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January 23, 2025
 

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James Hadfield
Strange things are afoot in Ryota Kondo¡¯s ¡°Missing Child Videotape¡± as Keita (Rairu Sugita) investigates the 13-year-old disappearance of his younger brother.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2025
¡®Missing Child Videotape¡¯: Subtle chiller may leave J-horror fans underwhelmed
Ryota Kondo¡¯s eerie ghost story debut goes for ambient dread rather than jump scares.
¡°The Elephant Man¡± and ¡°Twin Peaks¡± director David Lynch became a favorite among 911±¬ÁÏÍø moviegoers who flocked to new arthouse cinemas (known as ¡°mini theaters¡±) popping up around the country in the 1980s and ¡¯90s.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jan 23, 2025
How 'Twin Peaks' turned David Lynch into 911±¬ÁÏÍø favorite weirdo
The director¡¯s work thrived in the early days of arthouse ¡°mini theaters,¡± and cherry pies and canned coffee fueled the nation's "Twin Peaks" mania.
From the mid-2000s onward, Ryuichi Sakamoto created a number of installation works, often in collaboration with Shiro Takatani, of multimedia art collective Dumb Type.
CULTURE / Art
Jan 17, 2025
A slow dive into ¡®a moment and an eternity¡¯ with Ryuichi Sakamoto
New exhibition ¡°Seeing Sound, Hearing Time¡± is the first comprehensive overview of the musician¡¯s installation work presented in Japan.
A masterless samurai in 15th-century Japan (Yo Oizumi) leads a popular uprising against the authorities in ¡°Muromachi Outsiders.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Jan 16, 2025
¡®Muromachi Outsiders¡¯: Yo Oizumi commands attention in rebellion tale
The actor convincingly breaks the mold of his comedy persona to inhabit the role of a sword-wielding folk hero in Yu Irie¡¯s period epic.
The film version of ¡°The Solitary Gourmet¡± is a directorial debut for Yutaka Matsushige, long known for his leading role as salaryman and gourmand Goro Inogashira.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 9, 2025
¡®The Solitary Gourmet¡¯: Palatable movie adaptation may leave you wanting more
Lead actor Yutaka Matsushige¡¯s film directing debut offers ambient pleasure for fans of the long-running TV series.
Kenichi Takito (left) and Non play literary nemeses working in close quarters in Yukihiko Tsutsumi¡¯s lukewarm comedy, ¡°The Hotel of My Dream.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2024
¡®The Hotel of My Dream¡¯: A literary comedy that never really gels
Yukihiko Tsutsumi¡¯s adaptation of Asako Yuzuki¡¯s novel promises a festive treat, but casting and cadence prevent it from realizing its full potential.
AE3803 (Mei Nagano, left) and U-1146 (Takeru Satoh) are the red and white blood cell protagonists of ¡°Cells at Work!,¡± Hideki Takeuchi¡¯s quirky film about the human body.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 12, 2024
¡®Cells at Work!¡¯: Cellular shenanigans make for a fantastic voyage
Spirited performances by Mei Nagano and Takeru Satoh bolster Hideki Takeuchi¡¯s quirky and stylish film.
Ema Ryan Yamazaki¡¯s ¡°The Making of a 911±¬ÁÏÍø¡± is an even-handed portrait of elementary school in Japan, where the citizens of tomorrow are forged.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 5, 2024
¡®The Making of a 911±¬ÁÏÍø¡¯: A warm and engaging portrait of 911±¬ÁÏÍø schoolchildren
Ema Ryan Yamazaki¡¯s documentary is a candid and heartfelt glimpse of elementary school in Tokyo.
Keiichi Kaburagi (Ryusei Yokohama) goes on the run after being sentenced to death for a triple murder he insists he didn¡¯t commit in Michihito Fujii¡¯s ¡°Faceless.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Nov 28, 2024
¡®Faceless¡¯: Fugitive thriller turns a blind eye to hard truths
Michihiro Fujii¡¯s latest offers stylistic flourishes while treading the familiar terrain of the fugitive film.
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda¡¯s surprise hit ¡°A Samurai in Time.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Nov 21, 2024
The slow-burn success of ¡®A Samurai in Time¡¯
Junichi Yasuda¡¯s film about a time-traveling warrior is a loving tribute to the ¡°jidaigeki¡± (period drama) genre and its practitioners.
A strait-laced tax officer (Seiyo Uchino) teams up with a gang of con artists to take down a crooked property developer in ¡°Angry Squad: Civil Servant and Seven Swindlers.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Nov 21, 2024
¡®Angry Squad¡¯: A caper comedy with a lot of heart
The film¡¯s two-hour running time breezes by as a strait-laced tax officer joins a colorful crew of con artists.
Childhood friends Hiroto (Hiroya Shimizu, right) and Kanamori (Mahiro Takasugi, left) find their gangland loyalties put to the test in Takuro Iwaya¡¯s ¡°Oasis.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Nov 14, 2024
¡®Oasis¡¯: Real-life bromance elevates a generic crime drama
Co-stars Hiroya Shimizu and Mahiro Takasugi¡¯s convincing chemistry as childhood friends carries Takuro Iwaya¡¯s pulpy B-movie.
