Menu
Search
 
December 06, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

CULTURE

Film

Film
Books
Art
Music
TV & Streaming
Stage
Entertainment news
In 2025, “Demon Slayer” and “Kokuho” broke box-office records, while films such as “Renoir,” A Pale View of the Hills” and “Two Strangers, Two Seasons” garnered acclaim on the international film festival circuit. The year’s biggest loss was the death of Tatsuya Nakadai, an highly regarded actor who had worked with nearly all of the top directors of Japanese cinema’s postwar golden age.
CULTURE / Film / 2025 IN REVIEW
2025 was the year Japan’s box office returned
Anime ruled the screens once again, but a kabuki drama surprised us all.
CULTURE / Film
‘Black Box Diaries’ is Shiori Ito’s unflinching case for the truth
After a re-edit, Shiori Ito’s Academy Award nominated documentary is finally getting released in Japan.
CULTURE / Film
A new animation festival lands in Nagoya with big plans
The Aichi Nagoya International Animation Film Festival will feature screenings, chat shows and storytelling.
Itsuki Nagasawa (center) plays a young woman caught in a feud between her deaf father (Kazuyoshi Kezuka, second from left) and a Kurdish restaurant owner (Murat Cicek, second from right) in Ken Kawai’s “The Chatterboxes.”
CULTURE / Film
Dec 3, 2025
‘The Chatterboxes’: ‘A comedy of errors finds a common language
By James Hadfield
Ken Kawai’s comedy about a feud between a deaf Japanese man and a Kurdish immigrant tackles a range of themes including prejudice and communication.
In Yoshinori Sato’s slow-burn youth drama “Dawn Chorus,” Mariko Tsutsui plays a campground manager whose teenage nephew comes into her life looking for his mother but finding a kindred spirit in her.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 28, 2025
Mariko Tsutsui knows the power of quiet roles
By Mark Schilling
The “Dawn Chorus” actor inhabits every character through meticulous preparation.
A middle-age woman (Ko Shibasaki, far left) connects with her estranged brother’s family after his death in “Bring Him Down to a Portable Size.”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 27, 2025
‘Bring Him Down to a Portable Size’ mourns a lovable loser
By Mark Schilling
In his latest film, Ryota Nakano blends comedy and loss in a story of uneasy yet tender reconciliation between family members after the death of a goodnatured rascal.
Yukino Kishii (left) and Hio Miyazawa play a pair of college sweethearts whose bond is put to the test by the pressures of adult life in Chihiro Amano’s “Sato and Sato.”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 27, 2025
‘Sato and Sato’: Unraveling marriage story feels universal
By James Hadfield
Chihiro Amano’s film about a couple with Japan’s most common surname shows how even small cracks can split a relationship wide open.
A scene photo from the film “Kokuho”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 25, 2025
Oscar entry ‘Kokuho’ breaks 22-year-old Japan box-office record
By Mayumi Negishi
“Kokuho" has won over critics with its lush cinematography and portrayal of the little-known world of kabuki.
Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” was released Nov. 23, 1985, and though it wasn’t a hit at the time, it has gained a cult following in the years since.
CULTURE / Film / Longform
Nov 22, 2025
Eat, slurp, love: 'Tampopo' turns 40
By Weiwen Lin
Four decades on, Juzo Itami's film remains unsurpassed as a wicked and delicious social commentary on Japanese society told through the lens of food.
Mari Yamamoto (left) stars alongside Brendan Fraser in “Rental Family,” a film about services that provide stand-in friends and family for hire.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 21, 2025
'Rental Family' brings real-world insight to modern loneliness
By Adam Davidson
Actor Mari Yamamoto drew on her journalist’s eye to bring authenticity to her role in a film about hired stand-in friends and family.

Japan to require nationality in property registrations
The government is looking to include nationality in a planned property registration database amid concerns that condominium purchases by foreign citizens have driven up prices.
The key points under discussion on policies affecting foreign nationals
Visitors head to Shirakawago, a popular tourist spot, in Gifu Prefecture in November.
Man accused of shooting Abe apologizes to former PM’s widow and family
The Nara District Court where Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, is on trial for the murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe's wife, Akie, attended the trial on Wednesday for the first time.
China massing military ships across region in show of maritime force, sources say
A Chinese warship participates in joint Navy exercise of Iran, China and Russia in the Gulf of Oman, Iran, on March 12.
Japan’s fitness industry is catering to a new clientele: Health-conscious seniors
Masato Edamitsu, the 60-year-old founder of Shinshin Kenko Club, training and guiding his client
Kashima or Kashiwa: J. League title chase goes down to the wire
Kashima's Yuma Suzuki (center) takes a shot during a game against Kashiwa in March.
2025 was the year Japan’s box office returned
In 2025, “Demon Slayer” and “Kokuho” broke box-office records, while films such as “Renoir,” A Pale View of the Hills” and “Two Strangers, Two Seasons” garnered acclaim on the international film festival circuit. The year’s biggest loss was the death of Tatsuya Nakadai, an highly regarded actor who had worked with nearly all of the top directors of Japanese cinema’s postwar golden age.
The key points under discussion on policies affecting foreign nationals
Visitors head to Shirakawago, a popular tourist spot, in Gifu Prefecture in November.
A French cabbie behind the wheel in small-town Japan
A native of the Jura region of France, Severine Lamielle moved to Tottori Prefecture in 2024 and found a job as a taxi driver.

Podcast

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

Longform

Yumi Matsutoya began her decades-long career under her maiden name, Yumi Arai, but Japanese fans might know her better as “Yuming.”
Yumi Matsutoya’s human touch in an AI age
By Patrick St. Michel

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons
Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

Latest News

Netflix to buy Warner Bros. in $72 billion cash and stock deal
3 hours ago
Japanese government plans to launch new intelligence bureau in July
4 hours ago
Putin and Modi agree to expand and widen India-Russia trade
4 hours ago
BOJ set to hike rates and stay open to more moves
4 hours ago
New Trump strategy vows shift from global role to regional
5 hours ago