今日吃瓜

author

 
今日吃瓜
Search
 
November 11, 2026
 

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Mark Schilling
Kanna (Mayu Matsuoka, left) and Haseo (Ryo Narita) are college friends who rekindle an intimate, undefined relationship in Yukiko Mishima’s “Two Cigarettes, Three Nights.”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 5, 2026
‘Two Cigarettes, Three Nights’: An artist takes solace in an undefinable intimacy
Yukiko Mishima’s latest film is a sensitive and imaginative portrait of an artist’s life-changing reunion with an old friend.
In Shinji Nishiki’s “Moonlit Golden-Gai,” Aoki (Ikkei Watanabe, right) runs Suikazura, a bar that serves as a social hub for Ginji (Zuimaro Awashima) and other regulars.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 1, 2026
‘Moonlit Golden-Gai’: A director’s love letter to Shinjuku’s bar district
Shinji Nishiki’s debut feature finds humor, nostalgia and unexpected family ties among the regulars of a tiny Tokyo bar.
Yuya Yagira was envisioned for the role of Ryuji from an early stage. "We never considered anyone else," says director Nobuo Mizuta.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 30, 2026
A charismatic outsider is reborn in ‘Ryuji’
Nobuo Mizuta sits down with The Japan Times to talk about the genesis of his remake of yakuza classic “Ryuji.”
Momoko Fukuchi (left) and Naomi Kawase play an estranged mother and daughter in Ryutaro Nakagawa’s “Echoes of Motherhood."
CULTURE / Film
Oct 22, 2026
An estranged mother and daughter face the music in ‘Echoes of Motherhood’
Despite some perplexing plot holes, Ryutaro Nakagawa’s “Echoes of Motherhood” is marked by a powerhouse performance by Naomi Kawase.
Kimiko Yo (left) stars in “The Canary’s Lullaby,” a Japan-Taiwan production directed by Akira Ikeda and with an international cast that includes award-winning Taiwanese actor Liu Kuan-ting and veteran Japanese star Joe Odagiri.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 22, 2026
Japanese films at TIFF feature melodrama, monsters and more
The 39th Tokyo International Film Festival will showcase Japanese cinema from golden age classics to indies by up-and-coming directors.
Daniel Raim’s “The Ozu Diaries” offers insights into the ethos and experiences that informed the work of golden age director Yasujiro Ozu.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2026
‘Ozu showed the way’: A documentarian looks for the man behind the legend
Though known for his documentaries about American filmmakers, Daniel Raim’s project on Yasujiro Ozu was executed with great care and admiration.
Yuya Yagira (center) stars as the title character in Nobuo Mizuta's "Ryuji," a remake of a 1983 cult classic yakuza film.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 16, 2026
Classic yakuza film ‘Ryuji’ gets a riveting remake
Yuya Yagira stars as the title character in Nobuo Mizuta’s “Ryuji,” a remake of a cult classic from 1983.
In Miwa Nishikawa's "Children Untold," Fumi Nikaido (right) plays a former schoolteacher on the hunt for her erstwhile pupil (Aoi Koyae, left) in the aftermath of World War II.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 10, 2026
‘Children Untold’ shines a light on the plight of postwar orphans
Miwa Nishikawa’s “Children Untold” tells a Dickensian tale of Japanese orphans in the aftermath of World War II.
Daniel Raim’s “The Ozu Diaries” is an enlightening portrait of Yasujiro Ozu and the experiences that shaped him as a man and artist.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 6, 2026
‘The Ozu Diaries’: An engaging look at the man behind the myth
Daniel Raims’ “The Ozu Diaries” is a stirringly human portrait of a titan of Japanese film and the experiences that shaped him.
In Takuya Uchiyama’s “Numb,” model and pop singer Takumi Kitamura plays the adult version of Daichi, a boy who grew up in an environment of neglect and abuse.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 27, 2026
‘Numb’ builds a bleak vision of a troubled boyhood
Inspired by director Takuya Uchiyama’s own experiences, “Numb” is an unflinching look at childhood neglect transmuted into adult sorrow.
Mark Merphy plays the young Allen Nelson, a U.S. Marine whose real-life experiences in the Vietnam War are dramatized in Shinya Tsukamoto’s “Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People?”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 18, 2026
‘Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People?’: A passionate but uneven anti-war biopic
Shinya Tsukamoto’s “Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People?” dramatizes the experiences of a Black Vietnam War veteran to mixed effect.
Three women named Satoko — played by (left to right) Hikari Ishida, Kasumi Arimura and Kashun Himeno — are linked in strange ways by narrative threads and tropes in Shuichi Okita’s “Satoko Always.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 10, 2026
‘Satoko Always’: A multilayered story discombobulates and delights
Shuichi Okita’s latest feature film is a thematically rich and formally daring exploration of reality and fantasy.
The mononymous Chara stars as a Shanghainese sex worker chasing dreams of riches in Shunji Iwai’s “Swallowtail Butterfly.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 4, 2026
