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June 30, 2026
 

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JAPANESE FILM

A trio of women in need of cash (from left: Sara Minami, Kasumi Arimura and Haru Kuroki) starts smuggling gold from Singapore in Chihiro Amano’s “Magical Secret Tour.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 26, 2026
An implausible but engaging crime drama unfolds in ‘Magical Secret Tour’
In Chihiro Amano’s “Magical Secret Tour,” a trio of Japanese women becomes embroiled in a scheme to smuggle gold from Singapore.
Hayato Kohsaka (right) plays a violent teenager whose potential for redemption is the core inquiry in Keisuke Yoshida’s “Unchained.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 26, 2026
‘Unchained’ presents a grim portrait of a budding psychopath
Keisuke Yoshida’s gritty drama concerns the misdeeds of a violent teenager and an ex-con’s efforts to rehabilitate him.
Director Yukiko Sode (center) poses with her lead actors Tadanobu Asano (left) and Yukino Kichii (right) at the 79th Cannes Film Festival.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 25, 2026
‘All the Lovers in the Night’ film adaptation brings ‘unstable beauty’ to the screen
During the Cannes Film Festival, director Yukiko Sode and actors Yukino Kishii and Tadanobu Asano reflected on the process of bringing Mieko Kawakami’s novel to life.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi spent two months in Paris conducting research for “All of a Sudden,” which centers primarily on a conversation between two women that unfolds over the course of a single evening.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 19, 2026
Ryusuke Hamaguchi wants to make the impossible possible
An ethos of idealism is pervasive in the director’s first French-language film, which came with the challenge and exhilaration of shooting in Paris.
Provincial lord Araki Murashige (Masahiro Motoki, right) finds himself under siege and with a series of mysteries to solve in Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “The Samurai and the Prisoner.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 19, 2026
‘The Samurai and the Prisoner’: A cerebral whodunnit in feudal Japan
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s historical drama is a murder mystery in the Agatha Christie mold and driven by conversation rather than combat.
Budding artists Madoka (Mariko Ito, left) and Kazuma (Kai Inowaki) find themselves tangled up in a multiverse while at the movies in “You Are the Film.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 19, 2026
‘You Are the Film’ offers a multiverse on a microbudget
Set in a real-life corner of Tokyo’s Shimokitazawa neighborhood, Makoto Ueda’s debut feature takes a refreshingly analog approach to a familiar concept.
High-school students Ai (Anna Yamada, left) and Yu (Yuzu Aoki, right) fight back against a hive mind in Yuta Shimotsu’s “New Group.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 12, 2026
‘New Group’ has big ideas but wobbly foundations
Human pyramids and other gymnastic formations become an ominous metaphor in Yuta Shimotsu’s sophomore feature, but the film’s reach exceeds its grasp.
Before Meiko Kaji’s hyperviolent action movies in the 1970s attracted a cult following, she made great efforts to learn the ropes of the entertainment industry.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 12, 2026
Meiko Kaji studied hard to smolder on screen
The star of “Lady Snowblood” and other 1970s action films looks back on the serendipities that shaped her early career — and her dogged determination to hone her craft.
Virginie Efira (left) and Tao Okamoto play two women in crisis drawn together by happenstance in Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 11, 2026
‘All of a Sudden’: A tender triumph from Ryusuke Hamaguchi
The director’s award-winning film is a poignant study of the human condition built around the chemistry of its two leads, Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto.
“Fujiko” stars Yuki Katayama (left) as a scrappy single mother who fights for her autonomy in 1970s and ’80s Japan.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 5, 2026
‘Fujiko’ transforms a mother’s resilience into festival gold
Fresh off a major festival win and new international distribution deals, Taichi Kimura reflects on the deeply personal project that honors his mother’s perseverance.
Tao Okamoto (left) and Virginie Efira (right) shared the Cannes Film Festival’s best actress honor for their roles in Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden,” a coproduction between Japan, France, Belgium and Germany.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 4, 2026
Japan’s Cannes moment signals a new global push
Tao Okamoto made history at Cannes, while Japanese filmmakers and producers looked ahead, embracing collaboration as the future of the industry.
Bereaved parents Kensuke (the mononymous Daigo, right) and Otone (Haruka Ayase, left) have their late son resurrected as a humanoid robot in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Sheep in the Box.”
CULTURE / Film
May 29, 2026
Kore-eda’s sci-fi film ‘Sheep in the Box’ fuzzy at edges
Despite familiar themes, the acclaimed director’s latest film is ambivalent in its exploration of a futuristic premise.
Koshi Mizukami (right) plays a rookie police detective who teams up with a South Korean counterpart (Jung Yunho) to tackle an international crime syndicate in the Kabukicho red-light district.
CULTURE / Film
May 29, 2026
Crime and comic antics abound in ‘Tokyo Burst: The Roundup’
Set in the same universe as a hit South Korean series, “Tokyo Burst: The Roundup” mashes up a cartoonish aesthetic with gripping violence.
A killer (Jiro Sato, center) cursed with the ability to make objects held in his right hand invisible terrorizes strangers in "Nameless."
CULTURE / Film
May 28, 2026
‘Nameless’: Cursed killer goes wild in uneven thriller
Director Hideo Jojo borrows from horror classics while pitting Jiro Sato’s unhinged killer against a dogged veteran cop.
Japan's Tao Okamoto and Belgium's Virginie Efira, co-winners of the best actress award for their roles in the film "All of a Sudden," celebrate during the closing ceremony of the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, on Saturday.
CULTURE / Film
May 24, 2026
In first for Japanese, Tao Okamoto shares Best Actress award at Cannes
Okamoto shared the honor with Belgium’s Virginie Efira for their roles in the drama “All of a Sudden” by Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi.
“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.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

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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