Japan's Nippon TV Producing Concert Movie Featuring Ghibli Composer Joe Hisaishi

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentJapanese streaming platform U-Next will begin carrying a selection of HBO and HBO Max content from Thursday.HBO does not operate as a subscription service in Japan and for many years HBO content has instead been licensed to local players, including satellite channel Super! drama TV and pay-TV platform Wowow.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorYoshiki, leader of the group X Japan, has donated $100,000 in support of mental health to MusiCares to help music creators and industry professionals affected by depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, or other mental health concerns, the organization announced Monday.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentHara Masato, a producer and executive who worked with Kurosawa Akira, Oshima Nagisa and other leading Japanese filmmakers in a seven-decade career, died on March 17 at age 89 of heart failure, distributor Asmik Ace announced Monday.Hara was the company’s first president, starting in 1998.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentJapan’s comic fans will get a taste of what it is like to return to normal as the Anime Japan 2021 expo will be held in person for four days (March 27-30), starting Saturday at Tokyo Big Sight center.But the show may be a static, booth-bound affair as there will be no physical, in-person events.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentKosugi Yoshinobu, the president of the Nippon TV network, issued a public apology on Monday for a slur used by a comedian on the NTV infotainment show “Sukkiri” on March 12.The comic was commenting on a documentary that spotlighted a woman belonging to the Ainu, an indigenous people that live primarily on the northern island of Hokkaido and have long been the targets of discrimination by the majority Japanese.At the start of a regularly scheduled press

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentThe 44th Japan Academy Film Prize ceremony was held on Friday at the Grand Prince Hotel New Takawana in Tokyo, despite a state of emergency still in force on the nation’s capital.One big winner was Uchida Eiji’s gay-themed drama “Midnight Swan” with took the best picture prize, while star Kusanagi Tsuyoshi was awarded best actor honors for his turn as an ageing transgender nightclub performer.Meanwhile, best actress went to Nagasawa Masami for her portrayal of

EXCLUSIVE: Cream Productions, the company behind Netflix’s Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan and CNN’s The Story of Late Night, has made a number of promotions to its creative team.

Netflix is locking down production space in Japan, as the streamer continues to expand its footprint in the developed markets of East Asia. The company said Thursday that it has inked an agreement with Japan's legendary Toho Studios, home of Godzilla and Akira Kurosawa, for access to two soundstages and additional facilities in southwest Tokyo.

Netflix has struck a multi-year deal to lease two soundstages at iconic Japanese film studio Toho.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentA late addition to the Nikkatsu lineup for FilMart is “First Gentleman,” a local co-production between Nikkatsu, Toei and Nippon TV.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentSales agency Pony Canyon is bringing some of the biggest upcoming Japanese live-action films to FilMart, including genre titles with global ambitions.One is “Office Royale,” whose title references the 2000 Fukasaku Kinji classic “Battle Royale,” but is an action comedy scripted by popular funnyman Bakarhythm and directed by TV drama veteran Seki Kazuaki. Nakano Mei (“Park”) stars as an ordinary “office lady” (OL or clerk) in a humdrum company.

Mark Schilling Japan Correspondent“Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time,” the fourth film in the Rebuild of Evangelion sci-fi anime series created and co-directed by Anno Hideaki, has earned $30.6 million from 2.2 million admissions in its first week on release, according to distributor figures released on Monday.Bowing on March 8 on 466 screens, the film has grabbed 45% more at the box office than the third “Rebuild of Evangelion” film, “Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo,” which had a

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentFollowing his win of the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the recently concluded Berlin Film Festival for “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” 42-year-old Hamaguchi Ryusuke suddenly finds himself catapulted to the directorial front ranks in his native Japan.It’s not that he’s exactly obscure there: Hamaguchi’s 2018 romantic drama “Asako I & II” was selected for the Cannes competition while his 2015 breakthrough, the five-hour-plus drama “Happy Hour,” won a group best

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentV6, a male idol supergroup associated with the once all-powerful Johnny & Associates agency, has announced its break-up, effective Nov. 1.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefJapanese e-commerce and entertainment group Rakuten is to receive a $2.2 billion (JPY242 billion) capital injection through a share sale headed by Japan Post, Chinese social media and entertainment group Tencent and Walmart.The move is intended to help the e-commerce leader strengthen itself and weather competition from Amazon.

Comcast theme parks swung from nearly $3 billion in profit to $500 million in losses “in a flash” during 2020, but their current outlook is “encouraging,” CFO Mike Cavanagh said.

Highland Film Group has secured multiple distribution deals for action-thriller Wash Me In The River, starring Robert De Niro, John Malkovich, Jack Huston, Quavo and Willa Fitzgerald.