‘Swallowtail Butterfly’ still flutters with dangerous energy
Shunji Iwai’s unruly vision of immigrant life in Japan returns in a dazzling 4K restoration.
Syoutarou Kobayasi took inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock, among other sources, when directing “Lives at Right Angles.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 30, 2026
Realism and research underpin film with autistic protagonist
Syoutarou Kobayasi reflects on his careful approach to portraying an autistic man’s experience in “Lives at Right Angles.”
Kentaro Sakaguchi plays a ghost of a man who gets romantically involved with a single mother in Ryota Nakano’s “I Don’t Know You.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 28, 2026
‘I Don’t Know You’: A provocative, humanist drama with no easy answers
Ryota Nakano’s latest film is anchored by strong performances from Kentaro Sakaguchi and Ikoi Hayase.
Shota Yasuda (right) offers a nuanced performance as Daiki, an autistic man, in Syoutarou Kobayasi’s “Lives at Right Angles.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 23, 2026
‘Lives at Right Angles’ offers seldom-seen portrayal of autism in Japan
J-pop idol Shota Yasuda crafts an insightful, compelling performance as the autistic protagonist of Syoutarou Kobayasi’s “Lives at Right Angles.”
Kai Yamaguchi (right) directs and stars in “Cattle Muti-Leiko,” a film about a private investigator who becomes obsessed with an enigmatic woman.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 14, 2026
The disturbing dream world of ‘Cattle Muti-Leiko’
Kai Yamaguchi’s debut feature blends dark satire with sci-fi and fantasy elements to tell a story about male obsession.
Naoto Takenaka (left) and Mugi Kadowaki star as a homeless man and social worker who team up to investigate the identity of a dead man in Chinese director Qi Wang’s “Ghost of Ueno.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 7, 2026
‘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.
Newcomer Lisa Siera 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
Masaki Nishiyama’s debut feature is a polished, provocative take on horror tropes, with a riveting performance by newcomer Lisa Siera.
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
New 4K restorations of two films from the 2000s by Ryosuke Hashiguchi bring his masterful storytelling back to the silver screen.
Man arrested over operation of rogue cellular base station in Tokyo
The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested Yu Hai, a 31-year-old Chinese national living in Tokyo's Kita Ward, on suspicion of operating an unlicensed base station from a vehicle in Tokyo's Ginza district on Saturday.
Government betting on language app powered by anime and AI
Japan plans to develop an AI-powered language-learning app that lets overseas anime and manga fans practice Japanese through conversations with popular characters.
Japan works to shield Takaichi from any Xi snub at China summit
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrives at the Prime Minister's office in Tokyo on Nov. 4.
Magnitude 5.7 quake injures dozens in central Japan
A magnitude-5.7 earthquake with its epicenter in Shizuoka Prefecture struck central Japan early Sunday, injuring dozens, shattering windows and disrupting train services, with no tsunami warning issued.
Private high schools remain out of reach for many despite tuition-free policy, survey finds
A survey showed that many families with children attending private high schools are struggling to pay expenses other than tuition.
‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ makes monster debut at the box office
Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus Zero” marked the highest single-day box-office gross for a live-action film in Japan with ?910 million on its opening day.
A toast to Naohiko Noguchi, sake’s first living national treasure
As a teenager, Naohiko Noguchi did not intend to spend his life as a sake brewer, but he has since become a paragon of the industry.
Few signs of thaw in Japan-China relations one year after Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks
Tensions between Japan and China flared after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Nov. 7, 2025, that a Chinese blockade of Taiwan could threaten 今日吃瓜 survival and warrant the use of collective self-defense.
Mariko Mori predicted the future. She’ll do it again.
Artist Mariko Mori is currently working to bring the translucent human-sized “Peace Crystal” sculpture to a cave in Ethiopia. It is part of her foundation’s goal to place a permanent sculpture on each of the planet’s six habitable continents.
A legend reborn: ‘Ocarina of Time’ remake improves on the Zelda masterpiece
The new remake of 1998's "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" manages to somehow improve on one of the greatest games ever.

Podcast

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

Longform

Famima Park Azabudai is a concept store by FamilyMart that combines convenience store staples with branded apparel, merchandise and a landscaped outdoor space.
Convenience stores, toilets and the allure of everyday Japan
By Elizabeth Beattie

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER