present
Director Gakuryu Ishii makes the novel’s philosophical musings and metaphorical conundrums more audience-friendly while saying something true about the modern day.
An unemployed man (Eita Okuno) whose community was decimated by the Great East Japan Earthquake grapples with rebuilding his life in “Shinpei.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 8, 2024
‘Shinpei’ takes on 3/11 disaster with a fresh angle
Tatsuro Yamashiro infuses his drama centered on a complex protagonist struggling with the Great East Japan Earthquake’s aftermath with humor and visual beauty.
Funeral held for Princess Yuriko at Tokyo cemetery
Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, followed by Princess Aiko and Princess Kako, prepare to attend a funeral service for Princess Yuriko at Toshimagaoka Cemetery in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Trump team weighs direct talks with North Korea's Kim
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea, in June 2019.
Bluesky is booming in Japan — mainly for reasons other than U.S. politics
According to Similarweb, average monthly user numbers for Bluesky on Android in Japan quintupled in the 12 months to October.
Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire, brokered by U.S. and France, takes effect
People near Martyrs Square in Beirut watch as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces a cease-fire on television on Tuesday.
Suspected arson in Sapporo leaves four injured
Firetrucks outside a building in Sapporo where an explosion left four people injured on Tuesday.
Bluesky is booming in Japan — mainly for reasons other than U.S. politics
According to Similarweb, average monthly user numbers for Bluesky on Android in Japan quintupled in the 12 months to October.
China defense minister being investigated for corruption, report says
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun attends the opening ceremony of the Xiangshan Forum at the Beijing International Convention Center on Sept. 13. Dong is the third consecutive incumbent or former defense chief to be probed over alleged corruption.
How Japan can exit the fossil fuel subsidies it can’t seem to quit
A man walks past a gasoline station in Tokyo on Thursday.
Are you leaving your loved ones digital legacies or headaches?
The National Consumer Affairs Center reports a growing number of consultations regarding "digital legacies" — data and online services left behind when people die.
Rayssa Leal and Chloe Covell on Japan’s teen skaters: We are friends, not rivals
Brazil’s Rayssa Leal celebrates after winning the women's Street League Skateboarding competition on Saturday in Tokyo.

Podcast

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

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat
By Greg Dvorak

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