{"id":21426,"date":"2026-05-13T06:23:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T06:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/21426\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T06:23:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T06:23:14","slug":"japan-has-big-presence-as-cannes-country-of-honor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/21426\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan Has Big Presence As Cannes Country Of Honor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tJapan is out in force in Cannes<\/a> this year across the Official Selection and parallel sections as well as the March\u00e9 du Film, where it is the country of honor<\/a>, with its high-profile presence continuing a long and illustrious relationship with the festival.<\/p>\n

\n\tK\u014dzabur\u014d Yoshimura\u2019s\u00a0The Tale of Genji, Kiyoshi Saeki\u2019s\u00a0Man in the Storm\u00a0and Noboru Nakamura\u2019s\u00a0Nami\u00a0marked Japan\u2019s entry into the main Competition in 1952. The country clinched its first Cannes<\/a> top prize \u2014 the Grand Prix, which was replaced by the Palme d\u2019Or in 1995 \u2014 in 1954 with Teinosuke Kinugasa\u2019s\u00a0Gate of Hell.<\/p>\n

\n\tClose to 75 years after its Cannes debut, Japan is celebrating another Competition hat trick this year with Ry\u00fbsuke Hamaguchi\u2019s Paris-set drama\u00a0All of a Sudden<\/a>; Hirokazu Kore-eda\u2019s sci-fi\u00a0Sheep in the Box<\/a>\u00a0and Fukada Koji<\/a>\u2019s intimate drama\u00a0Nagi Notes<\/a> in the running for the Palme d\u2019Or.<\/p>\n

\n\tElsewhere in Official Selection, Yukiko Sode\u2019s literary adaptation\u00a0All the Lovers in the Night\u00a0plays in Un Certain Regard and Kiyoshi Kurosawa\u2019s historical drama\u00a0The Samurai and the Prisoner\u00a0will be unveiled in the Cannes Premiere section.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tJapan\u2019s first Palme d\u2019Or winner \u2018Gate of Hell\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEverett Collection<\/p>\n

\n\tOver at Directors\u2019 Fortnight, Japanese indie animation will be in the spotlight with Kohei Kadowaki<\/a>\u2019s feature\u00a0We Are Aliens\u00a0and Yano Honami\u2019s medium-length work\u00a0Eri.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Country of Honor focus<\/a>, which is decided at least two years in advance, falls at a buzzy time for the Japanese film business. The local box office hit a record high in 2025 of $1.8 billion, driven by the success of animated fantasy film\u00a0Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe $20 million budget animation, inspired by Koyoharu Gotouge\u2019s bestselling manga, grossed more than $250 million at home to become Japan\u2019s highest-grossing film ever. It delivered close to another $500 million in international ticket sales for a total gross to date of $741 million.<\/p>\n

\n\tAniplex, the subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan which oversees the\u00a0Demon Slayer\u00a0rights for Gotouge and publishing company Shueisha, will be in Cannes with a slate of upcoming animations including\u00a0Witch on the Holy Night, the latest production from\u00a0Demon Slayer\u00a0production studio Ufotable. The market will also showcase a raft of manga works ripe for adaptation in a three-day event dedicated to Japanese IP.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tIn another record-breaking box office performance, Kabuki drama\u00a0Kokuho \u2014 which debuted in Directors\u2019 Fortnight last year and went on to represent Japan at the 98th Oscars after making the short list \u2014delivered a $127 million gross, the best theatrical performance for a local live-action film ever.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn spite of the strength of the domestic box office, the Country of Honor focus, backed by Japan\u2019s Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry and Japan External Trade Organization, chimes in with an increasingly international outlook across the Japanese film industry.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Japan<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tFukada Koji\u2019s Competition entry \u2018Nagi Notes\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMomo Film Co<\/p>\n

\n\tVeteran producer and Cannes regular Yumiko Takebe, president of Tokyo-based Kino Films, suggests this is a necessity due to the country\u2019s demographics, which are characterized by falling birth rates and high life expectancy.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cJapan has no choice but to seek overseas markets in all fields, as we are in a super aged society,\u201d says the producer, whose past credits include Naomi Kawase\u2019s 2017 Palme d\u2019Or contender\u00a0Radiance\u00a0and\u00a0True Mothers.<\/p>\n

