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July 12, 2026
 

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JAPANESE FILM

“Patlabor EZY” follows a new generation of officers in Special Vehicles Section 2 as they pilot patrol labors in near-future Japan.
CULTURE / Film
May 22, 2026
‘Patlabor EZY’ turns everyday mecha bureaucracy into a delight
The new “Patlabor” series proves giant robots and police officers don’t need world-ending stakes to be entertaining. Sometimes, office ennui is enough.
A couple (played by Haruka Ayase, right, and the mononymous Daigo) struggling to come to terms with the death of their son welcome a humanoid (Rimu Kuwaki, center) modeled after their child in “Sheep in the Box.”
CULTURE / Film
May 21, 2026
Hirokazu Kore-eda says human imagination still matters in the age of AI
The director’s new film is a meditation on grief, humanoids and creativity at a time when AI is reshaping the film industry.
"Nagi Notes" director Koji Fukada attends a press conference at the 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 15, 2026
At Cannes, director Koji Fukada says AI undermines the creative process
Speaking at Cannes, the “Nagi Notes” director warned that AI-generated art may come at the expense of human expression and discovery.
Afro-wigged host Momotaro Kabayama (Toshiaki Karasawa) presides over the eponymous game show in Yukihiko Tsutsumi’s “Mystery Arena.”
CULTURE / Film
May 15, 2026
For all its nonsense, ‘Mystery Arena’ is weirdly entertaining
Not every twist lands in Yukihiko Tsutsumi’s vaguely dystopian film, but its deadly TV spectacle is undeniably diverting.
Shota Sometani plays a physician with an unsettling approach to elder care in “The A-Care: Disusebody.”
CULTURE / Film
May 15, 2026
Japan’s aging anxieties fuel the disturbing logic of ‘The A-Care: Disusebody’
Amputation as eldercare makes for an unnerving premise, but Koki Yoshida’s bleak drama is most effective in its quiet plausibility.
Tadanobu Asano delivers a career-defining performance as the unhinged Masao Kakihara in “Ichi the Killer.”
CULTURE / Film
May 11, 2026
4K restoration sharpens the madness of ‘Ichi the Killer’
Part gorefest, part dark comedy, Takashi Miike’s cult shocker remains one of the director’s most unforgettable films.
In “Kyoto Hippocrates,” Kuranosuke Sasaki plays a country doctor practicing Western medicine in the late Edo Period (1603-1868).
CULTURE / Film
May 8, 2026
‘Kyoto Hippocrates’: A genial look at medicine’s early days in Japan
Akira Ogata’s warmhearted drama mixes medical history, culture clash and gentle humor into an enlightening look at modern medicine’s beginnings.
In Takahisa Zeze’s “Cry Out,” a young girl (Nanami Yamazaki, left) endures multiple hardships following her father’s death, while her former elementary school teacher (Yuina Kuroshima) tries to help.
CULTURE / Film
May 8, 2026
‘Cry Out’: Misery without meaning
Takahisa Zeze’s adaptation of a Kanae Minato novel revels a little too eagerly in the suffering it depicts.
The former Suma Belt Conveyor Tunnel is used as a filming location for "City Hunter"
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 7, 2026
Film commissions give economic boost to local communities
The nonprofit entities provide help with location-hunting, site coordination and filming operations free of charge.
“Into the Belly of the Beast” follows the exploits of a young loner (Shun Tobari) with a casual interest in cannibalism who gets embroiled in the criminal underworld.
CULTURE / Film
May 1, 2026
‘Into the Belly of the Beast’: A stomach-churning thriller offers grisly surprises
Jun Yamada’s low-budget suspense drama is lean and stylistically assured, with a protagonist with deeply disturbing tastes.
Toru Yamada’s documentary “At the Triangle Intersection,” which delves into the lingering impact of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, follows Tetsu (center), the matriarch of the Watanabe family, her son, Takemasa (right) and her daughter-in-law, Shigeko.
CULTURE / Film
Apr 30, 2026
Documentary captures the long echo of Fukushima’s nuclear disaster
