Media News - Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Japan’s nationalists on warpath over shrine film

A critically acclaimed movie about Yasukuni Shrine, Japan's controversial memorial to its war dead, has been pulled from Tokyo cinemas amid a campaign of right-wing intimidation and death threats against the distributors. Ten years in the making, Yasukuni explores the shrine's role as a rallying point for the Japanese far right and its tortured relationship with Japan's undigested war history. The Chinese director Li Ying, who moved to Tokyo in 1989 and speaks fluent Japanese, rejects claims that he is anti-Japanese but says Yasukuni symbolises a ‘disease of the spirit’ in Japan and describes his movie as a ‘love-letter’ to the Japanese people. Japanese conservatives have branded the movie ‘Chinese propaganda’ and condemned a decision by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs to award Li a JPY 7.5m (EUR 47,570) grant. With criticism growing along with the threat of violence from ultra-right-wingers, four Tokyo cinemas have pulled out of an official launch on 12 April. The documentary, which was applauded at the Sundance Festival in January, is unlikely to ever flicker on Japan's movie screens. Ultra-right-wingers had threatened retribution against anyone who handled the movie. Anonymous bloggers posted contact details for the distribution company, the Japan Arts Council and every theatre showing it. Death threats were issued against the production company, Dragon Films, forcing it to move its Tokyo offices. (The Independent)

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