http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/nationalists-threaten-violence-over- film/2008/04/11/1207856831616.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
Justin Norrie in Tokyo April 12, 2008
ITS TITLE means "peaceful country", but the award-winning documentary film Yasukuni - about Japan's notorious shrine for the war dead - is expected to draw a furious response from ultra-nationalists at its big-screen premiere.
Militant groups have sent death threats to the Chinese-born director, Li Ying, and vowed to attack cinemas, where management and police are preparing for protests.
All five cinemas in Tokyo and Osaka that had planned to show the film from today cancelled the sessions amid intimidation by the ultra-nationalists, who have a record of violently avenging "anti-Japanese" sentiment.
The capitulation also followed a controversial preview screening for 40 members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who demanded to see the movie before its release.
That viewing has raised concerns about Japan's commitment to the constitutionally enshrined right to free expression. But attempts to suppress the film backfired this week when a further 21 cinemas, some angered by the threat to artistic integrity, decided to show it from next month.
The Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo houses the souls of Japan's 2.47 million war dead, including 1000 war criminals - 12 of whom were judged class-A war criminals. It is the focal point of claims by some that the country has never properly accepted responsibility for its wartime atrocities.
A history of the war on the shrine's walls alleges the conflict was started by the United States, and lauds the "valiant" efforts of Japanese troops. Of the Nanking Massacre, during which Japanese soldiers slaughtered more than 100,000 Chinese civilians, it makes only one mention: "Chinese soldiers disguised in civilian clothes were severely prosecuted."
Li, 45, who lives in Tokyo, spent 10 years making his film with 7.5 million yen ($80,000) from Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. He says it is an attempt to address Japan's apparent amnesia about its role in the war, but he insists he "never intended the film to be seen as an attack on Japan. I'm dealing with this issue because it needs to be dealt with".
At the heart of the film is the recurring motif of the Yasukuni sword, considered the embodiment of the shrine. The filmmaker interviewed the last living Yasukuni swordsmith, Naoji Kariya, who helped forge some of the 8100 swords used to decapitate Japanese war victims, as seen in the film's archival footage.
The reticent craftsman has since asked for his appearances to be deleted and said he hopes the movie will not be shown.
Li accused ruling party politician Haruko Arimura, who visited Mr Kariya last month, of pressuring the swordsmith into pulling out of the film.
"Certainly, I can only interpret that (the politician) is working to cripple this film," Li said at a press conference. "If the movie cannot stand, of course (we) cannot screen it. Is this her aim? I do not know. But I am very concerned now that this will happen."
In one scene, in 2005 on the 60th anniversary of Japan's surrender, the ruling party politician Tomomi Inada tells a nationalist rally: "We are committed to rebuilding a proud Japan, where the prime minister can openly worship at Yasukuni."
Ms Inada, who led demands for the early screening for right-wing politicians, recently told reporters that while she felt the documentary was "anti-Japanese" she did not support attempts to censor free speech. But others say her criticisms were carefully worded to set off attack-dog extremists.
Broadsheet newspapers have denounced the political pressure, sparking a national debate over the state of democracy in Japan. At a news conference on Thursday, well-known journalists joined Mr Li in criticising surreptitious attempts by politicians to suppress free speech.
Tajima Yasuhiko, a professor of journalism at Sophia University, Tokyo, told the online journal Japan Focus: "My sense is that we have entered a very dangerous period for freedom of expression and press freedom in this country."
A spokesman for Humax Cinema, Tokyo, said that management had no choice but to cancel the film after nationalists "threatened to destroy our screen, which they have done before when we showed things they didn't like. Most of our staff are young women, and they're terrified."
MORE:
"From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jump to: navigation, search. This article is about the Yasukuni Shrine. For the 2007 film titled Yasukuni, ..." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasukuni_Shrine
"Yasakuni Shrine, Japanese Nationalism, and the Constitution. Prime Minister Challenged. by Nobumasa Tanaka. February 06, 2003. Printer Friendly Version ..." www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=2989
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