This article was translated from the article "A #MeToo crisis is raging in the Japanese film industry" published on April 6, 2022 in NPR. All views in the article represent the author's personal opinions only.
Japanese film director Nishikawa Mika took promotional photos of his work " Forever Extraordinary " at the 11th Rome International Film Festival held in Rome.
A few days ago, Cannes International Film Festival Palme d’Or, was Koji Yukazu (Hirokazu Kore-eda), Cannes International Film Festival Jury Award winner Fukada Akishi (Koji Fukada), Nishikawa Miwa (Miwa Nishikawa and other Japanese film industry leaders jointly signed a petition to against sexual assault , publicly expressing anger about sexual assault, and calling on the society to pay attention to and stop the occurrence of sexual assault incidents. As the petition reads: "Sexual assault is definitely not tolerated and forgiven."
How was the anti-sexual assault movement in the Japanese film industry ignited?
Japanese magazine "Wenchun Weekly" revealed the well-known director 大利大利 (Hideo The premiere of two films directed by Sakaki’s films Mitsugetsu and Hazard Lamp were cancelled shortly after Sakaki’s sexual abuse scandals against several women.
大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大大Suga Hero publicly apologized to fans and colleagues who co-produced the movie, but also said that there were many information errors in the report of Wenchun Weekly. As for which information is inaccurate and where it is wrong, Suga Hero has not yet explained it.
Acting career terminated due to sexual assault
Ten years ago, actor Kimya Kinoshita was accused of rape by two actresses, and his acting career was also terminated. Until last week, all the footage of Kinoshita Kiyoshima still edited and deleted in a TV series. In a statement, Kinisha Mitsuya said: "What I did prevent me from appearing in the public eye and from continuing my work in the entertainment industry. I will leave the Japanese film and television industry indefinitely."
Also accused of sexual assault are former Berlin International Film Festival Grand Prize winner Yuanziwen . Yuanziwen has directed "The Secret of Immorality" and " Cold Tropical Fish ". After being sexually assaulted, Yuanziwen apologized but quickly turned her back on her and refused to admit any crime. Instead, she vowed that she would "take action" against the magazine "Weekly Women", which exposed her sexual abuse allegations. Yuanziwen issued a statement through his studio this week, saying: "I will re-examine my behavior and reflect on my own thoughtful considerations when working with others as a director. However, many of the assertions made in that report (published by "Women in Weekly") are contrary to the truth."
Yuanziwen
The outbreak of the anti-sexual assault campaign in Japan is not surprising. According to World Economic Forum data, Japan has fallen to 120th place on the gender equality list, and is far behind the other seven countries that have completed industrialization in terms of gender equality. Although Japan's sexual problems have been fermenting for a long time, the #metoo movement broke out at this juncture, which is undoubtedly another blow to Japanese movies: after was silent on the Oscar field for 13 years, the movie " Driving My Car " directed by Hamaguchi Ryusuke just won the front foot on the Oscar podium, and the Japanese film industry lost on the issue of sexual assault.
Victims revealed the "public secret" of the Japanese film and television industry
Directors and other industry insiders who signed the anti-sexual assault petition and other industry insiders revealed that the issue of sexual assault in the film and television industry has always been an open secret in the film and television industry , which has not improved for a long time, but things have changed - the outbreak of the anti-sexual assault movement is precisely because the victims of sexual assault no longer endure silently and swallow their anger with their heads down. This time, they chose to stand up and speak out.
Fierce employment competition in the film industry often exacerbates the problem of sexual assault. Not only actors, but also job hunting in remote directors, editing, costumes, translations, productions, etc., the competitors' unscrupulous methods make the problem of sexual assault increasingly difficult to solve.
is the directors such as Hirokazu Koreed, who publicly condemned sexual assault, emphasized that making a movie is the work of a team and it cannot be done by just one person. This means that the empowered director must respect everyone in the crew as a companion. "No matter how different everyone's abilities and personality are, we directors should have a clear self-position. The director's work itself carries a deep level of violence. The power brought by this status relationship makes directors increasingly prone to invading the rights of others."
[Author] Domenico Stinellishml3
[Author] Associated Press, The Seattle Times, National Catholic, Special contributors of NPR and other media
Picture source: npr, moviebuzz.com
Editing/Qi Wenxin
Translation/Huo Shuying
Proofreading/Chen Jianxuan
Typesetting/Zhou Yujia
source/Interstellar radio wave
