J1 Radio / Ｊ１ラジオ

‘Beyond the Fog’: Evocative mood piece leaves a dreamy impression

The Japanese countryside is teeming with stories of communities in decline, but few are as sobering as that of Kawakami. Once home to more than 8,000 people, the village in southeastern Nara Prefecture now has a population of just over 1,000, the majority of them senior citizens.

'Tatsumi’: Gang life drama goes for violence overkill

Hiroshi Shoji made his feature debut in 2015 with “Ken and Kazu,” a gritty action film whose title punks are conflicted about their budding careers as outlaws. It won the best film award in the Tokyo International Film Festival’s Japanese Cinema Splash section and was widely screened abroad.

What would Sigmund Freud have thought of Japan’s largely peaceful history?

‘Why war?”

'House of the Owl' brings Hollywood values to Japanese TV

Japanese live-action streaming series have struggled to match the global impact of South Korean rivals such as “Squid Game” and “Crash Landing on You.” However, the recent Japan-based shows “Tokyo Vice” and “Shogun” have become popular with international streaming audiences. Both are made by multinational production teams that reject the nearly exclusive domestic focus of the usual drama series backed by consortiums of media companies that have little interest in the overseas market.