JFF26 Tokyo Taxi

Film veteran Yōji YAMADA returns with his 91st feature, a moving reflection on memory, compassion and the power of human connection. Kōji USAMI (Takuya KIMURA) is a taxi driver who works tirelessly to keep his family afloat, while mounting financial pressures and his daughter’s tuition fees weigh heavily on his mind. One morning he is hired by 85-year-old Sumire TAKANO (Chieko BAISHO) who is beginning the long journey from Tokyo to a nursing home in Kanagawa. Initially reserved with one another, the pair gradually connect as Sumire asks Kōji to make a series of detours— small pilgrimages throughout Tokyo to farewell the city she once knew. As Sumire shares memories of a life marked by war, loss and domestic hardship, Kōji listens with quiet attention, and neither will be left unchanged by the time they arrive at their destination. A remake of the acclaimed French-Belgian drama Driving Madeleine, master Yōji YAMADA lends a warm and deeply humanistic touch to this tender road movie about the transformative power of a stranger’s kindness. Chieko BAISHO brings luminous depth to Sumire's story of resilience and fierce independence, earning the 2026 Japan Academy Prize for Best Actress six decades into her extraordinary career.