51³Ô¹ÏÍø

Tag - documentaries

 
Menu
Search
 
July 24, 2026
 

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

DOCUMENTARIES

Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Jul 5, 2026
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara¡¯s latest work, ¡°Now and Then,¡± bridges a historical atrocity with the present-day treatment of asylum-seekers.
Toru Yamada¡¯s documentary ¡°At the Triangle Intersection,¡± which delves into the lingering impact of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, follows Tetsu (center), the matriarch of the Watanabe family, her son, Takemasa (right) and her daughter-in-law, Shigeko.
CULTURE / Film
Apr 30, 2026
Documentary captures the long echo of Fukushima¡¯s nuclear disaster
Without narration or music, Toru Yamada¡¯s intimate documentary ¡°At the Triangle Intersection¡± follows the silences, routines and unresolved tensions of post-disaster life.
The documentary ¡°Johatsu: Into Thin Air¡± follows "night mover" companies that help their clients escape difficult situations and start new lives.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 6, 2026
¡®Johatsu: Into Thin Air¡¯: The quiet desperation of those who disappear
An estimated 80,000 people ¡°evaporate¡± in Japan each year. Arata Mori and Andreas Hartmann¡¯s haunting documentary follows the ¡°night movers¡± who help their clients disappear.
Shiori Ito at a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan on Monday
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Dec 15, 2025
Shiori Ito sees ¡®most reactive screening¡¯ in Japan to her film on sexual assault
¡°Black Box Diaries,¡± her 2024 documentary chronicling her experience as a survivor of sexual assault, finally premiered on Friday after months of delay.
Journalist and director Shiori Ito speaks during a stage greeting after the Japanese release of the "Black Box Diaries" in Tokyo on Friday.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Dec 13, 2025
Shiori Ito¡¯s Oscar-nominated #MeToo film finally screened in Japan
A Japanese #MeToo campaigner's documentary premiered in her homeland on Friday after months of delays, with one audience member saying she hoped it triggered a change in society.
¡°Black Box Diaries¡± documents Shiori Ito¡¯s legal case, while also showing her thoughts and feelings through journal style videos she recorded herself.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 4, 2025
¡®Black Box Diaries¡¯ is Shiori Ito¡¯s unflinching case for the truth
After a re-edit, Shiori Ito¡¯s Academy Award nominated documentary is finally getting released in Japan.
"Ryuichi Sakamoto: Last Days" traces the trailblazing musician¡¯s life after his terminal cancer diagnosis, showing how he confronted mortality while continuing to create.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Nov 26, 2025
NHK¡¯s ¡®Last Days¡¯ wins International Emmy for Ryuichi Sakamoto portrait
The documentary lands Japan¡¯s sole prize at the ceremony honoring television from around the world.
Shiori Ito at the National Board of Review Awards Gala in New York in January
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Nov 7, 2025
Shiori Ito¡¯s documentary to be finally screened in Japan next month
The Japanese release of ¡°Black Box Diaries¡± includes revisions, although it¡¯s not clear precisely what edits have been made.
Masanori Murakami became the first MLB player from Japan when he made his debut with the Giants on Sept 1, 1964.
BASEBALL
Oct 16, 2025
New film explores how Japan and the U.S. found common ground through baseball
Baseball has been a shared love between Japan and the United States for over 150 years ¡ª a sport that has connected the nations despite disagreements large and small.
Director Spike Lee attends a news conference at the Cannes Film Festival in France in May.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Aug 17, 2025
ESPN will not air Spike Lee¡¯s docuseries on Colin Kaepernick, citing ¡®creative differences¡¯
The project has been canceled over ¡°certain creative differences,¡± according to the U.S. sports broadcaster.
Yukio Iokibe¡¯s ¡°Noto Democracy" centers on Motoyuki Takii, a former junior high school teacher who publishes a handwritten newspaper every month to encourage the residents of Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, to engage in local politics.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 20, 2025
¡®Noto Democracy¡¯ and the slow work of civic change
As rural towns in Japan decline, Yukio Iokibe¡¯s documentary offers a hopeful reminder that democracy endures through advocacy, persistence and human connection.
