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June 30, 2026
 

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James Hadfield
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.
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.
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.
In Dave Boyle’s “Never After Dark,” a medium (Moeka Hoshi, left) hired to exorcise a spirit from a former hotel discovers that this is no regular haunting.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2026
‘Never After Dark’ finds fresh chills in familiar J-horror territory
Written and directed by Dave Boyle, the film begins as a paranormal investigation and transforms into another type of horror story altogether.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
Erika Toda brings force but limited nuance to her portrayal of Kazuko Hosoki in "Straight to Hell."
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Apr 28, 2026
‘Straight to Hell’ gets stuck in purgatory
Lies and lurid twists stack up in Netflix’s take on fortune teller Kazuko Hosoki, but when it reaches her empire and influence, the story feels rushed and insight runs thin.
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.
Akio Fujimoto’s “Lost Land” centers on two displaced Rohingya siblings (Muhammad Shofik Rias Uddin, left, and Shomira Rias Uddin) who undergo a harrowing journey from Bangladesh to Malaysia.
CULTURE / Film
Apr 19, 2026
‘Lost Land’ director captures play and peril on a migrant’s journey
Director Akio Fujimoto avoids exposition and lets moments of childhood wonder deepen the emotional weight of the dangers surrounding his young Rohingya protagonists.
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.
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.”
Kazunobu Mineta (right, with Riho Yoshioka and Ryuya Wakaba) plays photographer turned label owner Yuichi Jibiki in “Street Kingdom,” Tomorowo Taguchi’s film about the early days of Japanese punk and indie music.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 23, 2026
‘Street Kingdom’ makes a cinematic return to the raw days of Tokyo punk
Tomorowo Taguchi lived the early Tokyo Rockers scene — now he channels it into his music biopic capturing the spirit of a movement that burned bright and fast.
Former hit man Daiya (Daisuke Sakuma, center) comes out of retirement to join an all-assassin dance group in Eiji Uchida’s “The Specials.”
CULTURE / Film
Mar 12, 2026
‘The Specials’: Dancing assassins stumble in clumsy caper
With gunfights, dance routines and nostalgic pop hits, Eiji Uchida’s film has a fun concept but struggles to make it work.
A Filipina anthropologist (Gabby Padilla, right) and her Japanese half-sister (Arisa Nakano) are brought together following the sudden death of their father in Jaime Pacena II’s “This Place.”
CULTURE / Film
Mar 6, 2026
‘This Place’: Estrangement and renewal set against a city’s recovery
Set in Rikuzentakata, Jaime Pacena II’s crosscultural drama pairs a city’s slow recovery with two sisters struggling to rebuild trust.
A tech-averse care worker (Ryo Narita, left, with Erika Sawajiri) turns anti-vax influencer after his wife dies following a routine COVID-19 jab in King Bai’s “#Viral.”
CULTURE / Film
Feb 27, 2026
‘#Viral’: A Faustian tale about internet fame and anti-vax anxiety
King Bai’s bold but muddled post-pandemic drama skewers how bad actors manipulate online discourse.
Sara Minami plays an unhinged art student turned ghostbuster in Yuriyan Retriever’s horror comedy, “Mag Mag.”
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2026
‘Mag Mag’: A wild, messy riff on Japan’s vengeful ghost tradition
Yuriyan Retriever’s debut feature recalls the rambunctious spirit of 1990s indie cinema, mixing J-horror tropes with meta humor and shameless gross-out comedy.
A French pediatric transplant coordinator (Vicky Krieps, left, with Ojiro Nakamura) working at a Japanese hospital grapples with cultural differences and heartbreak in Naomi Kawase’s “Yakushima’s Illusion.”
CULTURE / Film
Feb 12, 2026
‘Yakushima’s Illusion’: Medical reality with a mystic twist
Naomi Kawase’s spiritual musings aren’t as compelling as her depiction of lives hanging in the balance at a hospital transplant ward.
“Black Ox” is based on “Ten Oxherding Pictures,” a Zen Buddhist series of illustrations and verses that represent the process toward enlightenment.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2026
Tetsuichiro Tsuta’s ‘Black Ox’ rewards patience with daring cinema
For director Tetsuichiro Tsuta, the Zen parable turned luminous mood piece is the story of a man who has “lost his connection with nature.”
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.
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.
LGBTQ+ families are building lives Japanese lawmakers still struggle to see
Haru Ono founded Nijiiro Kazoku in 2010 after forming a same-sex stepfamily. She said the impetus for founding the organization was that she couldn’t find much reliable information out there for families such as hers in Japan.
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
By Alex K.T. Martin

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