Sad and shocked to hear of the sudden death Roberta Novielli, the wonderful Italian scholar of Japanese cinema and professor at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. I was emailing her just a few weeks ago. She died on July 20 at the age of 62. She will greatly be missed. www.unive.it/web/it/15165...

Addio a Maria Roberta Novielli, anima del Ca’ Foscari Short Film Festival

Lunedì 20 luglio è mancata improvvisamente la prof.ssa Maria Roberta Novielli, docente associata di Cinema, fotografia, radio, televisione e media digitali presso il Dipartimento di Filosofia e Beni&h...

unive.it

How Putin Turned Japan Into a Den of Spies www.nytimes.com/2026/07/12/w...

How Putin Turned Japan Into a Den of Spies

Operating out of a Tokyo high-rise, a military intelligence unit finds the high-tech equipment that Russia needs to wage war.

nytimes.com

Tony Rayns, a key figure in introducing and understanding new East Asian cinema to much of the world for the last few decades, has passed away at the age of 78. I only met him a few times in person, but learned a lot by reading him. variety.com/2026/film/ob...

Tony Rayns, British Critic and Champion of East Asian Cinema, Dies at 78

Tony Rayns, the British writer, festival programmer and screenwriter who introduced Western audiences to East Asian cinema, has died at 78.

variety.com

これはどうして？　Why is this taking place?

UNITED24 Media@united24media.com · last mo.

⚡️Russia is set to import 200,000 barrels of Japanese aviation fuel via sea transfers to cope with shortages caused by Ukrainian drone strikes on its refineries. united24media.com/world/russia...

On a research trip, I visited the Hashimoto Shinobu Memorial Hall in Ichikawa, Hyogo, dedicated to the scriptwriter who worked on Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and other Kurosawa Akira Films.

The chanson singer and actor Miwa Akihiro has died at age 91. Working with artists from Mishima Yukio to Miyazaki Hayao, Miwa was one of the most prominent figures in Japan in the late 20th century. news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/817...

美輪明宏さん死去　91歳　老衰のため　歌手、俳優として長年活躍　最期の言葉は「ありがとう」（スポニチアネックス） - Yahoo!ニュース

ヒット曲「ヨイトマケの唄」や舞台「黒蜥蜴」などで知られる歌手で俳優の美輪明宏（みわ・あきひろ　本名丸山明宏＝まるやま・あきひろ）さんが老衰のため6月20日に死去した。91歳だった。所属事務所が28

news.yahoo.co.jp

Japanese government is cutting the budget of the National Film Archive by over 40% and telling it to earn money on its own. This neoliberal BS is old and won't work in Japan. It just reflects horrible cultural policy. The Archive is resorting to crowd funding: readyfor.jp/projects/NFA...

使命は人類の記憶を繋ぐこと。国立映画アーカイブの活動にご支援を - クラウドファンディング READYFOR

国立映画アーカイブの運営費全般（資料の収集・保存・修復・復元、上映・展示等の公開事業等）を募るクラウドファンディングです。目標金額1億円。 - クラウドファンディング READYFOR

readyfor.jp

Compare Alito's description of Trump's racist statements (on the left) to Justice Kagan's anthology of Trump's racist statements (on the right). These are passages from this morning's opinions in Mullin v. Doe.

The International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine that damaged the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studio in Kyiv. The studio’s costume collection, home to upwards of 100,000 items, was completely destroyed. www.fiafnet.org/fiaf-stateme...

News is finally out that the one-of-a-kind film artist Kanai Katsu passed away on April 22. He was a pioneering indie filmmaker, so we were proud to bring him to Yale in 2009 to show Mujin retto and Good-Bye. RIP. www.sankei.com/article/2026...

Evaluating wars in terms of win or lose is problematic (it is usually civilians on both sides who lose), but for a president who insists on always winning, this was total humiliation. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...

Opinion | President Trump Lost This War

nytimes.com

Last Sunday I walked around Namamugi with a huge snake made of reeds as part of the Jamokamo 蛇も蚊も festival.

Jim Acosta took Trump's cognitive test: youtu.be/xmSlNruP07k?...

Jim Acosta Just Did the Thing Trump Won't Stop Bragging About

YouTube video by Jim Acosta

youtu.be

SCOTUS gutted the Voting Rights Act, alleging the landmark law no longer needs to correct for historic voter suppression. But did you know… It came to this conclusion using a faulty data methodology that erroneously claimed Black voters turnout more than white voters.

