News On Japan

'Your Name' director Shinkai's new film to hit theaters next week

Jul 12, 2019 (Japan Today) - The highly-anticipated new film by Makoto Shinkai, director of the 2016 smash-hit animation "Kimi no Na wa" (your name), is set to open in theaters across Japan on July 19.

"Tenki no Ko" (Weathering With You) follows the story of a high school boy who moves from his home on a remote island to Tokyo, where he meets a girl with a mysterious ability to stop the rain and clear the sky simply by praying.

"I want to make it an entertainment masterpiece that is undeniably interesting and one where nobody will lose out," the 46-year-old creator said at a press event last week.

Similar to Shinkai's previous works, the film promises to be a wholesome boy-meets-girl tale mixed with supernatural elements on a grand scale, and will once again feature songs by popular Japanese rock band Radwimps, who also provided the soundtrack for "your name."

Major Japanese film company Toho Co. is set to release "Weathering With You" on 448 screens in 359 theaters across the country.

Theaters in Tokyo's Shinjuku and Osaka's Umeda will premiere the film from midnight July 18. Toho will also simultaneously screen the movie at 9 a.m. on the opening day at all 359 theaters.

Shinkai debuted with a short self-produced animation in 2002, but his first blockbuster success came when Toho signed up to produce "your name.," with the number of theaters showing the film jumping more than 10-fold as compared to his previous works.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Japan began applying a new numerical alcohol threshold for dangerous driving offenses on July 21, introducing a clearer standard for cases involving impaired driving that could lead to fatal accidents.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government approved its first annual basic economic and fiscal policy on Tuesday, pledging "responsible and proactive fiscal policy" and envisioning about 370 trillion yen in public- and private-sector investment in strategic industries through fiscal 2040.

A covert network of shuttle tankers is carrying crude through the increasingly dangerous Strait of Hormuz as renewed fighting between the United States and Iran disrupts shipping and raises concerns over how Japan will secure the oil it needs.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has criticized moves by Japanese and Ukrainian companies to cooperate on drone technology, warning that such ties would be regarded by Moscow as a "clear hostile act."

The rainy season ended in the Kanto-Koshin and Tokai regions on July 20 as strengthening high pressure brought intense heat across Japan, with temperatures forecast to reach 38 C in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, and Kofu.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

A police officer fired a warning shot into the air after a 42-year-old woman approached officers while pointing a kitchen knife at them on a street in Eniwa, Hokkaido, on July 17.

A 45-year-old man was arrested early July 20 after allegedly crashing a passenger car into a convenience store in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and walking around the parking lot carrying a kitchen knife and a golf club.

A 42-year-old man was arrested after allegedly driving under the influence and intentionally ramming a motorcycle in Togitsu, Nagasaki Prefecture, leaving its rider seriously injured.

More than a dozen people were injured after a massive rope suddenly snapped during a tug-of-war at a festival in Kitami, Hokkaido, sending participants falling backward onto an asphalt road.

A public housing complex in Aichi Prefecture where about 70% of households are occupied by foreign residents is showing signs of improvement after introducing multilingual communication, foreign-led neighborhood activities and a 3,000-yen fine for residents who skip community cleaning duties.

A fire that broke out at the long-established Echigo Tsurukame sake brewery in a densely populated residential district of Niigata City on July 19 destroyed the brewery and spread to at least six nearby homes, with firefighters still unable to declare the blaze fully extinguished by noon on July 20.

Two people found dead in a collapsed home following a landslide in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture, have been identified as a married couple in their 60s who lived at the property, city officials said.

Bacteria found in excrement on the uniform of a former nurse arrested on suspicion of killing a hospital patient by contaminating his intravenous drip matched bacteria detected in the victim's blood, investigators have found.