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Daily Express
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Express
Japan's newest esports champ? A panda-loving grandma
Published on: Sunday, July 20, 2025 Published on: Sun, Jul 20, 2025 By: Malay Mail Text Size: TOKYO: When 73-year-old Yoshie Murabe ( pic ) picked Panda as her fighter in a national Tekken 8 tournament, her reason was simple: she just likes pandas. What followed was far from simple — Murabe, a grandmother with zero gaming experience, powered through the competition to become Japan's newest esports champion. Advertisement Murabe won hearts and headlines after clinching the top spot at the Amigo Club Cup Tekken 8 Finals, a tournament featuring players aged 60 to 90 from care homes across Japan. Hosted by the Care e-Sports Association, the event was livestreamed and quickly went viral, drawing praise from game streamers, voice actors and viewers nationwide. 'I was happy to win,' Murabe told Tokyo Weekender following her unexpected victory. Asked if anything about the experience was difficult, she replied without hesitation: 'There wasn't anything in particular I found difficult.' During her matches, her mind was clear: 'My only thought was to win.' The event marked a bold step for the Care e-Sports Association, which began in 2019 by hosting tournaments for traditional games like Shogi and Othello . During the Covid-19 pandemic, the group began exploring more modern titles, and this year introduced Tekken 8 to its roster. That move was driven in part by Shinpei Hama, the association's PR rep and a professional Tekken 8 player with Rox3Gaming. 'Some of the participants are living with dementia, but many really enjoyed the game,' Hama told Tokyo Weekender . 'As they chose characters, they seemed to get more attached to them. Some players practiced with passion, saying they wanted to win at least once.' Murabe was among them. Participants were given a month to prepare, and some dove deep — one even clocked in 60 matches in a single night. For Murabe, the experience of picking up a controller for the first time — and finding joy and success — was transformational. 'The response was bigger than anything we've done before,' said Hama. And it wasn't just about gameplay. Many seniors found emotional engagement, focus and confidence through gaming — even those living with cognitive decline. Murabe's story has become the face of a growing movement. As a grandmother competing in a world typically dominated by younger generations, she's proving that age is no barrier to having fun — or winning big. Hama hopes to expand the programme to include other accessible games like GeoGuessr , while continuing to host both modern and traditional tournaments. 'We've realised seniors are better at video games than we assumed,' he said. 'We want to try something that really breaks the mould.' - Malay Mail * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Tokyo Weekender
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Tokyo Weekender
Renoir Director Chie Hayakawa on Turning Grief Into Art
Chie Hayakawa was in elementary school when she decided she wanted to be a filmmaker. The Tokyo native went on to study photography at the New York School of Visual Arts before releasing her breakthrough short 'Niagara,' a story about a girl who goes to live with her dementia-afflicted grandmother. It was selected in the Cinéfondation section at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014. Hayakawa's debut feature, Plan 75 , came eight years later. A critically acclaimed dystopian drama about a government-sponsored euthanasia program available to all Japanese citizens 75 and older to address the country's aging society, it was awarded the Camera d'Or Special Mention at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022. Her latest flick, Renoir , a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale set in Tokyo in the late 1980s about a pre-teen girl named Fuki whose father is battling terminal cancer, was recently nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or prize at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival. Hayakawa recently spoke to Tokyo Weekender about the film. Complete Interview with Chie Hayakawa Why did you decide to make Renoir? My previous movie, Plan 75, was an issue-driven