\n\tTakebe points to the role of streaming in bringing about deep structural change to the local film and TV sectors as well as breaking down national barriers around content.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFifteen years ago, when Kino Films was established, there were 3,500 video rental stores. This has decreased by 60% and the sales of DVD\/Blu-rays are less than 10% of their peak, with those sales shifting to video on demand,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\n\tJason Gray, one half of Tokyo-based company Loaded Films with wife and co-founder Eiko Mizuno Gray, cautions that behind the 2025 bumper box office lies a harsher reality for most independently produced films.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIf you exclude those two titles from the annual box office it was a standard year in terms of admissions and split between local films and imports. 2024\u2019s\u00a0Last Mile\u00a0and last year\u2019s\u00a0Exit 8,\u00a0recently released in the U.S. by Neon, are increasingly rare cases of smaller titles backed by majors that became mega-hits,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Japan<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u2018We Are Aliens\u2019<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cTrue independents share precious little of the box office pie, even those with notable festival premieres. The international festival circuit, Japan-focused events like Nippon Connection [in Germany], and streaming platforms such as Sakka might be the highest visibility option and warmest welcome for true Japanese indies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLoaded Films\u2019 last production was the 2025 Palme d\u2019Or contender\u00a0Renoir, the second film of Chie Hayakawa after debut feature breakout\u00a0Plan 75, which took inspiration from questions around Japan\u2019s super-aging population.\u00a0Renoir\u00a0played across 180 screens in a mix of arthouse and multiplex venues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

True independents share precious little of the box office pie, even those with notable festival premieres.<\/p>\n

Jason Gray<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt performed quite well considering it didn\u2019t have the conceptual hook of\u00a0Plan 75\u00a0and garnered critical praise, including the coveted Oshima Prize, and international sales have been solid,\u201d says Gray.<\/p>\n

\n\tAgainst this backdrop, indie players are increasingly looking outside of Japan. Kino Films is currently finishing post-production on cult Japanese director Shin\u2019ya Tsukamoto\u2019s English-language debut\u00a0Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People? starring Rodney Hicks and Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush.<\/p>\n

\n\tHicks stars as real-life, late African American Vietnam War veteran Allen Nelson, who wound up on the streets after returning from the conflict with severe PTSD but went on to become an anti-war campaigner of renown in Japan. The cross-border production was shot on location in the U.S., Thailand, Vietnam and Japan.<\/p>\n

\n\tTakebe says the English-language and international shoot were tied to the real-life story, but acknowledges commercial considerations were also at play.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cShin\u2019ya Tsukamoto has enjoyed success<\/a> at various international film festivals with his Japanese-language war dramas\u00a0Fire on the Plain\u00a0and\u00a0Shadow of Fire,\u201d she says. \u201cWe wanted to achieve a theatrical release in English-language territories including North America, which has been difficult until now, so we took up the challenge of making a wholly English-language film.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tYukiko Sode\u2019s Un Certain Regard film\u00a0\u2018All the Lovers in the Night\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCannes Film Festival<\/p>\n

\n\tToronto native Gray, who arrived in Tokyo in 1998, says Loaded Films was one of the first Japanese companies to do co-productions but that other players are now embracing the model.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen we started doing international co-productions a mere 10 years ago, they were not even a topic of discussion within the industry, but now even major studios are considering co-productions as an option,\u201d Gray says.<\/p>\n

\n\tHis company was at the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum in March looking for partners for\u00a0Life Is Yours\u00a0by Emma Kawawada. Gray says the project, revolving around an elderly woman seeking revenge on a foreign company that expropriated her land to build a luxury ski resort, offers international casting and co-producer angles but that the configuration will depend on Kawawada\u2019s artistic vision.<\/p>\n

\n\tRunning concurrent to the organic internationalization of local producers is the Japanese government\u2019s drive to grow the country as an international shooting destination, which it kick-started with the introduction of incentives in 2023.<\/p>\n

\n\tMore than 20 productions have since tapped into the cash rebate offering up to 50% of costs incurred during production, led by\u00a0Tokyo Vice\u00a0and also including\u00a0The Smashing Machine,\u00a0Monarch,\u00a0Rental Family\u00a0and\u00a0Marty Supreme.<\/p>\n

\n\tA revamp of the scheme, offering more flexibility on the timeline for applying and reporting eligible expenses, has been welcomed since being announced in December. There are concerns around minimum thresholds for direct spend in Japan of either $3.2 million, or $1.1 million for projects with distribution in 10 or more territories.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKiyoshi Kurosawa\u2019s Cannes Premiere section film\u00a0\u2018The Samurai and the Prisoner\u2019<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cRevised rules around the subsidy have provided improvements, with it becoming a two-year program,\u201d says Georgina Pope, head of production at Tokyo-based Toho Tombo Pictures, who worked on the shoots of\u00a0The Smashing Machine\u00a0and\u00a0Marty Supreme.<\/p>\n

