There Was Such a Thing Before

Summer of 2021, in Fukushima.

There Was Such a Thing Before — Plot

Time stands still in the silent streets of Fukushima. Radioactive residues continue to taint the lives of the citizens with a slow, invisible anxiety, trapping them between past wounds and future uncertainties. As his old home was highly exposed to radiation, leading to his mother’s death, young Akira grows up aimless and uprooted. In his search for his lost father, he is assisted by Yuji, the owner of a down-at-heels surfboard shop, as well as a concerned classmate, Shinichi, who becomes increasingly entangled in Akira’s story.

• Release date
• September 13, 2025
• Runtime
• 131 min
• Genres
• Drama
• Director
• Yoshihiko Matsui

There Was Such a Thing Before — Cast

Oshirō Maeda Akira Airu Kubozuka Shinichi Arata Iura Atsuto Shuji Kashiwabara Mitsuo Taiga Yasugi Yuuji Kana Satouchi Kaori Hirose Yoshimasa Kondo Yasuhiro Katsumata Sousuke Yamamoto