film. I, therefore, wanted to make something different; a movie about emotions that I couldn't describe in words. I've been wanting to make a film about an 11-year-old because I was about that age when I first started to think about becoming a filmmaker. There were a lot of ideas and scenes in my mind for my future film. © Renoir – Loaded Films You mentioned Plan 75, which also deals with preemptive grief. How connected are the two films? And what was it like making such a personal movie from an emotional perspective? My personal experience of living with a father who had cancer affected my perception of death, solidarity and human dignity. So I think you have similar underlying themes in both films. For me, making Renoir was like a journey to find myself. I gained a new perspective on my childhood. What kind of films inspired you when making this film? I was inspired by movies which have a child as the protagonist, such as Shinji Somai's Moving , Victor Erice's The Spirit of the Beehive and François Truffaut's The 400 Blows, to name a few. Why did you decide on Renoir as the title? I wanted to have a title that didn't have a specific meaning. I like the contrast between a story about a little Japanese girl and a French painter. However, after showing the film at Cannes, a lot of people mentioned that the movie was like an impressionist painting. A picture starts to emerge with a lot of brush strokes and colors. Renoir has a lot of small episodes which don't look like they connect with each other, but the collections of these episodes help to give the film something special and, I hope, leave a lasting impression. © Renoir – Loaded Films The film includes a story about a pedophile who attempts to groom Fuki via phone chat chat lines. Why did you include that? Girls are constantly exposed to such dangers. Sometimes they don't understand what's going on, but have a feeling of fear or uneasiness. They also have curiosity about sexual things at that age. I wanted to depict a girl's complex feelings and bitter experience. How her dignity can be hurt by men's desires. Why did you choose the Yellow Magic Orchestra song 'Rydeen' in the movie? That was the song I danced to at a summer camp when I was a child. Also, the film is set in 1987, so I think it also embodies the positivity that Japan was feeling at that time during the bubble period. Telepathy is another theme in the film. Were you interested in that growing up? Yes, I was drawn into it. I practiced a lot when I was in my early teens. I wanted to believe it existed and that miracles were possible. © Renoir – Loaded Films Yui Suzuki was the first child to audition for the role. What impressed you about her? And what was she like to work with? I found that she has her own universe inside of her. She is a very creative artist who is brave and is very comfortable in front of the camera. I really liked her strong gaze. Once I cast her, though, I was expecting that it would be very challenging to direct a child. However, it was so easy working with Yui. I didn't really give her detailed directions. I just let her do whatever she wanted. She acted so naturally. She has real talent. What about the performances of Lily Franky and Hikari Ishida? Lily Franky reminds me of Chishu Ryu because his acting is so minimal and his presence, just standing or sitting, gives a very strong and true impression. I was impressed with Hikari Ishida's performance as she embodied a mother's frustration, desperation and weakness. How did it feel to be nominated for the Palme d'Or? I was honored and felt very encouraged as a filmmaker. But at the same time, it was very surrealistic to see my name among other legendary filmmakers. For a long time, it didn't feel real. Of course, I would love to be nominated again. My future goal, though, is just to keep making films that I can put my soul into. Renoir is showing at Shinjuku Piccadilly Cinema with English subtitles until July 17. Related Posts Chie Hayakawa's Renoir Competes for Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival 2025 Johatsu: A Haunting Documentary About Japan's 'Evaporated People' David Lynch and Japan – The Twin Peaks of a Decades-Long, Mutual Obsession
Tokyo Weekender
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Tokyo Weekender
Timeleft Japan Review: Does This Friend App Really Work?
