Takuro Ijichi’s “Vicissitude” is a visually sumptuous debut that hints at a director still coming into his own. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2026/01/16/film/vicissitude/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #takuroijichi
Legendary Entertainment, producer of "Dune" and "A Minecraft Movie," formed a partnership with Tokyo-based broadcaster TBS Holdings to develop Japanese stories into global film and TV properties. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/01/16/companies/tbs-legendary-entertainment/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #companies #legendaryentertainment #tbs #japanesetv #television #japanesefilm
After 40 years of anime franchises, Shoji Kawamori finally goes fully original — with doppelgangers, livestreamers and giant robots. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2026/01/09/film/shoji-kawamori-labyrinth-anime/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #anime #shojikawamori
Lies pile up and grief lingers in “The Imaginary Dog and the Lying Cat,” Yukihiro Morigaki's family drama spanning a quarter century. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2026/01/08/film/the-imaginary-dog-and-the-lying-cat/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #yukihiromorigaki
A grizzly rampage packs a satirical bite in Eisuke Naito’s “Higuma!! The Killer Bear.” https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2026/01/08/film/higuma-the-killer-bear/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #eisukenaito #fukusuzuki #bears
A summary court has ordered Japanese actor Ryoko Hirosue to pay a ¥700,000 fine over a rear-end collision on the Shin-Tomei Expressway last April that injured a passenger in her vehicle, court officials said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/06/japan/crime-legal/ryoko-hirosue-fine-court/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #ryokohirosue #celebrities #japanesefilm #shizuoka #japanesecourts
This year, anime’s global boom brought record profits and more Hollywood interest but also renewed anxiety over AI and creative labor. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/12/26/film/anime-demon-slayer-gundam/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #anime #demonslayer #japanesefilm #chainsawman #2025inreview
Genre-hopping anime adventure “Whoever Steals This Book” is visually inventive and easy to watch, even if the finer plot details fade fast. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/12/25/film/whoever-steals-this-book/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #anime #kagokan #keikokurosawa
When a popular student dies in Yukari Sakamoto’s J-horror film “White Flowers and Fruits,” the adults barge in — and everything fractures. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/12/25/film/white-flowers-and-fruits/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #yukarisakamoto #horror #jhorror
Isao Yukisada’s drama “Kaede” is the latest reminder that in Japan, today’s karaoke staple is tomorrow’s feature film. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/12/25/film/films-based-on-a-song-kaede/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #jpop #isaoyukisada
Keishi Otomo’s queer romance “10 Dance” has perfect abs, dance moves and a seductive premise but surprisingly little heat. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/12/18/film/10-dance/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #dance #keitamachida #ryomatakeuchi #keishiotomo
Journalist Shiori Ito said she had “never received so many letters and messages before” after “Black Box Diaries,” her 2024 film chronicling her experience as a sexual assault survivor, was finally released in Japan. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/15/japan/society/black-box-diaries-shiori-ito/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #japanesefilm #shioriito #metoo #blackboxdiaries
Japanese film director Masato Harada, known for socially conscious works including "Climber's High," died on Monday at the age of 76. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/12/14/entertainment-news/masato-harada-obituary/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #entertainmentnews #masatoharada #obituary #japanesefilm
Shiori Ito's Oscar-nominated #MeToo film finally screened in Japan https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/13/japan/society/shiori-ito-documentary-release/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #shioriito #documentaries #sexcrimes #rape #shinzoabe #noriyukiyamaguchi #japanesefilm #blackboxdiaries
In “Good Luck,” Shin Adachi spins anxiety, awkwardness and odd detours into a warm, feather-light road movie that sneaks up on the viewer. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/12/11/film/good-luck/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #shinadachi #hirokisano #hanaamano
Jimbocho’s latest addition isn’t a bookstore or a coffee shop but an independent cinema built by a film lover who wants audiences to take more chances. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/12/11/film/mini-theater-cinemalice/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #cinemas #film #japanesefilm #chiyodaward #jimbocho
With its clever bait-and-switch, “Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise” uses cute animation to draw viewers into a war film more disturbing than most live-action ones. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/12/11/film/peleliu-guernica-of-paradise/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #anime #wwii #gorokuji
Anime may have dominated the charts in 2025, but the real surprise was a kabuki drama that shot to No. 1 and stayed there for weeks. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/12/04/film/demon-slayer-infinity-castle-kokuho-festivals/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #2025inreview #kokuho #demonslayer #anime #chiehayakawa #kazuoishiguro #keiishikawa #shomiyake #tatsuyanakadai
When a deaf Japanese store owner clashes with a Kurdish immigrant opening a restaurant in the same neighborhood, the whole community has to rethink the way they communicate. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/12/03/film/chatterboxes-film-review/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #kenkawai #disability #hearing #kurdishimmigrant
Decades in, hundreds of credits deep, veteran actor Mariko Tsutsui’s secret to inhabiting her characters hasn’t changed: unwavering, meticulous preparation. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/11/28/film/mariko-tsutsui-dawn-chorus/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #marikotsutsui #japanesefilm #yoshinorisato #kojifukada