Yasukuni war shrine is Japan’s ultimate taboo subject. A symbol of the country’s militaristic past, the shrine is revered by nationalists, despised by Japan’s Asian neighbors, and rarely mentioned in public by anyone else.
That taboo faced a test yesterday with the Tokyo premiere of a documentary film that has drawn protests from right-wingers, spooked theater owners and won praise from Japanese who say it’s time to openly discuss the shrine.
Yasukuni focuses on Aug. 15, 2005, when thousands thronged the shrine to mark the 60th anniversary of Tokyo’s World War II surrender. The shrine honors the 2.5 million Japanese who fell in wars from the late 1800s until 1945.
Like the shrine itself, which has a museum depicting Japan’s wartime conquests as a noble enterprise, the film has been a magnet for controversy.
The Tokyo opening was accompanied by a heavy police presence, but the sold-out screenings passed without incident as of early afternoon.
The film, partially funded by ¥7.5 million (US$73,500) from a government-linked agency, was directed by a Chinese citizen, and includes graphic footage of Japanese soldiers executing civilians — three elements that have earned the ire of nationalists.
“The film is anti-Japan, and an insult to Yasukuni and our devotion to it,” said Hiroshi Kawahara, who heads the nationalist group, Doketsusha. “But Yasukuni’s dignity cannot be shaken by a film like this.”
Pacifists and the victims of Japanese aggression — such as China and the Koreas — abhor Yasukuni as a glorification of militarism and a symbol of Tokyo’s failure to fully atone for its past imperialism in the region.
Nationalists and many conservative Japanese, however, see the shrine as a legitimate way to honor the war dead just like other countries honor their fallen soldiers, and accuse critics of trying to cow Japan into paralyzing war guilt.
The opposition nearly scuttled the opening. The threat of right-wing violence intimidated several theaters in Tokyo into canceling plans to show it, and the distributor delayed the original April 12 premiere by several weeks.
The film’s supporters say such trouble is typical in Japan, where a high value on consensus discourages open debate, and threats of violence or embarrassment can easily stifle free speech.
Those tendencies, critics say, mean that controversial issues rarely get a public airing, particularly those dear to nationalists, such as Yasukuni, the imperial family and Japan’s wartime conquests.
The film does not shy away from the ugly side of Japanese imperialism, but shows both sides of the dispute.
Nationalists in military garb shout prayers to the war dead, while bereaved families of the former Imperial Army soldiers bow before the shrine. Then-prime minister Junichiro Koizumi is also shown worshipping there.
But the shrine’s critics are also shown. Pacifist protesters are injured in a scuffle with police, and Taiwanese and Japanese families are shown arguing to have their relatives’ names removed from the shrine’s list of honorees.
The film has already been shown at festivals, including Sundance.
“I’m so glad that the screening started safely,” Argo president Yutaka Okada said. “So far we haven’t had trouble at all, and I hope this continues throughout the day. We’ve provided ample security to cover all possible problems.”
Midori Matsuoka, a 62-year-old actress, arrived early yesterday to buy tickets. After emerging from the theater, she said the movie was “well done” and didn’t deserve the controversy it has attracted.
“It’s not anti-Japanese, it’s anti-war,” she said. “I didn’t think much about what kind of shrine Yasukuni is. But after seeing the movie, I thought I should learn more about the history of my own country.”
For director Li Ying, a Chinese citizen who has been based in Japan for nearly 20 years, the film could help the country finally confront unresolved aspects of its own history.
“This is a test for Japan’s ability to overcome the Yasukuni problem and develop a healthy pride and become a truly civilized nation,” he said last month.
The Philippine Department of Justice yesterday labeled Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the nation’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena. Duterte is being asked to explain herself in the wake of a blistering weekend press conference where she said she had instructed that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed. “The government is taking action to protect our duly elected president,” Philippine Undersecretary of Justice Jesse Andres said at yesterday’s press briefing. “The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
Ireland, the UK and France faced travel chaos on Saturday and one person died as a winter storm battered northwest Europe with strong winds, heavy rain, snow and ice. Hampshire Police in southern England said a man died after a tree fell onto a car on a major road near Winchester early in the day. Police in West Yorkshire said they were probing whether a second death from a traffic incident was linked to the storm. It is understood the road was not icy at the time of the incident. Storm Bert left at least 60,000 properties in Ireland without power, and closed
CONSPIRACIES: Kano suspended polio immunization in 2003 and 2004 following claims that polio vaccine was laced with substances that could render girls infertile Zuwaira Muhammad sat beside her emaciated 10-month-old twins on a clinic bed in northern Nigeria, caring for them as they battled malnutrition and malaria. She would have her babies vaccinated if they regain their strength, but for many in Kano — a hotbed of anti-vaccine sentiment — the choice is not an obvious one. The infants have been admitted to the 75-bed clinic in the Unguwa Uku neighbourhood, one of only two in the city of 4.5 million run by French aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Kano has the highest malaria burden in Nigeria, but the city has long