For reporter Sachiko Sakamaki, working on the special report brought back troubling memories of her own years as a Japanese schoolgirl.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia

Larimer and reporter Sachiko Sakamaki profile a typical 17-year-old girl, discovering why marketers are in awe of her and her peers' trendsetting prowess.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia

"But the most urgent task for us is to train home helpers, " says Nishiguchi Sachiko, a 63-year-old former nurse who now passes her experience on to would-be care-givers.

CNN: Alone in the Big City

With this weak, tepid brew of message movie and family drama, the sensei moves further away than ever from his trademark imagistic energy toward the contemplative style of previous Japanese masters. (Even the title recalls Ozu.) In this tri-generational story, four children vacation with their grandmother (Sachiko Murase) in the country outside Nagasaki while their parents visit a granduncle and his half-American son (Richard Gere) in Hawaii.

NEWYORKER: Rhapsody in August