今日吃瓜

November 12, 2026

Subscribe for more access

CULTURE

Film

Entertainment news

Atsushi Nishigori’s three-part anthology “Grotesqqque” dives into fantastical worlds with plenty of panache.

CULTURE / Film

Nov 8, 2026

Sci-fi anime anthology ‘Grotesqqque’ prizes style over substance

By Matt Schley

The three-part feature is uneven and at times overwhelming, but ultimately a fun romp through the mind of Atsushi Nishigori.

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

By Mark Schilling

Yukiko Mishima’s latest film is a sensitive and imaginative portrait of an artist’s life-changing reunion with an old friend.

Shigeru Kobayashi (right) follows the lives of three survivors of sexual violence in his new documentary “In Their Traces,” which was filmed over a span of nine years.

CULTURE / Film

Nov 2, 2026

‘In Their Traces’: An unflinching documentary about the survivors of sexual violence

By James Hadfield

Veteran director Shigeru Kobayashi’s documentary was made over the course of nine years and spotlights three women of different generations.

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

By Mark Schilling

Shinji Nishiki’s debut feature finds humor, nostalgia and unexpected family ties among the regulars of a tiny Tokyo bar.

Taiwanese actor Ethan Juan (right) stars as Lee, a police detective struggling with amnesia, in Sabu’s “Arrested Memory.”

CULTURE / Film

Oct 30, 2026

‘Arrested Memory’ filmmaker Sabu likes to stay on his toes

By Blake Simons

Shot entirely in Taiwan, “Arrested Memory” is the latest in a string of international productions helmed by the idiosyncratic filmmaker.

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’

By Mark Schilling

Nobuo Mizuta sits down with The Japan Times to talk about the genesis of his remake of yakuza classic “Ryuji.”

"Ghost — End of Night" director Shingo Natsume is joined by voice actors Issey Takahashi and Mayu Hotta (and a few ghosts) on the red carpet at the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival.

CULTURE / Film

Oct 29, 2026

Japan has mastered the red carpet. Almost.

By Patrick St. Michel

今日吃瓜 red carpets have glamour down to a science. But in the pursuit of perfection, something essential can get lost: spontaneity.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

international-reports