\n\tShe is still mulling the impact of the new thresholds, suggesting they may weigh on the diversity of projects touching down in the country.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cEven a few days of shooting in Japan gives immense value to the authenticity of a project but may not necessarily meet the new spend threshold,\u201d she says. \u201cA constant flow of diverse projects in size, scale and origin create a solid and growing workforce, giving crew a wide variety of experience and exposure to international filmmakers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBut overall, Pope is upbeat: \u201cJapan feels really exciting and vital at the moment. The domestic, animation and international sectors are all doing well. Studios are busy, cinemas are full\u2026 it really is an exciting time to be in Tokyo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the same time as becoming more outward looking, Japan\u2019s film business has also been looking inward and seeking to clean up its act in terms of working conditions.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen I entered the film industry in the late 1980s, conditions on Japanese film sets were far from healthy,\u201d says Shozo Ichiyama, programming director of the Tokyo International Film Festival and a producer whose credits include Takeshi Kitano\u2019s\u00a0Violent Cop\u00a0and Eric Khoo\u2019s\u00a0Spirit World starring Catherine Deneuve opposite Masaaki Sakai.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cStudios and investors were trying to make movies on the lowest possible budgets, and the resulting strain was reflected in the grueling working conditions faced by crew members on set.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Kokuho\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGKIDS\/Everett Collection<\/p>\n

\n\tHe credits government-led efforts in neighboring South Korea and Taiwan for encouraging more sustainable approaches in the local industry, adding that local filmmakers have also played a role in improving standards.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe fact that influential directors such as Hirokazu Kore-eda, Nobuhiro Suwa and Koji Fukada, who are aware of these developments, have spoken out,\u201d he says, has helped \u201cworking conditions in the Japanese film industry move in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOne producer who has taken the challenge of bringing more equitable practices to the film industry to heart is long-time Kore-eda collaborator and former Toei producer Muneyuki Kii, who launched K2 Pictures in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI founded the company based on my conviction that, compared to other countries, the Japanese industry remains highly \u2018feudal\u2019 in structure,\u201d he says. \u201cI believed that unless the industry becomes more democratized, it would struggle to sustain a healthy cycle or evolve into a new ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAlongside K2 Pictures, Kii launched the K2P Film Fund<\/a> to back animated and live-action productions with a model that would fairly reward investors, creators and crew members.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tRead the digital edition of Deadline\u2019s\u00a0Disruptors<\/a>\/Cannes magazine\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe have successfully completed fundraising and believe we\u2019re progressing in line with the direction we initially set out to achieve,\u201d says Kii.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tK2 Pictures is in Cannes launching sales on polyamorous drama\u00a0Between Two Lovers, the debut feature of former Kore-eda assistant Nanako Hirose;\u00a0Trophy\u00a0by Son Myong A, another Kore-eda prot\u00e9g\u00e9; Miwa Nishikawa\u2019s\u00a0Children Untold;\u00a0and\u00a0Border\u00a0by director Kazuyuki Izutsu (Pacchigi!).<\/p>\n

\n\tKii, too, notes the increasingly international approach across the Japanese film industry but suggests its long-term strength is based on its determination to make films whatever the prevailing winds of the day.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe value of Japanese cinema lies in its commitment to consistently producing films regardless of whether business conditions are favorable or not,\u201d he says, reflecting the commitment first witnessed by Cannes in the 1950s, when directors Yoshimura, Nakamura and Kinugasa arrived in competition with their films, all shot against the odds in postwar Japan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Japan is out in force in Cannes this year across the Official Selection and parallel sections as well…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21427,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[16940,5681,5093,5090,16941,16942,16943,16944,8,17,14743,16945,16946],"class_list":{"0":"post-21426","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-japan","8":"tag-all-of-a-sudden","9":"tag-cannes","10":"tag-cannes-2026","11":"tag-cannes-film-festival","12":"tag-country-of-honor","13":"tag-disruptors","14":"tag-fukada-koji","15":"tag-hirokazu-koreeda","16":"tag-japan","17":"tag-japanese","18":"tag-nagi-notes","19":"tag-ryusuke-hamaguchi","20":"tag-sheep-in-the-box"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}