If you're a 20- or 30-something in Tokyo, you've probably seen a Timeleft ad on Instagram. Typically featuring a group of young people grinning at dinner with wine glasses in hand, the photos look more like your friend's recap of a fun night out than an ad. Timeleft's premise sounds intriguing, albeit a little cheesy. It's 'a new way of meeting people without expectations,' according to the app's Instagram account. 'Every Wednesday, we gather as strangers around a table to take a chance, share our stories and open up to each other.' The concept certainly piques curiosity, but not everyone is brave enough to take the plunge and risk the potential awkwardness of meeting a bunch of strangers via an app. Plus, there's the logistics of it all. How do you get matched? Who pays? Is it safe? Luckily, one of Tokyo Weekender 's trusted sources was kind enough to provide some details about her experience attending a Timeleft gathering. Meet Nozomi, a 27-year-old Tokyoite working in advertising. Timeleft Participant Interview Can you tell us about yourself? I'm Japanese, but I was born in Kobe and grew up in the US. I came back to Japan and spent my middle and high school years in Kansai, and went to Australia for university. Some of my hobbies are Pilates — I hold group lessons in English every month — podcasting (about topics like career, relationships, beauty and fashion for girls in their late 20s) and traveling. I've been living in Tokyo for two years now, and I love it so far! There are so many things to do. What do you love most about Tokyo? And what are some of the challenges of living here? The city feels so big, and you can meet such a wide variety of people. Even though I'm Japanese and have lived here for more than half my life, it feels so new. But as a young professional, sometimes it feels like all you're doing is just commuting between your home and your office — you know, home, office, home, office. Then on the weekends, you're just so exhausted that you just want to rest and stay at home, and not really branch out as much. When you worked in Australia, were people more open to making new friends? Yes, having experienced western cultures, I do sometimes think it's harder to meet new people in Tokyo. Generally, I think that as adults, a lot of people just aren't as interested in expanding their existing friend groups; they're happy with their circle already. For me, I know I already have a lot of great friendships from school — they are my closest friends and we've known each other for over 10 years. I do, however, still want to branch out and expand my circles, especially since I teach Pilates on the side. My vision is to create an international social-slash-Pilates community this year. How did you first come across Timeleft? I saw ads on social media and websites even when I was living in Australia. But I always just thought it was a scam, so I never had the guts to sign up. After I kept seeing targeted ads in Japan, I just decided to go for it. How does it work? After downloading the app, you take a short personality test, then choose a location out of a few areas in your city. I opted for Meguro or Ebisu. You then decide whether you want to get dinner, or just drinks. The gatherings are on Wednesdays, or more recently, on Tuesdays for girls only. You can select your budget from three tiers, your dietary preferences and preferred languages. I chose Japanese and English. You also have to pay to attend — It's ¥1,890 for one-time participation, meal price not included, and ¥2,290 for a monthly subscription. A few days before the dinner date, you get a notification from the app about your group, consisting of the other four people's nationality and occupation, as well as the restaurant details. You can't contact any of the people beforehand; you just have to show up to the restaurant. That seems so nerve-wracking, like going on a blind date. Yes, it really is. You don't have any clue who's coming. You might even run into someone you know. How did the evening unfold? I consider myself an extrovert, but I was honestly so nervous. It felt like a first date. But when I showed up to the restaurant and sat down, we were all instantly able to connect. It probably helped that we were speaking in English rather than Japanese; I often feel that I can get closer to people much quicker when conversing in English. My group had three Japanese girls, one Kiwi guy and one Taiwanese girl. We just started out by introducing ourselves, and asking basic questions about our jobs, backgrounds and hobbies. The app also gave us icebreaker questions, like 'what would you want to do on your last day on earth?' Things like that. I think we got lucky with our group chemistry, so none of us felt awkward. After dinner, we got a notification about the second location, which was TenCups, a bar in Shibuya. What does the second location hangout entail? Was it just your group? No. Timeleft basically put together a bunch of groups who had also been having dinner around Ebisu, for more opportunities to mingle. The whole bar space was rented out; we just had to pay for our drinks. Interestingly, I did notice that not every group was as friendly with each other as