documentary

See how official Pokémon Shirts are made through new, stylish documentary【Video】

New goodies also on the horizon with the debut of this insider look in Pokémon Shirts’ operations. Read More

Documentary about man with no limbs discusses what it’s like to be disabled in Japan

Hirotada Otatake was born with no arms or legs, but it didn’t keep him from trying to do good things in this world.

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Documentary on North Korean schools in Tokyo sheds light on bizarre, hidden part of Japan【Video】

What do you do when a school praising a terrorist country is in your neighborhood?

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Documentary on Hayao Miyazaki “The One Who Doesn’t End” goes on sale

The NHK special documentary follows Miyazaki as he comes out of retirement to work on his next projects.

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Japanese film “Behind THE COVE” defends whaling and dolphin-hunting, screens in the U.S.【Video】

New Japanese film asks, “Who decides which animals are okay to eat and which animals aren’t?”

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“Ordinary” foreigner tries to become famous in Japan in new documentary

A “really ordinary person from Australia” attempts to become famous in Japan and is making a film about it.

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Japan: Guilty Until Proven Innocent documentary shines light on controversial legal system【Video】

Does Japan’s legal system force suspects to confess, even if they didn’t commit the crime?

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New documentary reveals the world of Japanese denim【Video】

This movie shows why Japanese jeans are widely considered the best in the world.

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Spectacular video footage from inside North Korea by travel vlogger【Video】

This incredible new video was released by a Lithuanian-born entrepreneur documenting his mysterious 7-day trip to North Korea.

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Mini documentary discusses importance of Sailor Moon for 90s LGBTQ kids

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Queer Japan documentary Kickstarter reaches goal

Documentary features interview with manga creator Gengoroh Tagame.

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Sword enthusiasts, here’s the katana documentary you won’t want to miss! 【Video】

This ultra high-definition documentary is scheduled to come out this year. You can help support its production, and get some pretty cool things for doing so too!

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Singapore appears to have had a special place in David Bowie’s heart

Singaporeans remember David Bowie fondly, as well as his 1980s documentary in which the Southeast Asian city-state appeared.

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Sailor Moon cosplay documentary shows the power and beauty of anime fan friendships 【Video】

Just like the Sailor Senshi are always there for each other, so too are the members of this documentary’s group of cosplay collaborators.

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The life of Satoru Iwata, late Nintendo CEO, remembered in documentary

Thousands paid their respect when Nintendo company president Satoru Iwata passed away in July, facing the brunt of typhoon at his service in Kyoto or leaving notes and letters at The Nintendo World Store in New York and the Nintendo headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

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Documentary about Japanese gold leaf process ignites interest in cultural arts online【Video】

With our Japan Wish competition winner Ashley now in Kyoto, the former capital of Japan, she now has access to many of Japan’s most popular tourist destinations, like Kinkakuji, or the Golden Pavillion, that we hope she makes her way to sometime during her stay.

This temple, which gets its name from the gold leaf that covers the upper two stories of the pavilion, was built during the Muromachi period (1337–1573), when much of the traditional Japanese art and culture recognized today began to flourish thanks to beneficial relationships between Japan and China as well as the spread of Zen Buddhism. This extended to architecture as well, where ornate decorations like gold leaf on Buddhist temples acted as a purifier against pollution of the outside world and inside the mind (on top of its structural benefits against weather and decay).

Over time, Kanazawa area of Ishikawa Prefecture, which produced the gold leaf used for Kinkakuji, became Japan’s top producer in gold leaf. Even today, Kanazawa produces 99% of the country’s gold leaf, and recently a wonderful documentary highlighting this traditional art has been garnering praise online both domestically and abroad.

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The JK business: Documentary examines the Japanese schoolgirl industry

From traditional culture to the latest in “Cool Japan,” Japan has a lot to boast about. Yet there’s another side to the island nation which has stirred up international contention over the past few decades.

Even those unfamiliar with specific components of Japanese popular culture have likely heard about the popularity of high school girls in Japan, as school uniform-clad girls often appear in the latest advertising, music videos, TV anime, and other forms of the country’s media. Dig a little deeper and you can also find a service industry which involves high school girls providing a range of services to older men in return for payment. Known colloquially as the “JK business” (the “JK” is derived from joshikosei, or “female high school student”), this phenomenon often includes such services as “JK walking” or “JK massages,” which may or may not be veiled fronts for prostitution in actuality.

Today, we’d like to introduce you to the darker side of the JK business through the lens of a short foreign documentary which has raised considerable debate online.

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Retired Japanese man who saved over 500 from suicide to become star of worldwide documentary

It’s no secret that Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. There are even popular “suicide spots” within Japan where many people go every year to end their lives. One such area is Tojinbo in Fukui Prefecture, where the tall seaside cliffs overlook the ocean, and as many as 100 people every year choose to fall to their deaths.

However that number has been declining in recent years, thanks to Yukio Shige, a 70-year-old retired police officer. He has made it his personal duty to patrol the area and talk to anyone who looks like they may want to jump over the cliffs, and he’s saved over 500 lives in the 11 years he’s been acting as personal seaside lifeguard.

And now he has a new role: the star of the movie that’s being made about his life.

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Japan’s pet kitties are reportedly spellbound by recent NHK wildlife documentary 【Photos】

Netizens on Twitter recently reported that a rather strange phenomenon was affecting their pet cats during the broadcast of NHK’s “Mitsuaki Iwago’s World Catwalk”, a documentary by prominent wildlife photographer and documentary filmmaker Mitsuaki Iwago.

Apparently, the scenes of furry felines in their natural habitat completely captured the attention of household moggies watching at home, to the extent that their owners felt compelled to tweet photographic evidence of the event. Join us after the jump for images of cute kitties viewing images of other cute kitties!

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South Korean ferry disaster to be turned into low-budget documentary next year

After a tragedy like the April 16 sinking of the South Korean ferry Sewol, many are left wondering how to appropriately commemorate the lives lost without forgetting the awful truth of the actual incident. Last week a South Korean newspaper revealed that a two-hour documentary about the accident is being planned to be released next year to coincide with the one-year anniversary. The film’s backers are relying solely on donations and are seeking just 400 million won (US$392,000) to finance the low-budget project. And with the entire country paying extremely close attention to every tragic detail to come out of the investigations surrounding the accident, this film is destined to be an instant hit in Korean movie theaters.

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