How Japanese films are winning over a new global audience 

Director Hirokazu Koreeda’s “Manbiki Kazoku” (“Shoplifters”) won the Palme d’Or in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
Koreeda became the fourth Japanese director to win the highest award at the festival, following Teinosuke Kinugasa, Akira Kurosawa and Shohei Imamura. It is the first such happy news for Japan in 21 years from Cannes, since Imamura won the top award with his film “Unagi” (“The Eel”) in 1997.
Koreeda’s work was nominated for the fifth time in competition at Cannes. For his film “Daremo Shiranai” (“Nobody Knows”), Yuya Yagura received the award for best actor in 2004, and his film “Soshite Chichi ni Naru” (“Like Father, Like Son”) won the Jury Prize in 2013.
Koreeda’s latest win can be seen as appreciation for his ability, which has already reached a high level. Koreeda, 55, said happily that winning the prize has encouraged him to keep making films for another 20 years. His voracious desire to create films will surely produce more masterworks.
“Manbiki Kazoku” is the story of an impoverished family living on a grandmother’s pension and by shoplifting. Despite their having turned to criminal acts, Koreeda warmly depicts a family who live shoulder to shoulder.
By making films such as “Soshite Chichi ni Naru”, which is about infants switched at birth, Koreeda has questioned what a family should be like. “Manbiki Kazoku” is undoubtedly an extension of this theme.
The weakening of family connections is a phenomenon shared with other countries. The film has been praised because it tackles the universal theme of loneliness. One of the jury members said that the judges had “fallen in love” with the film.

Encouragement
Most of Koreeda’s work is based on original stories and scripts he has written. While many movies have been brought to the screen that are based on best-selling novels, manga or other sources, Koreeda stands out.
Many Japanese movie directors, including Takeshi Kitano and Hayao Miyazaki, have already won international acclaim, and this latest award will be a source of great encouragement and inspiration for generations to follow.
There has been a lot of good news in the world of Japanese cinema. The number of films released has increased to about 600 a year, compared with the 200-a-year range in the 1990s. Such big hits as “Kimi no Na wa” (Your Name) and “Shin Gojira” (Godzilla Resurgence) are fresh in the memory. In April, the National Film Archive was created to serve as a base for the promotion of Japanese films.
The Japanese government is tackling the overseas deployment of the film industry. With the latest festival win as a tailwind, the appeal of Japanese films should be conveyed ever more widely.