ours. So I do think group chemistry can be hit or miss. You can also choose to forego the second location. One of the girls in my group felt tired, and just went home after our dinner. Did your group make plans to meet up again? Yes, we exchanged contact information and made a Line group chat immediately. We made plans to golf together, and some of them wanted to join my Pilates class. Last month, we merged our group and another group together, and we have another house party coming up this month. So, it definitely didn't end as a one-time outing, which is great. I also know of a girl who met another girl at a Timeleft gathering, and they found out they live really close to each other. Now they're basically best friends. Would you go to another Timeleft meetup? Yes! I definitely want to. And I already recommended it to so many of my friends here and abroad. If you have wanted to meet more people outside of work and your close friend circle, I think Timeleft is a great tool. Do you think the app is going to be successful long-term? I can see it lasting long-term, especially because connections and social interactions these days rely so heavily on digital avenues; I think in-person meetups will become more and more valuable! Follow Nozomi on Instagram @nozzzieee , The Sunday Brunch Club Podcast @sbc_podcast and check out her bilingual pilates classes @noz_pilates . Related Posts Japanese Dating Apps: A Guide To Finding Love Online For Comedian Yurié Collins, A Perfect Day in Tokyo Involves Stand-Up and K-Town Tohru Dance: The Salaryman Turned Dancing Sensation
Tokyo Weekender
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Tokyo Weekender
Tohru Dance: The Salaryman Turned Dancing Sensation
As people get older, we often find ourselves making more and more excuses not to try new things. Maybe it's bad knees, a stiff back or just the pull of routine — with age comes a litany of reasons to remain stationary. That's definitively not the case for Toru Utsumi, better known online as Tohru Dance . According to him, 'It's never too late to start dancing, because today is the youngest day of my life.' The 59-year-old Fukuoka Prefecture native may work a busy day job as a managerial consultant, but that doesn't stop him from dancing his heart out every chance he gets. Tohru's trademark suit and smooth moves have helped him to garner a massive fanbase, with over half a million followers between his Instagram and TikTok accounts. But what keeps someone on the cusp of their 60s so spry as they head into their golden years? On a windy evening in Shibuya, Tokyo Weekender sat down with the man himself to find out. List of Contents: An Interview with Tohru Dance Where To Find Tohru Dance Related Posts An Interview with Tohru Dance What inspired you to take up dancing? After I turned 50, I thought that I don't have that much time left in my life and wanted to try something new. But instead of trying something completely unknown to me, I thought I would try to properly learn dancing, which I often did in my younger days at discos and night clubs. So, at 52, I started going to dance classes. What style of dancing do you focus on? The dance style I practice is called locking, but actually, the dancing I do in my videos is more freestyle — or, actually, it's Tohru-style (laughs). Locking itself is about locking into set movements after a few steps, so it's like 1, 2, 3 lock! 1, 2, 3 lock! But my videos are more like, 1, 2, 3 slide slide . Are there any other dance styles you want to try out? The truth is I really want to master locking for now! You've gained a strong following of fans from overseas. Did you initially think your dancing would reach such a global audience? In Japan, it's common for great dancers to get popular. I understood that and thought that I wouldn't be able to become like that. I really never expected to gain such a following overseas. How has it been meeting and dancing with your followers in public? The first time I ever danced with someone from overseas was in Kobe. I was on a business trip. However, he was very shy, and his Japanese wasn't that strong, so we mostly conversed through Google Translate. But we both danced and had a great time, and I realized that even if you can't speak the same language, you can communicate through dance. Are the songs you dance to selected by your followers' recommendations? How do you select songs? Yes, all songs are requests! While I can't see every comment these days, when I first started, each song request was saved in order, but the list started to get quite huge. [His current spreadsheet of song requests is over 700 songs.] You dance to so many types of music. Is there a particular genre you find easiest to dance to? I like things that work with locking. Soul and funk are easier to dance to, especially older songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s — but most of my requests are more recent hip-hop songs (laughs). What's your secret to staying so genki (active) in your 50s? It's quite fun for me, so I think that's what allows me to stay so active. Do you have any advice for staying limber as you age? Don't use your age as an excuse to give up. If you think doing