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August 13, 2026
 

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CULTURE

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¡®Till We Meet Again on the Starry Hill¡¯: Time-travel kamikaze romance gets a pointless sequel
CULTURE / Film
¡®Till We Meet Again on the Starry Hill¡¯: Time-travel kamikaze romance gets a pointless sequel
Takehiko Shinjo¡¯s follow-up to a 2023 hit film is even more muddled than its predecessor.
CULTURE / Film
¡®Ghost of Ueno¡¯: A human drama about the invisible among us
Chinese director Qi Wang¡¯s film examines the plight of the homeless and disenfranchised in Japan with a humanist lens.
CULTURE / Film
¡®The Man Who Carries the Voice of August¡¯ explores the fragile legacy of the hibakusha
A journalist¡¯s effort to record hibakusha testimonies raises questions about memory, truth and survival.
Sosuke Ikematsu (center) stars in Yuya Ishii¡¯s ¡°The Secret Battlefield,¡± a historical drama about the Japanese research institute that correctly predicted the country¡¯s defeat in the Pacific War.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 1, 2026
¡®The Secret Battlefield¡¯: An inside view of the machinery of war
By James Hadfield
Yuya Ishii¡¯s historical drama about the Japanese think tank that failed to avert the Pacific War can¡¯t shake its made-for-TV origins, but it¡¯s a valuable cautionary tale.
¡°Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Mermaid Island¡± is shaping up to be one of the summer¡¯s biggest hits while surprising some viewers with its dark thematic undercurrents.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 31, 2026
¡®Chiikawa¡¯ was always darker than it looked
By Patrick St. Michel
Cute characters, folk horror and lingering trauma: ¡°Chiikawa¡± makes an unexpectedly haunting leap to the big screen.
Newcomer Risa Sierra plays Elena Takahashi, a high school transfer student who gets targeted by a monster with a bandaged head, in ¡°The Invisible Half.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Jul 31, 2026
¡®The Invisible Half¡¯: Stylish J-horror anchored in a standout performance
By Mark Schilling
Masaki Nishiyama¡¯s debut feature is a polished, provocative take on horror tropes, with a riveting performance by newcomer Risa Sierra.
Suzu Hirose received the Cut Above Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film from New York¡¯s Japan Society this month.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 30, 2026
Suzu Hirose is ready to ¡®step into the unknown¡¯
By Blake Simons
The 28-year-old actor looks back on her formative experiences with some of the most acclaimed contemporary Japanese directors.
Kei Suzuki¡¯s feature-length debut is about Makoto Natsume, a high school boy who gets embroiled in both a time-travel plot and summer romance.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 26, 2026
Time-travel anime ¡®You, Fireworks, and Our Promise¡¯ is serviceable but lacks spark
By Matt Schley
Kei Suzuki¡¯s feature-length debut, adapted from a popular light novel, is a competent but ultimately uninspired take on an all-too-familiar premise.
Ryosuke Hashiguchi¡¯s ¡°All Around Us¡± features Lily Franky (left) and Tae Kimura as a couple navigating the vicissitudes of marriage and life.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 24, 2026
¡®Hush!¡¯ and ¡®All Around Us¡¯: Masterpieces from a pioneering gay director
By Mark Schilling
New 4K restorations of two films from the 2000s by Ryosuke Hashiguchi bring his masterful storytelling back to the silver screen.
So-hee (played by the single-named Hanna), a 14-year-old ethnic Korean living in Tokyo, learns some valuable life lessons in Son Myong A¡¯s ¡°Trophy.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Jul 17, 2026
Zainichi drama ¡®Trophy¡¯ is a sweet, if slight, coming-of-age tale
By James Hadfield
Son Myong A¡¯s debut feature centers on a Tokyo teen grappling with her Korean heritage, both at home and in the classroom.

Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
Potential health care workers hoping to find work in Japan take Japanese language instruction in Jakarta. Not all applicants for permanent residency should be expected to reach this level of proficiency.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.

Podcast

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

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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