Production notes

Right after COVID-19 pandemic precautions eased, Wenders was invited to Tokyo by Koji Yanai to observe The Tokyo Toilet, a project in which Japanese public toilets were redesigned in 17 locations throughout Shibuya. Designed by contemporary architects including Tadao Ando, Shiguru Ban, Toyo Ito, Kengo Kuma, Fumihiko Maki, and others, the Tokyo Toilet project forms the mise-en-scène for much of the film. The toilets were commissioned by The Nippon Foundation as "a symbol of Japan's world-renowned hospitality culture", which their designers say were created with safety, cleanliness and inclusivity in mind. At first, the producers envisioned Wenders would make a short film or series of short films on the facilities, but he opted for a feature film, with co-screenwriter Takuma Takasaki explaining that the conception of the character of Hirayama felt like new territory for them. In an interview with The Progressive, Wenders revealed that, in his conception, Hirayama was a wealthy alcoholic businessman who, after ending up in a hotel room with no memory, contemplating suicide, and being struck by the beauty of sunlight falling through leaves, gave up his career and became a gardener and then a toilet cleaner. The film is produced by Master Mind Limited (Japan) and Spoon Inc. (Japan) in collaboration with Wenders Images (Germany). The film was shot over 17 days in Tokyo. The style of the film takes inspiration from the style of Japanese director Yasujirō Ozu. The minimalist approach to storytelling, the focus on ordinary life, and the 4:3 aspect ratio of the film are all nods to Ozu. Also, the name Hirayama comes from a common character name in Ozu's films (Tokyo Story, An Autumn Afternoon).

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 96% based on 184 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "An absorbing slice-of-life drama led by a remarkable Kôji Yakusho performance, Perfect Days adds a quietly soaring gem to director/co-writer Wim Wenders' estimable filmography." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 80 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Hsin Wang of FIPRESCI described the film as Wim Wenders' lifetime masterpiece. German film journalist Dieter Oßwald wrote, "With furious ease, Wenders succeeds in making a rather perfect film." Wendy Ide of The Guardian called Perfect Days "Wim Wenders's best film in years", praising the film for being "as much a manifesto as a movie...advocating not just a new way of looking, but of new way of living." Kōji Yakusho's performance drew critical acclaim, with Ide praising him for his ability to "convey an extraordinarily rich interior life, almost entirely without leaning on dialogue." Mansur Zeynalov of Taste of Cinema considered that he was disregarded for an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination. In 2025, it ranked number 83 on the "Readers' Choice" edition of The New York Times' list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century".

Following the theatrical release of Perfect Days in international markets, interest in Japanese public facilities, particularly those of the Tokyo Toilet Project in Shibuya, has surged.