Welcome to SciFi Japan, your source for news and information on science fiction, horror, fantasy and action movies, TV shows and videos.. from classics and old favorites, to upcoming productions and home video releases, to the odd and obscure titles you may never have heard of!
The mainstream press has largely ignored Japanese tokusatsu (special effects) films, and when the genre has been covered by American news outlets and television the results were often inaccurate and condescending. On the other hand, there have been some excellent fan publications and websites devoted to these films, but Japanese studios have been extremely reluctant to deal with fan groups due to concerns over copyright infringement issues (some fans advocate and promote activities such as video bootlegging and unlicensed downloading). With no direct access to studio news and photos, fan reporting has often been forced to rely on secondhand info and rumors.
What was missing was a professionally run English news outlet working directly with Japanese studios and filmmakers. So, in 2006, we brought together a talented group of published authors and reporters, film historians, reviewers, festival organizers, and movie makers with ties to the Japanese film industry to launch SciFi Japan (More information on our key contributors can be found here). The only English language news site press registered with all of the major Japanese studios and production companies, SciFi Japan is able to consistently bring accurate and exclusive information on Japanese films and shows to English speaking/reading fans worldwide.
This site also receives updates from licensees and distributors of Japanese movies in North America, the UK and Australia, and we’re press registered with the major American studios as well. So, while our primary focus remains Japanese llive action and anime news we will rinclude international productions in our "International SciFii" and. "Asian Cinema" sections.
And in 2012, we launched SciFi JAPAN TV, a web series featuring coverage of tokusatsu events and interviews with Japanese filmmakers. Each episode was shot on location in Japan exclusively for SciFi Japan by the Gaijin Channel production team.
SciFi Japan has grown by leaps and bounds over these past few years, and the site will continue to improve. So please bookmark SFJ and check back with us frequently… we’ll do our best to make it worth the effort!
