Latest news with #Toru
Japan Times
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
‘She Taught Me Serendipity': A quiet reminder not to take people for granted
Akiko Ohku is best known for directing comedies about lonely single women on the lookout for love, including her 2017 breakout hit, 'Tremble All You Want.' Mayu Matsuoka starred as a nerdy office worker obsessed with ammonite fossils and a teenage crush she never got over. But as Ohku's latest, 'She Taught Me Serendipity,' shows, her films are not purely rom-coms. When the stories turn serious, their protagonists' pain becomes all too real. 'She Taught Me Serendipity' is the director's first to center on a guy — a quirky, immature college student. But the two women who enter his small world both have strong personalities; he is a weak reed by comparison. Based on Shusuke Fukutoku's novel and scripted by Ohku, the film is thus an ensemble piece, with each of the three main characters delivering a long, soul-baring monologue. This goes against current commercial scriptwriting practice, which prefers staccato dialogue to cater to shrinking audience attention spans. Far from being soporific rambles, however, these monologues have a force and poignance that go straight to the heart. One in particular is a searing confession of love. We first see our hero, Toru Konishi (Riku Hagiwara), returning to the campus of his Kyoto university after a long hiatus, carrying an open umbrella on a sunny day without a trace of self-consciousness. He meets his only friend, the goofy Yamane (Kodai Kurosaki), and in the evening goes to his part-time job cleaning a public bath. His co-worker, the bubbly 'Sacchan' (Aoi Ito), is a fellow student as well as the talented lead singer of an amateur band. But Toru's attention is soon drawn to Hana Sakurada (Yuumi Kawai), a loner who is in one of his lecture classes. He contrives to make her acquaintance and discovers that she more than matches him, quirk for quirk — one of her first questions is whether he has ever turned the TV volume up to the max. She also accepts him for what he is, oddball personality and all. Toru believes he's found his soulmate and literally jumps for joy after they part. The film's opening scenes are fizzy with comic energy, generated by both Ohku's clever, off-center dialogue and the chemistry between Hagiwara and Kawai. But the story strikes deeper notes early on. When Toru and Hana go to an aquarium — a standard first date destination in Japanese dramas about young love — they talk about people dear to them who have died. Confessing that he neglected his grandmother as she was sliding into dementia, Toru breaks down in tears. Hana accepts that, too. Wrapped up in this new relationship, Toru becomes indifferent to and even callous with Sacchan, who is secretly in love with him, and Yamane, who feels disrespected. That is, Toru acts like a jerk, and it blows up in his face. The film, however, does not make black-and-white judgments about this flawed character. Faced with the consequences of his words and actions, Toru suffers and grows as a person. But better reasons for watching are the stellar performances of Kawai and Ito as the women he hurts. And with no sentimentality whatsoever, 'She Taught Me Serendipity' illuminates the message implied in its title: Encounters with random strangers can be happy accidents we come to value and cherish. Unless we are self-centered idiots, that is.
Express Tribune
12-04-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Minerals Bill to be passed 'after approval from Imran'
Provincial Food Minister Zahir Shah Toru on Saturday said the Mines and Mineral Bill will be passed after it is approved by Imran Khan. He said terrorism was on the rise in the province but the central government had left the province alone in this war and the province was fighting terrorism and other problems with its own resources. Speaking at the 'Meet the Press' programme at the Mardan Press Club, he said that the province was currently facing the worst terrorism and that the police and forces were fighting the terrorists with their lives but a lack of resources was a major obstacle in their way. He added that they were not getting the facilities that should be provided by the federation. He said that the Mines and Minerals Bill will be passed with the approval of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, adding that there was no provision regarding minerals that the federation could use the powers of the province. He argued that the PTI was the largest party of the country. Toru further said that there were definitely differences of opinion in the party but that there was no grouping of any kind, adding that the centre was not giving the province resources and rights and the funds of Rs110 billion allocated for the merged districts had not yet been provided. He added that if this continued, the situation could become more serious. Toru said that after the February 8 general elections, two important responsibilities, improving governance and protecting democratic freedoms, had come on the shoulders of the PTI and that, despite the worst conditions, the PTI had played an exemplary role on both fronts. He added that until the supremacy of the Constitution and law was established in the country, development was not possible. He also said that the PTI was fighting for the restoration of constitutional and legal rule under the leadership of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. He termed the Chief Minister's recent visit to Mardan as successful. The CM had announced development projects worth billions during his visit to Mardan, including more than Rs6 billion for the construction of protective embankments around Kalpani, a cultural hall and a science museum, and also released funds for projects abandoned by previous governments.
Express Tribune
07-02-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Crackdown ordered against hoarders ahead of Ramazan
PESHAWAR: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Food Zahir Shah Toru has ordered strict legal action against those involved in hoarding and artificially inflating the prices of essential food items during the holy month of Ramazan. He said that no leniency would be shown in this regard. Toru made these remarks while presiding over a review meeting on the strategy to maintain price stability and curb artificial inflation and hoarding during the holy month. The meeting was attended by Secretary Food Saqib Raza Aslam and senior food department officials. During the meeting, secretary food briefed the minister about measures being implemented across the province. He informed him that special teams have been formed to tackle artificial inflation and hoarding effectively. "The teams will operate at the divisional level under the supervision of Deputy Directors of Food and District Food Controllers in their respective areas," he said. The secretary further stated that the teams would not only hold meetings with businesses dealing in flour, sugar, and other essential commodities but would also conduct inspections and raids to ensure price stability and curb hoarding. The minister directed the officials to take all possible steps to provide relief to the public in Ramazan. He reiterated that those exploiting citizens through artificial price hikes and hoarding would face strict legal consequences. "The provincial government is committed to facilitating the common man. No one will be allowed to loot the public by creating an artificial food crisis," he said. The meeting concluded with instructions to relevant officials to closely monitor market prices and the availability of essential commodities throughout Ramazan and to take immediate action against any violation.
