ブルーボーイ事件 (Blue Boy Jiken)

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2026

Dir. IIZUKA Kasho
2025 | 106 mins | Japan | Japanese with English Subtitles
YAMANAKA Takashi, NAKAGAWA Miyu, NISHIKIDO Ryo, MAEHARA Ko

A forgotten trial in 1960s Tokyo challenges the law, society, and the very right to live as oneself.

Tokyo, 1965. The city is booming from the Olympic-driven economic surge. Amid growing internationalisation, the government introduces new measures to reinforce public morals — particularly public prostitution by women. As police intensify their crackdown, they are confounded by the presence of so-called “Blue Boys” : transgender women who, though still legally registered as male, live and work as women. Unable to charge them under the current Anti-Prostitution Law, which only applies to “female” prostitutes, authorities instead arrest Dr. AKAGI Masao (YAMANAKA Takashi), the surgeon who performed their gender-affirming operations, accusing him of violating the Eugenic Protection Law for rendering his patients infertile.

Meanwhile, Sachi (NAKAGAWA Miyu), a café waitress quietly planning her future with her fiancé (MAEHARA Ko), hides a past she thought she had left behind — she too was one of Dr. AKAGI’s patients. When defence attorney KANO Taku (NISHIKIDO Ryo) asks her to testify in court, Sachi — alongside two other transgender women — is forced to confront her history and identity before a society unwilling to see her for who she really is.

Based on the real-life “Blue Boy Incident,” Blue Boy Trial sheds light on a ground-breaking yet long-overlooked case that questioned the legality of gender-affirming surgery — and, more profoundly, what is means to find happiness by being your authentic self. With empathy and precision, director IIZUKA Kasho (himself a transgender man) and newcomer NAKAGAWA Miyu (also transgender) bring to life a moment that reshaped Japan’s understanding LGBTQ+ issues and continues to resonate today.

Content warning: Contains sexual references and offensive language

Image: © 2025 “Blue Boy Trial” Film Partners

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2026

Knowing Me, Knowing You: The True Self in Japanese Cinema

The UK’s largest festival of Japanese cinema, the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme (JFTFP), is back again. This is the place where cinema comes alive!

Knowing others — let alone ourselves — is not easy, as we behave differently depending on the relationship, environment, or even intention. In an age of advanced digital technology, where imagery can be readily manipulated, it is even harder to define who we, or others, truly are. This notion of identifying the self has been repeatedly explored in cinematic narratives in various ways. However, is it really possible to know our true selves? And if so, would such revelations lead to happiness and freedom, or might they instead bring disastrous and harsh consequences? With these questions in mind, the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2026 showcases some of the most unmissable Japanese films nationwide across the UK. From powerful social crime dramas and laugh-out-loud comedies to gender-defining films, fantasy, and horror, the programme offers something for everyone.

Co-organised with the Japan Foundation

Major supporter: Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation

Sponsors in Kind: Calbee, Clearspring, Pentel, Athletia and SUQQU

Venue: Studio 74, Exeter Phoenix

*Subject to a £1.50 ticketing system charge. We don’t charge this to make a profit. Find out more >>