There is a film “Ajia no junnshinn”. This film was finished in 2009, but some difficulties interrupted to show this film to public. Why?

This film shows the situation of Japan in 2002. In 2002, 5 Japanese abductees came back to Japan from North Korea, and negative criticism to North Korea was spreading in Japan. The main character is a Korean girl with permanent residence in Japan who has a twin sister. One day, her sister is killed by Japanese hooligans in a town. Another main character is a Japanese boy who is a high school student, and he looked the scene that she is killed. Two young boy and girl make a plan to make an indiscriminate terrorism to Japanese society with poison gas of old Japanese army.

This film was rejected to show by many Japanese cinemas or film festivals. However this film was showed in foreign film festivals. Some people in foreign countries said “It was a beautiful film.” Then in Japan, a lot of negative criticism about this film was online.

In addition, the actress who performed the main character is a Korean girl with permanent residence in Japan in her real life. She says “This film is not an anti-Japanese film. I think this film is a road movie of youth. I am glad that this film is a part of my memories of last of my teenage.”

Well, why did many Japanese cinemas or film festivals reject to show this film? I suppose two reasons. One is they themselves have negative opinions about revenge to Japanese society from Korean. Another is they afraid of reaction of people who watched the film. Why does such a film have to be disliked by Japanese people? We Japanese who watch this film might feel bad, but discrimination to Korean with permanent residence in Japan exists in real Japanese society. Can you declare that there is no discrimination to them at all? Films often involve exaggeration or dramatization. However we can receive any hint from films. I think we Japanese have to accept both of negative and positive aspect of Japan. It is better that we can think things from two opposite sides. If we don’t try to look negative aspects of Japan, our field of vision becomes very narrow. I think it is not good that such a film is excluded very easily in Japanese society.

by Ayako Miyamae