World news
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A young girl is knocked over at Tokyo crossing – what’s behind Japan’s ‘bumping’ trend?
Viral video of girl being shoved by fellow pedestrian has reignited debate over butsukari – with experts blami…
- Kazuo Ishiguro, England, Japan, Drama films, Science fiction and fantasy films, World news, Asia Pacific, Books, UK news, Culture, Film, Film adaptations
A Pale View of Hills review – two-stranded adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro novel in the shadow of the A-bomb
Kei Ishikawa’s take on Ishiguro’s first published work is frustrating and bland, undermining its fascinating c…
- Hamlet, William Shakespeare, Japan, World news, Asia Pacific, Books, Stage, Anime, Culture, Animation in film, Film, Film adaptations
Scarlet review – Mamoru Hosoda turns Hamlet into tale of prowling knights and deep ‘nothingness’
The normally great director misses the mark with a wonderfully animated but narratively clunky retelling of th…
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The half-abandoned Japanese island at the heart of tensions with China
Kasasa island, in the Seto Inland Sea, has only seven residents but its fate is strongly intertwined with rela…
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Social climber: Punch the monkey starts to outgrow his Ikea plushie
Japanese baby macaque, who appeared to find comfort in the djungelskog toy after being rejected by his mother,…
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Social climber: Punch the monkey starts to outgrow his Ikea plushie
Japanese baby macaque, who appeared to find comfort in the djungelskog toy after being rejected by his mother,…
- Japan, MANGA, Comics and graphic novels, Science fiction and fantasy films, World news, Asia Pacific, Books, Anime, Culture, Animation in film, Film
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to Be Loved review – sword, sorcery and smartphones
Those not up to speed on the Miss Kobayashi manga may struggle with the full nuance of this dimension hopping …
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Japan to deploy missiles to island near Taiwan by 2031, says defence minister
Surface-to-air missiles, which are capable of shooting down aircraft and ballistic missiles, will be located o…
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‘I considered starting over as a farmer’: Masao Adachi on political cinema, revolution and Japan today
The director and ex-Japanese Red Army militant discusses his new film Escape, about the anarchist fugitive Sat…
- Japan, Science fiction and fantasy films, Action and adventure films, World news, Asia Pacific, Books, Anime, Culture, Animation in film, Film, Film adaptations
All You Need is Kill review – time loop anime offers giant alien flower for Groundhog Day with mechs
New version of the sci-fi day-on-repeat sees a perplexed duo repeatedly battle monstrous plants but leaves you…
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The tragedy of Punch the monkey: why do mother animals abandon their offspring?
Footage of Punch, a seven-month-old Japanese macaque, has gone viral around the world after he was rejected by…
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Osaka stunned by anonymous gift of gold bars to fix ageing water pipes
Mayor says Japanese city will respect donor’s specification that £2.7m gift must be used to repair dilapidated…
- Fukushima, Japan, Environment, Japan disaster, Nuclear power, World news, Documentary films, Asia Pacific, Energy, Culture, Film
Fukushima review – a devastating account of disaster and denial in 2011 nuclear catastrophe
A tense return to the disaster foregrounds the heroism of the ‘Fukushima 50’ while raising questions about cor…
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Chinese tourists shun Japan over lunar new year holiday as rift deepens
Japanese prime minister’s refusal to back down over Taiwan comments brings more criticism and travel warnings …
- Japan, Science fiction and fantasy films, World news, Asia Pacific, Anime, Culture, Animation in film, Film
Lupin the IIIrd the Movie: The Immortal Bloodline review – eye-popping fan-service in latest in anime franchise
Takeshi Koike’s latest take on Monkey Punch’s vintage manga thief is beautifully animated, but the gossamer-th…
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UK consumer sentiment takes a tumble; bad weather threaten fruit supplies but boosts Morocco’s wheat crop – as it happened
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as UK households grow more worried about debtsUK c…
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Japan seizes Chinese fishing boat inside its economic waters amid rift with Beijing
Japan’s fisheries agency said the vessel failed to comply with an order to stop. The incident comes weeks afte…
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‘People ought to know’: Blue Boy Trial brings Japan’s trans history up to date
Kasho Iizuka’s feature casts trans actors to revisit a notorious 1965 trial that made gender reassignment ille…
- Family films, Japan, World news, Asia Pacific, Books, Culture, Animation in film, Film, Film adaptations
Little Amélie review – tender and poignant study of the fragility of early childhood
Based on a 2000 novella, this sweet animation follows a young girl who wakes from a vegetative state on the ve…
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Japanese shares hit record high as Sanae Takaichi wins landslide election victory
Prime minister’s Liberal Democratic party to be pressed on promised tax cuts and fiscal stimulus plansBusiness…