Without narration or music, Toru Yamada’s intimate documentary “At the Triangle Intersection” follows the silences, routines and unresolved tensions of post-disaster life.
In Daisuke Shigaya’s “Leave the Cat Alone,” a depressed musician (Soma Fujii, right) going through a rough patch with his photographer wife (Ran Taniguchi) has a chance reunion that puts his life in perspective.
CULTURE / Film
Apr 24, 2026
‘Leave the Cat Alone’: Even when life and love get messy, creativity survives
In Daisuke Shigaya’s film about a chance reunion of former flames, the drama is in the details, where memory slips and feelings quietly shift.
A mild-mannered trading company employee (Issei Takahashi) finds out that he is married to a complete stranger in “Rhapsody, Rhapsody.”
CULTURE / Film
Apr 17, 2026
‘Rhapsody, Rhapsody’ falters between rom-com whimsy and psychodrama
Director Go Riju sets up a mismatched pair, but the film’s tonal swings make their uneasy connection hard to fully invest in.
In “Sakamoto Days,” former hitman Taro Sakamoto (Ren Meguro, center) has packed on the pounds and traded the underworld for a quiet life running a family convenience store, but his past catches up when a string of eccentric assassins come looking for him.
CULTURE / Film
Apr 16, 2026
‘Sakamoto Days’ is a faithful adaptation, rather than a good one
Yuichi Fukuda’s adaptation of a popular manga sticks closely to the source material, but after a strong start it runs out of steam long before the final showdown.
Director Hirokazu Kore-eda's “Sheep in the Box" is up for a Palme d’Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Films by Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Koji Fukada are also in the running for the festival's top prize.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Apr 14, 2026
Three Japanese directors vie for top prize at Cannes, a first since 2001
Hirokazu Kore-eda, Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Koji Fukada bring a strong Japanese presence to the Cannes Film Festival’s competition section this year.
Decades after the death of her teenage crush, a woman (Haruka Ayase) decides to pour her unresolved feelings into a written message in “One Last Love Letter.”
CULTURE / Film
Apr 10, 2026
‘One Last Love Letter’: A wistful throwback to romance in the age of texts
Yuya Ishii’s drama leans into familiar tropes but delivers a tender reminder of the power of words left unsaid for too long.
"WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3" is set in the "Patlabor" universe, but familiar characters of Special Vehicles Division 2 hardly appear.
CULTURE / Film
Apr 10, 2026
‘WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3’: The franchise’s melancholy, noir outlier
The black sheep of the “Patlabor” mecha franchise sidelines its robots for a 1970s-style paranoid thriller.
Nana Mori plays a young woman who joins a group of street kids after running away from home in “Burn”
CULTURE / Film
Apr 9, 2026
‘Burn’ lights up Kabukicho’s darkness with a bold vision
Makoto Nagahisa takes a hyper-modern approach to some timeless themes of youth and destruction in his stylized drama, “Burn.”
The “Detective Conan” franchise is based on Gosho Aoyama’s manga, which was first serialized in 1994 in the manga magazine Weekly Shonen Sunday. Over the course of three decades, the film adaptations have become an annual box-office phenomenon.
CULTURE / Film
Apr 7, 2026
The curious case of a pint-sized sleuth’s box-office phenomenon
A Golden Week tradition for many, the “Detective Conan” blockbuster franchise has built a cycle of anticipation that keeps fans engaged year after year.
A housewife (Rena Tanaka) turns to a life of crime and adrenaline in “How to Steal the Gold.”
CULTURE / Film
Apr 3, 2026
‘How to Steal the Gold’ spins real crime into playful heist fun
A seemingly ordinary life unravels in surprising ways in Takayuki Kayano’s character-driven crime comedy.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

Podcast

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

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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