JAPAN: Protestors clash as controversial dolphin documentary opens in Tokyo.

Record ID: 463307

  • Title: JAPAN: Protestors clash as controversial dolphin documentary opens in Tokyo.
  • Date: 4th July 2010
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JULY 3, 2010) (REUTERS) SHIBUYA IMAGE FORUM THEATRE WHERE THE COVE SCREENING TOOK PLACE WALL WITH VARIOUS POSTERS POSTER OF "THE COVE" PROTESTERS IN FRONT OF THEATER AND MAN WAVING IMPERIAL JAPANESE FLAG PRO-FILM ACTIVIST BEING PUSHED BY ANTI-FILM PROTESTER AND THEN TAKEN AWAY BY POLICE PROTESTERS IN FRONT OF THEATER MAN HOLDING SIGN THAT READS "STOP R
  • Embargoed: 19th July 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Environment / Natural World
  • Reuters ID: LVAEDXM2YPWZAX37AMAJC6721V53
  • Story Text: Protesters clash with activists as controversial dolphin documentary opens in Tokyo.
    Shouts, a scuffle and flag-waving protesters greeted the Japanese opening of "The Cove," a controversial Oscar-winning documentary about a grisly annual dolphin hunt.
    The movie, which shows dolphins being herded into a cove and then slaughtered, has met with fierce opposition in Japan from groups who say it is "anti-Japanese" and an affront to traditional culture.
    Dozens of police and more than 50 protesters, both for and against the screening, faced off in front of a cinema in Tokyo's trendy Shibuya district.
    "Don't bully the fishermen!" read one banner. Another protester waved the Japanese Imperial flag.
    "Australia kills a total of 3 million kangaroos per year, but yet no one does anything about it. What I would like to know is why the Japanese have become a target. I hope that this is debated internationally in order to make it more fair and just," said 62-year-old Nobuo Kikuchi as he held a sign saying "Stop Racial Discrimination against Japanese".
    Fears that protests might inconvenience moviegoers prompted cancellations at two cinemas in Tokyo and one in Osaka that had originally planned to screen the film, according to Unplugged, the Japan distributor.
    Directed by former National Geographic photographer Louie Psihoyos, the documentary follows eco-activists who struggle with Japanese police and fishermen to gain access to a secluded cove in Taiji, southern Japan, long known as a whaling centre.
    Moviegoers took the controversy in stride, with some saying they do not agree to the sort of protests they have seen.
    "The very act of putting this sort of pressure is a way of intimidating other and infringes on people's freedom of expression. Regardless of what's in the film, it's not a good thing," said Masaki Iawji, 45-year-old moviegoer who had come to watch the film.
    Others just want to know what it is about.
    "Japanese killing and eating dolphins is a true fact but yet many don't know much about. This is why we want to learn about it and why we want to see this film," said 33-year-old Tetsushi Matsuoka.
    Japan has long maintained that killing and eating whale is a cherished cultural tradition, and conducts annual hunts under the name of research whaling.
    "I've heard this film is based on the views of Americans and Canadians. But I'd like to see the film and I'd also like to know about the Japanese perspective on this," said Naoki Tajima, a pro-film activist.
    New Zealander Pete Bethune is currently under trial in Tokyo for boarding a Japanese vessel in an attempt to stop Japan's annual whale hunt in the Antarctic. A verdict is due on July 7.
    In the version of the film screened in Japan, the faces of fishermen and others in Taiji are blurred to hide their identity.
    A statement from the cinema said they were "relieved".
    Eighteen other cinemas across Japan plan to screen the movie at a later date.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register