I want to start this by saying that I haven’t followed the mass of media (mostly outside of Japan) about “The Cove” particularly closely, and nor have I seen the documentary. But I have seen enough to know the broad strokes, and what I wanted to say is more about general ideas anyway, so I [...]

Japanese Box Office: Feb 13 to Feb 19

(Rank, Movie Name, Weekend Box Office (US$), Cume (US$) (Note: US$1=89.21 yen))

1. Avatar, $5,623,472, $121,621,223

2. Oceans, $1,528,860, $19,704,119

3. Valentine’s Day, $1,213,228, $1,507,749

4. Koshonin (The Negotiator), $1,118,418, $2,184,179

5. Ototo (Younger Brother), $1,034,914, $12,358,951

6. Invictus, $1,001,194, $4,749,448

7. Golden Slumber, $995,217, $8,421,079

8. The [...]

Japanese Box Office: Feb 06 to Feb 12

(Rank, Movie Name, Weekend Box Office (US$), Cume (US$) (Note: US$1=90.25 yen))

1. Avatar, $6,406,579, $108,042,330

2. Oceans, $2,478,500, $15,549,087

3. Ototo (Younger Brother), $1,543,646, $8,105,237

4. Invictus, $1,455,138, $1,778,492

5. Golden Slumber, $1,433,546, $5,648,449

6. The Vanishment of Haruhi Suzumiya, $997,803, $997,803

7. Samurai Sentai Shinkenger vs. [...]

Japanese Box Office: Jan 30 to Feb 05

(Rank, Movie Name, Weekend Box Office (US$), Cume (US$) (Note: US$1=89.77 yen))

1. Avatar, $6,846,505, $91,978,188

2. Oceans, $3,477,850, $10,814,199

3. Ototo (Younger Brother), $2,616,454, $2,616,454

4. Golden Slumber, $2,171,688, $2,171,688

5. Samurai Sentai Shinkenger vs. Go-onger Ginmaku Bang!, $1,659,338, $1,659,338

6. The Lovely Bones, $1,515,834, $1,968,995

7.

Japanese Box Office: Jan 23 to Jan 29

(Rank, Movie Name, Weekend Box Office (US$), Cume (US$) (Note: US$1=92.59 yen))

1. Avatar, $5,754,496, $77,732,992

2. Oceans, $3,756,389, $4,356,393

3. Surrogates, $1,515,739, $1,935,408

4. Sayonara Itsuka, $1,466,476, $1,466,476

5. Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, $1,455,492, $1,455,492

6. Nodame Cantabile: The Final Score – Part 1, $1,210,697, $38,915,917

7.

Japanese Box Office: Jan 16 to Jan 22

(Rank, Movie Name, Weekend Box Office (US$), Cume (US$) (Note: US$1=92.59 yen))

1. Avatar, $5,606,688, $65,211,354

2. Nodame Cantabile: The Final Score – Part 1, $1,543,953, $35,895,411

3. Where the Wild Things Are, $1,540,086, $1,819,542

4. Bandage, $1,474,565, $1,474,565

5. Up, $1,350,917, $50,595,986

6. One Piece Film: Strong [...]

Japanese Box Office: Jan 9 to Jan 15

(Rank, Movie Name, Weekend Box Office (US$), Cume (US$) (Note: US$1=93.02 yen))

1. Avatar, $6,897,825, $50,548,688

2. Nodame Cantabile: The Final Score – Part 1, $2,472,188, $31,043,916

3. Up, $2,139,043, $46,449,234

4. One Piece Film: Strong World, $1,753,517, $44,506,849

5. Tsuribaka Nisshi 20: Final, $785,242, $5,590,459

6. Michael [...]

Japanese Box Office: Jan 2 to Jan 8

(Rank, Movie Name, Weekend Box Office (US$), Cume (US$) (Note: US$1=91.16 yen))

1. Avatar, $7,351,042, $35,050,720

2. Nodame Cantabile: The Final Score – Part 1, $3,252,911, $23,979,527

3. Up, $2,928,793, $40,103,323

4. One Piece Film: Strong World, $2,611,102, $39,439,879

5. Tsuribaka Nisshi 20: Final, $1,105,212, $3,102,237

6. 2012, [...]

Japanese Box Office: Dec 26 to Jan 1

(Rank, Movie Name, Weekend Box Office (US$), Cume (US$) (Note: US$1=90.42 yen))

1. Avatar, $6,611,848, $14,553,033

2. Nodame Cantabile: The Final Score – Part 1, $3,011,040, $14,092,110

3. Up, $2,589,434, $32,043,966

4. One Piece Film: Strong World, $2,576,258, $32,238,129

5. Kamen Rider Double & Decade: Movie War 2010, [...]

The Financial Times have released a list of the 50 faces that they consider shaped the last decade. The list includes former prime minister Koizumi Junichiro and animated film maker Miyazaki Hayao. According to FT, the list tries to ‘capture individuals who have had a powerful impact on the world or their region – [...]