An idealistic samurai (Taiga Nakano) leads a motley gang of felons on a suicide mission to defend a fortress during the 1868-69 Boshin War.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 31, 2024
¡®11 Rebels¡¯: Underdog antiheroes deliver a crowd pleaser
A knotty period in 911±¬ÁÏÍø history gets a modern treatment in Kazuya Shiraishi¡¯s spectacle-driven samurai period drama.
A gravely ill man (Arata Iura) starts to question if it¡¯s worth sacrificing the life of his clone in order to save his own in Sayaka Kai¡¯s ¡°Adabana.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2024
¡®Adabana¡¯: Existential sci-fi will have you seeing double
Sayaka Kai¡¯s drama set in a world where a privileged elite extend their lives by keeping clones in reserve is imbued with literal and figurative darkness.
¡°The Cats of Gokogu Shrine¡± centers on a local shrine in Ushimado¡¯s Honmachi district, which has become home to a colony of street cats.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 12, 2024
Kazuhiro Soda embraces the wisdom of street cats
The filmmaker turns his camera closer to home in his new documentary, ¡°The Cats of Gokogu Shrine,¡± and brings a community into focus.
Ayato (Hayato Isomura) and his younger brother do their best to navigate difficult life circumstances in ¡°The Young Strangers.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Oct 10, 2024
¡®The Young Strangers¡¯: A tough watch but thrillingly alive
Takuya Uchiyama¡¯s drama about two brothers trying to make it from one day to the next is audacious and emotionally wrenching.
¡°Super Happy Forever¡± tells the story of a couple (Hiroki Sano, left, and Nairu Yamamoto) who met at a seaside hotel.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 3, 2024
¡®Super Happy Forever¡¯: Melancholy romance makes most of fleeting happiness
Kohei Igarashi¡¯s nonlinear romantic drama is an understated but emotionally resonant tale of love and loss.
A husband and wife living in domestic bliss ¡ª in space ¡ª are not quite as perfect as they seem in ¡°Previously Saved Version.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Sep 26, 2024
¡®Previously Saved Version¡¯: An intriguing premise gets lost in space
Kei Ishikawa¡¯s psychodrama about an affluent couple that has left a supposedly uninhabitable Earth is attractive to look at but never more than mildly engaging.
Comedian Yuriyan Retriever takes on the role of Japan¡¯s most hated heel, Kaoru ¡°Dump¡± Matsumoto, in ¡°The Queen of Villains.¡±
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Sep 20, 2024
Yuriyan Retriever is 911±¬ÁÏÍø biggest heel ¡ª and proud of it
The comedian takes on the role of Kaoru ¡°Dump¡± Matsumoto, a real-life rule-breaking brawler in women¡¯s professional wrestling, in Netflix's ¡°The Queen of Villains.¡±
Ryo Yoshizawa plays a young man with deaf parents in Mipo O¡¯s decade-spanning drama, ¡°Living in Two Worlds.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Sep 19, 2024
¡®Living in Two Worlds¡¯ raises the bar for depictions of deafness
Mipo O¡¯s film about a child of deaf adults is best when it doesn¡¯t try to educate viewers.
U.S. Osprey accidentally drops cargo into sea in Okinawa
A V-22 Osprey
Large fire breaks out near Osaka's Tsutenkaku Tower
Smoke rises from a fire at a commercial building near Tsutenkaku Tower, in Osaka, on Tuesday.
Nissan to end production of compact van as Honda rescue looms
A trailer transports Nissan¡¯s NV200 Venette minivans in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Search for suspect underway after fatal stabbing at Nagano Station
The crime scene where three people were attacked near JR Nagano Station on Wednesday
Kanagawa high school student arrested for credit card data theft
A 17-year-old student from Kanagawa Prefecture has been arrested for allegedly creating a program that purported to verify the validity of credit cards and using it to illegally obtain their details.
Terunofuji¡¯s career was unique ¡ª and great
Yokozuna Terunofuji enters the ring at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo earlier this month during what would be his final tournament.
Japan-made games part of a rising tide of indie greatness
One of the brighest spots of Japan's indie gaming landscape in 2024 was Sonokuni, and with more incubators and other avenues of support springing up, there may be more games like it in the future.
Fuji TV scandal sparks probes on exploitation within TV industry
Fuji Media Holdings' headquarters in Tokyo's Minato Ward. The company will hold an extraordinary board meeting on Thursday over the firestorm sparked by TV host Masahiro Nakai's alleged sexual misconduct.
Iconic 911±¬ÁÏÍø outfielder Ichiro Suzuki elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Ichiro Suzuki finished his career with 3,089 MLB hits and is one of 33 players in the 3,000-hit club.
For kids, 911±¬ÁÏÍø food ¡®is a doorway to exploration¡¯
"A Very Asian Guide to 911±¬ÁÏÍø Food" is the first edition of the Asia-centric series to focus on rice balls, fermented soybeans and other 911±¬ÁÏÍø staples.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a ¡°sense of urgency¡± when it comes to Japan¡¯s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. ¡°We have to make sure we are successful,¡± he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike¡¯s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go
By Kazuaki Nagata and Richard Meyer

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