something is impossible due to your age, that will become your reality. What do you feel like when you're dancing? I don't think about anything at all, really… I try to relish the feeling of my body reacting to the music. Was it difficult to overcome dancing in front of others initially? It still is! If there are people around, I don't really like to dance by myself, and I try to get out of there, to somewhere quieter. You're also part of a dance group called the O'jeys. Can you tell us more about them? This is the seventh year the O'jeys group has been running. We're a group of older gentlemen learning to lock. Originally our dance instructor encouraged us to form the group and get involved in competitions. The average age of our group is 59 years old, with the youngest member being 48 and our oldest member being 71. How long do you plan to dance for? There are two guys in our group who are 71, so when I'm 71, they will be 83. I still want to be able to tell them to keep dancing at that age — so at least until I'm 71! Where To Find Tohru Dance Instagram TikTok YouTube Related Posts A Chat With Hyde, Japan's Biggest Rock Star How Kagura Dance Influenced the Story of Demon Slayer The Kimono-Wearing Snowboarder Carving a New Path for Japanese Crafts
Tokyo Weekender
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Tokyo Weekender
Akira Otani Becomes First Japanese Novelist To Win British Crime Fiction Award
Novelist Akira Otani made history this week, becoming the first Japanese winner of the best translated crime novel prize at the Dagger Awards. Her triumph was announced by the United Kingdom's Crime Writers' Association (CWA) on July 3. The Night of Baba Yaga , translated by Sam Bett, was competing against five other novels, including Butter by fellow Japanese author Asako Yuzuki. Otani's novel is a queer thriller that follows Yoriko Shindo, a fierce mixed-race fighter who becomes the bodyguard of a yakuza princess. Although several acclaimed works by Japanese writers — such as Hideo Yokoyama, Kotaro Isaka and Keigo Higashino — have been shortlisted for the Dagger Award's translation category over the years, none have received the prize. List of Contents: Embracing Ambiguity in Fiction and Life The Rise of Translated Japanese Fiction Related Posts courtesy of Kawade Shobo Shinsha Embracing Ambiguity in Fiction and Life Born in Tokyo in 1981, Otani began her career as a video game writer. Her debut in the literary world came in 2018 with Nobody Said We're Perfect , a short story collection that explores relationships between women. The Night of Baba Yaga , her fourth feature-length novel published in Japan, was the first to be translated into English in 2024. The translated work was featured in Tokyo Weekender's 2024 book recommendations list . 'I feel that the depiction of women in fiction is often fixed and unrealistic, with only a few patterns,' Otani said in an interview with Shueisha Bungei Station. 'Real friends and acquaintances are more diverse and interesting than that… I decided to portray real women in my stories.' Otani also discussed the importance of embracing gray areas in relation to her own identity as a writer during her acceptance speech at the Dagger Award Ceremony in London. 'I am not a mystery writer. I write a variety of works,' she stated , in reference to the segmentation of authors by genre in Japan. 'Ambiguity is what defines me as a writer. I believe that accepting your own ambiguity and acknowledging the ambiguity of others will make the world a better place.' There are over 38,000 copies of The Night of Baba Yaga in Japan as of today, and the novel is currently available in the United Kingdom, United States and South Korea, with plans to publish in Germany, Italy and Brazil. The Rise of Translated Japanese Fiction Otani's work is one of a number of Japanese novels to have enjoyed great success in the United Kingdom in recent years. According to figures from Nielsen BookScan, Japanese fiction represented 25% of all translated fiction sales in the UK in 2022. Last November, The Guardian reported that 43% of the top 40 translated fiction titles in the UK for 2024, up to that point, were by Japanese authors. While literary giants such as Banana Yoshimoto and Haruki Murakami are no strangers to overseas fame, the past decade has witnessed the global rise of a broader range of Japanese authors. Literary fiction titles from female perspectives by writers such as Sayaka Murata ( Convenience Store Woman ) and Mieko Kawakami ( Breasts and Eggs ) have surged in popularity, as have slice-of-life comfort fiction novels like Toshikazu Kawaguchi's Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Michiko Aoyama's What You Are Looking for Is in the Library . There has also been a huge growth in classic and contemporary crime fiction from Japan in the UK market, including Yuzuki's aforementioned bestseller Butter and golden age crime novels such as Seicho Matsumoto's Tokyo Express (also known as Points and Lines ). Related Posts Japan's Best Crime and Mystery Writers | List of 7 Visiting Real Life Locations From Haruki Murakami Novels in Tokyo Spotlight: Yasunari Kawabata — Japan's First Nobel Literature Laureate