Activists, filmmakers and survivors attend a symposium in Tokyo marking 60 years since the discovery of Niigata Minamata disease.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 11, 2025
Film symposium marks 60 years since Niigata Minamata disease outbreak
The disease caused by mercury poisoning was documented in such films as ¡°Fighting Pollution¡± and ¡°Minamata Mandala.¡±
Hamdan Ballal (center right) with colleagues after winning the Oscar for best documentary feature for "No Other Land" on March 2
WORLD
Mar 26, 2025
Oscar-winning Palestinian director injured in attack by Israeli settlers released after arrest
Hamdan Ballal, co-director of the award-winning ¡°No Other Land,¡± was released from detention on Tuesday.
Shiori Ito is the first Japanese director to have been nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature film. "Black Box Diaries," which tells the story of her quest for justice following her rape in 2015, hasn't been released in Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 4, 2025
Can Shiori Ito¡¯s documentary open Japan¡¯s black box?
Concerns about footage in ¡°Black Box Diaries¡± have stopped its release in Japan. But Shiori Ito¡¯s story needs to be brought to people¡¯s attention ¡ª in all its harrowing details.
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2025
Japan release of Shiori Ito¡¯s documentary in limbo
Lawyers including an attorney who fought alongside the journalist in a civil suit against her attacker have raised legal and ethical concerns over the film.
Documentary director Kaku Arakawa¡¯s filming style ¡ª naturalistic, intimate and unobtrusive ¡ª proved essential to portraying anime powerhouse Hayao Miyazaki as a man as flawed and human as he is a visionary artist in ¡°Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Jan 31, 2025
Two decades of unparalleled access into the world of Hayao Miyazaki
Documentary director Kaku Arakawa has spent years filming the anime powerhouse to reveal the man beyond the myth.
¡°Ainu Puri¡± is a nuanced portrait of Shigeki Amanai (left), a modern Ainu man who strives to uphold his culture and heritage in daily life.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 12, 2024
¡®Ainu Puri¡¯: A vital portrait of indigenous culture in contemporary Japan
Takeshi Fukunaga¡¯s documentary is an engaging examination of the life and community of a Hokkaido man devoted to his Ainu heritage.
¡°Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron" provides an in-depth look into the octogenarian auteur¡¯s creative process and personal reflections.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 11, 2024
¡®Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron¡¯ documentary meditates on auteur¡¯s creativity and legacy
Filmed with unparalleled access to Studio Ghibli, director Kaku Arakawa captures the vulnerability and genius behind master animator Hayao Miyazaki¡¯s latest feature.
Director Ema Ryan Yamazaki wanted to show situations that everyone, non-Japanese included, could relate to in ¡°The Making of a Japanese,¡± her documentary about Japan¡¯s schoolchildren.?
CULTURE / Film
Dec 9, 2024
Documentarian praises the positives of stricter schooling
¡°The Making of a Japanese¡± director Ema Ryan Yamazaki reflects on the role of the Japanese educational system in creating empathetic children.
¡°A Big Home¡± offers a sincere portrait of the vulnerable youth who live in more than 600 group homes across Japan.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 5, 2024
Vulnerable youth look for sense of belonging in ¡®A Big Home¡¯
Ryo Takebayashi¡¯s documentary profiles the residents of a group home, but shies away from making emphatic statements about the circumstances that brought them there.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
Intervention is the word after yen moves beyond ?163 and sits there
The government could prop up the yen at any moment, though its signaling is hard to read.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
Japan reveals hint of new defense spending target in fiscal blueprint
The Self-Defense Forces' Type 16 mobile combat vehicle fires during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on June 28.
Summer has arrived in Japan and so have hot sleepless nights
Amid the heat and humidity in Japan, a good night¡¯s sleep is growing increasingly elusive without the heavy use of air conditioning.
Maya Ongaku¡¯s DIY dream is getting bigger
The members of Maya Ongaku ¡ª (from left) Tsutomu Sonoda, Shoei Ikeda and Ryota Takano ¡ª grew up on the Shonan Coast south of Tokyo and have been friends since their school days.

Podcast

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

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE 51³Ô¹ÏÍø

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER