News On Japan

Director Hayakawa Chie receives Camera d'Or Special Mention at Cannes

May 29 (NHK) - Japanese director Hayakawa Chie's film PLAN 75 has received a Special Mention by the jury for the Camera d'Or, an award for debut feature films, at the Cannes Film Festival.

The movie is set in Japan in the near future, when a government program encourages people aged 75 or older to be voluntarily euthanized as a remedy to the rapidly aging society.

The main character, an elderly woman, faces a choice of life or death and ponders the meaning of life.

The film was in the "Un Certain Regard" or "a certain glance" section, which presents works with non-traditional stories.

At the festival, South Korean actor Song Kang-ho received the Best Actor Award for his role in "Broker."

The movie by Japanese director Koreeda Hirokazu depicts the journey of a group of people brought together by a "baby box," where infants who cannot be cared for can be left anonymously.

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Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward has installed barricades around the Hachiko statue in front of Shibuya Station as part of safety measures ahead of Halloween on October 31st.

The Liberal Democratic Party, Nippon Ishin no Kai, and Komeito have reached an agreement on the framework for Japan’s new free high school tuition program, which will begin in fiscal 2026. Under the plan, tuition support for private full-time high schools will be capped at 457,000 yen, while correspondence courses will have an upper limit of 337,000 yen.

Bear sightings have surged across Japan, and in Gifu Prefecture’s Shirakawa Village—home to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Shirakawa-go—local authorities held a nighttime drill on October 28th to prepare for possible emergencies.

The Japan Mobility Show opened on October 29th, marking the start of Japan’s premier automotive exhibition, where foreign manufacturers are stepping up their entry into the country’s growing electric vehicle (EV) market.

Prime Minister Takaiichi’s first face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Trump drew high praise from officials at the Prime Minister’s Office, who described the atmosphere as friendly and open. According to government sources, the two leaders addressed each other by their first names, “Sanae” and “Donald,” a gesture that one senior official called “120 points,” underscoring the success of the meeting.

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