SCOTUS used faulty racial voter turnout data to shred Voting Rights Act in recent ruling

The ruling that upended the Voting Rights Act was based in part on a false data analysis about Black and white voter turnout.

democracydocket.com

Any scholar or research who receives US federal funding should read this and consider commenting in opposition to a new OMB rule that would essentially place all such funding under the purview of party apparatchiks: www.bioniclab.org/news/OMB

B.I.O.N.I.C. Lab - OMB-2026-0034-0001

Guide for Scientists: Public Comment on OMB Proposed Rule for Federal Financial Assistance Docket OMB-2026-0034 | Comment Deadline: July 13, 2026 | Published: May 30, 2026 Comment portal: https://www....

bioniclab.org

Ashizawa was just given a career award at Cannes: Japanese Cinematographer Ashizawa Akiko on Sneaking Angles Past Directors, Blowing Past ISO Limits and Why Bell Peppers Make the Best Color Charts variety.com/2026/film/fe...

Japanese Cinematographer Ashizawa Akiko on Sneaking Angles Past Directors, Blowing Past ISO Limits and Why Bell Peppers Make the Best Color Charts

Japanese cinematographer Akiko Ashizawa discussed her 50-year career, Kurosawa Kiyoshi, and her bell pepper camera-test method at Cannes.

variety.com

In other words: DOJ sets up massive slush fund to reward people who assaulted police officers, and financially enhance support for Trump. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/u...

Justice Dept. Sets Up $1.8 Billion Fund That Could Funnel Money to Trump Allies

nytimes.com

I'll be giving a talk on Kitagawa Fuyuhiko's theory of prose film this Thursday, May 14, at 5pm, at Waseda. The general public is welcome. The talk will be in Japanese. www.waseda.jp/flas/hss/new...

Caught the restored version of Yoshimura Kozaburo's Warm Current (Danryu, 1939) at the NFAJ. A true masterpiece and one of the most important prewar Japanese films. Existing version was 124 minutes, but now restored to close to original 177 minutes in 2 parts.

Helped out with this release of Aoyama Shinji's Eureka.

Jasper Sharp@jaspersharp.bsky.social · 3mo ago

So excited to see this monolithic title finally getting an HD release - disc extras include a conversation between me and Joe O'Rourke, and a wonderful introduction from @dengerow.bsky.social - all filmed and edited by @sarahappleton.bsky.social

Caught 2 films in the Tsuchimoto retro at Waseda Shochiku: My Town, My Youth; and Minamata Revolt. We can all learn something from the patients in Minamata Revolt, which is a masterpiece of close ups and words as weapons.

Went to the NFAJ and caught 2 Ishida Tamizo films in the Cinema: Lost and Found series, as well as the current exhibit on postwar Japanese film poster design. Well worth it.

A Yale committee recently came up with recommendations about restoring trust in higher education. Some are good, some are controversial. Yale Has Come Up With a Surefire Way to Make a Terrible Situation Worse www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/o...

Opinion | Yale Has Come Up With a Surefire Way to Make a Terrible Situation Worse

nytimes.com

This war is so damn confusing. It’s why we shouldn’t let drunks and dementia patients run it.

Caught the Film Syndicate program at the Underground Cinema Festival IV at Shimotakaido. A truly beautiful and moving program culminating with Iwata Kazuo's devastating Utatane Nikki. Festival continues until April 17. ucf4.sig-new.com

UNDERGROUND CINEMA FESTIVAL Ⅳ

UNDERGROUND CINEMA FESTIVALⅣ公式サイト。2021年から続くアンダーグラウンド映画の祭典。今回のテーマは「Personal Film Experience」。東京・下高井戸シネマ、名古屋・愛知芸術文化センター、福岡・福岡市総合図書館、大阪・シネ・ヌーヴォほかで開催予定。

ucf4.sig-new.com

Three Japanese filmmakers in competition at Cannes 2026: Koreeda, Hamaguchi, Fukada. Sode will show in Un Certain Regard, and Kurosawa in the Premiere's section. deadline.com/2026/04/cann...

In this brutal world, it is important to go out and enjoy the cherry blossoms. At the Onda River. 恩田川の桜

I mean there it is.

It was announced that one of the greatest manga artists of all time, Tsuge Yoshiharu, died on March 3, at the age of 88. His unique world inspired many, including many filmmakers. RIP. sp.m.jiji.com/english/show...

Japanese Manga Artist Yoshiharu Tsuge Dies at 88

Prominent Japanese manga artist Yoshiharu Tsuge, best known for "Nejishiki," which was published in 1968, died of aspiration pneumonia at a hospital in Tokyo on March 3. He was 88. Born in Tokyo's Ka...

sp.m.jiji.com