Cirque du Soleil Composer Benoît Jutras Developing Rock Opera About Japan’s Imperial Family (EXCLUSIVE)

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentShochiku, a major Japanese film producer and distributor, has announced its remake of “Cube,” a 1997 fantasy-thriller by Vincenzo Natali about six people who find themselves trapped in a maze-like cube and have to figure a way out, while evading fatal traps.A Canadian production that premiered at Toronto, the original film became a cult hit in Japan following its September 1998 local release.The remake stars Suda Masaki, Okada Masaki, Tashiro Hikaru, Saito

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefPixar’s “Soul” was joined by Japanese hit sensation “Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train” at the top of the box office rankings in South Korea over the weekend to Jan. 31.

PlayStation 5 console restock caused chaos.The Akihabara branch Yodobashi Camera – one of the biggest electronic retail chains in japan –  was intending to sell the consoles via a first-come, first-serve system.As detailed in a report on PSU, most retailers in Japan are using a lottery system at the moment in order to try and deter scalpers from profiting off sales of PlayStation 5 consoles.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentTheatrical box office takings in Japan fell by 45% in 2020, compared with the previous year, as coronavirus took its toll on cinemagoing. But that makes Japan one of the most resilient major box office territories.Data published Wednesday by the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (Eiren) show that total box office was $1.37 billion (JPY143 billion) 45% down on 2019’s $2.5 billion (JPY261 billion).

The Japanese box office plummeted more than 45 percent in 2020 after the novel coronavirus pandemic briefly shuttered cinemas in the country and weighed on moviegoing throughout much of the year. Total ticket sales revenue clocked in at $1.38 billion (143.3 billion yen), down from $2.39 billion (261 billion yen) in 2019, which had set an all-time record.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSingapore-based TV production firm, Beach House Pictures is expanding its Asian production capacity. It has acquired a majority stake in Japanese producer Vesuvius Pictures and appointed Felix Feng as GM in China.Founded in 2012, Vesuvius specializes in premium original factual, factual entertainment, reality and scripted programming.

Refresh for latest…: Disney/Pixar’s Soul got off to a jazzy start in Korea this weekend, debuting at No. 1 and seeing the second best bow for a non-local title since the Covid pandemic began. The Pete Docter-directed original also launched in Russia, at No. 1, and came in ahead of several pre-Covid animation openings. In total, Soul led the international box office with a $10.4M weekend from 13 markets. See more on Soul below.

Ryuichi Sakamoto has announced that he has been diagnosed with rectal cancer. In a statement posted on his website, the beloved Japanese composer confirmed that a recent surgery was successful and that he's currently undergoing treatment.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefTwo East Asian drama series — Japanese sci-fi thriller “Alice in Borderland,” and Korean fantasy horror “Sweet Home” — have been lapped up by international audiences on Netflix.“Borderland” has been viewed by 18 million member households and has already been renewed for a second season.

Jamie Lang Germany’s ZDF Enterprises (ZDFE) has scored international distribution rights to “Inside Japan’s War,” a new four-part docu-series from Wildbear Entertainment.“Inside Japan’s War” combines archive material, first-person accounts, interviews with historical and cultural experts, modern graphics and contemporary images to lift the veil on why it was that Japan went to war in the first place.Having built one of the world’s largest empires, Japan’s political structure at the time stoked

Nintendo Switch dominated the Japanese market in 2020, selling over six million units and accounting for 87 per cent of all consoles sales in the country, according to a new report.New data from Famitsu/Kadokawa (via gamesindustry.biz) shows that the popular hybrid console maintained a strong lead over its competitors in the Japanese market, despite the release of next-gen consoles in Q4 2020.It sold over six million units in Japan in 2020, well ahead of its closest rival the PS4 with 542,000

Mark Schilling Japan Correspondent“Crazy Samurai: 400 vs. 1,” a period swashbuckler starring Tak Sakaguchi (“Versus”) as the legendary warrior Miyamoto Musashi, is wowing fans outside Japan as it moves from the international festival circuit to streaming.

There are few international filmmakers working today that have the acclaim and reverence of Naomi Kawase. And with her latest feature, “True Mothers,” selected as the official Japanese entry into the Oscars race, it appears she’s, yet again, in the middle of the awards discussion.

Ralph Macchio) fell in love with in 1986's In season 3 of Netflix's , Tomita returns for two episodes when Daniel travels back to Japan, to the same village — now a Westernized shopping mall -- where he first met Kumiko.As Daniel tells Kumiko in one of their first scenes together, where they try as best they can to fill in the blanks of their lives, «This is absolutely surreal. I feel like I haven't seen you in five minutes, but it's been 30 years.» «That is the truth.

A “soft” state of emergency has been declared in Tokyo and three surrounding districts as authorities tackle rising Covid-19 cases.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentAs anticipated, the Japanese government on Thursday declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and the three neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa for a period of one month starting on Jan. 8.