Why Japan Sank in 1973 and 2006 Jonathan Wroot, FTV PhD Student University of East Anglia Films and Presentation Points • Related narratives, spectacles and themes. • Disaster ge re i flue ces i each fil mainly from Hollywood. – • Both have suggestive outlooks o Japa s relationship to the rest of the world. Films and Presentation Points • The Submersion of Japan (dir. Shiro Moritani, 1973) • The Sinking of Japan (dir. Shinji Higuchi, 2006). • Both big-budget disaster spectacles – focusing ot o ly o the destructio of Japa s cities and landscape, but also the effect on its people, as well as its historical and cultural heritage. The Submersion of Japan (dir. Shiro Moritani, 1973) The Submersion of Japan (dir. Shiro Moritani, 1973) The Sinking of Japan (dir. Shinji Higuchi, 2006) The Sinking of Japan (dir. Shinji Higuchi, 2006) • • Sources used: Robert Eberwein, ‘Remakes and Cultural Studies’, in A. Horton and S.Y. McDougal (eds), Play it Again, Sam: Retakes on Remakes, University of California Press, 1998, pp. 15-33. • Derek Elley, ‘Sinking of Japan Review’, Variety website, accessed 25/09/2011, http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117933622 • Stuart Galbraith IV, Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, London: McFarland and Company, 1994. • Dennis Hevesi, ‘Sakyo Komatsu, Science Fiction Writer, Dies at 80’, The New York Times website, accessed 25/09/2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/11/arts/sakyo-komatsu-science-fiction-writer-dies-at-80.html • Susan J. Napier, ‘Panic Sites: The Japanese Imagination of Disaster from Godzilla to Akira’, in Contemporary Japan and Popular Culture, John Whittier Treat (ed), Richmond: Curzon, 1996. • Mark Schilling, ‘Shame this one won’t sink without a trace’, Japan Times website, accessed 25/09/2011, http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ff20060721a2.html. • Calum Waddell, ‘Sinking of Japan Review’, NEO Magazine, No.70, April 2010, 72-3. • Thomas Weisser and Yuko Mihara Weisser, Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction Films, Miami: Vital Books, 1997. • ‘Sci-fi pioneer Komatsu dies at age 80’, Japan Times website, accessed 25/09/2011, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20110729a8.html. • ‘FOCUS: World Film Market Trends’, European Audiovisual Observatory website, accessed 13/10/2011, http://www.obs.coe.int/oea_publ/market/focus-bis.html. 

FTV Study Day – Dramatising Disaster Why Japan Sank in both 1973 and 2006. Jonathan Wroot   FIRST SLIDE I will talk about some points of interest within both the 1973 and 2006 versions of the disaster film, Nihon Chinbotsu, which literally translates as Japan Sinks. I not only wish to discuss why this particular film was both made and remade, as my title suggests; but also how the story was depicted in both instances. The films’ aesthetics and narratives have been incorporated into an exploration of available sources that refer to the films’ production and reception. This is proposed in the research of remakes, particularly by Robert Eberwein. Cynthia Erb also applies this approach to studying how a film, or its iconography can be received and interpreted in different contexts over time (such as with her work on King Kong).   NEXT SLIDE In addition, I want to apologise if the imagery I’ve used in my presentation may appear shocking due to memory of the Toohoku Earthquake earlier this year. Nonetheless, the retrospective view on Japan Sinks that that tragic event has provided will be a final point of interest that I wish to address briefly. Before this, however, I will specifically discuss similarities and differences between the two films; influences from different films and genres; as well as particular views of Japan’s cultural identity that the films provide.   NEXT SLIDE First of all, I will go into detail regarding the 1973 film – widely known as in English as The Submersion of Japan. It was based on Sakyo Komatsu’s novel, also literally called 1 Japan Sinks, and was a huge commercial hit in Japan. There are several reasons for this – one, as I’ve just mentioned, was the original book, which was a best-seller. As well as this, the film had some very high production values behind it. The 3 million dollar budget was, according to Stuart Galbraith, unprecedented for the Japanese studio Toho. Toho is another prestigious factor to the film’s success, as it is the studio behind the Godzilla franchise. Part of those films’ success was down to the destruction depicted onscreen. This had been the responsibility of effects director Teruyoshi Nakano from 1962, and he was then given the same job in Japan Sinks. In fact, a general preconception of the film, noted in Thomas and Yuko Weisser’s Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia, was that it was ‘a Godzilla movie without Godzilla.’   NEXT SLIDE However, they argue that the film’s strength is in its story told by the human characters, rather than the spectacle of the destruction. Personally, I still found the effects impressive, and I will illustrate both the story and the destruction that ensues with stills from the film. Before that though, I have to point out that the film does exist in several different versions. The original theatrical cut was around two and a half hours long. The film was also recut to 82 minutes and retitled as Tidal Wave for release in the USA in 1974. Unfortunately, I have not been able to get a copy of an original cut of the film. The only version on DVD I have been able to find is a 110 minute version, and this was apparently shown at Cannes in 1974. For some reason, this seems to have cut some of the romantic subplot between two of the main characters – but don’t worry, I’ll be explaining any missing points, and the 2006 version includes a lot more romance if that’s how you like your disaster movies.  NEXT SLIDE 2  As the title suggest, I’m not really giving anything away when I say that Japan Sinks depicts the effects of Japan rapidly sinking into the ocean. The 1973 version starts with this view of Japan, preceded by its separation from the Asian continent over millions of years. This is followed by a montage of the Japanese population in various urban and rural landscapes.   NEXT SLIDE – THEN CHARACTER SLIDE Then the story starts to focus on the main characters, and the 1973 film has four. Top left is Japanese Prime Minister Yamamoto, played by Tetsuro Tanba (who was also Tiger Tanaka in You Only Live Twice, and managed to make a small cameo as a grandfather in the 2006 Japan Sinks remake as well).  Doctor Tadokoro, played by Keiju Kobayashi, is on the top right. He heads an exploratory submarine mission which discovers evidence showing that Japan is sinking.  On the bottom left is the submarine pilot, Onodera Toshio. He forms part of the romantic subplot of the film, and helps to rescue survivors of the earthquakes and tsunamis. Interestingly, the actor Hiroshi Fujioka, went on to appear in a parody of Japan Sinks, which I’ll discuss further on in this presentation.  And lastly, on the bottom right is the character Reiko Abe, played by Ayumi Ishida. She is Onodera’s love interest, but in the cut versions of the film this isn’t made clear until the latter half – probably because at that point she is stuck in the middle of one of the many earthquakes that hit Japan as it sinks, and Onodera is trying to rescue her. One thing to also note is that the original novel did not even contain such a subplot, so it is interesting to see how much it is then emphasised in the 2006 film. But where the 1973 film is most interesting is in how it depicts the destruction of Japan and the consequences of it sinking into the ocean, which I will now explain.  NEXT SLIDE 3  The submarine mission is shown first, and is where Onodera and Doctor Tadokoro find evidence that Japan is sinking due to movements of tectonic plates.   NEXT SLIDE. This causes a hastily animated presentation of their findings to the Prime Minister and other government officials.  Then, as more scientists gather data to determine how quickly this is happening, the timescale of less than a year is made clear through a rapid succession of earthquakes, volcanoes and tidal waves.   NEXT SLIDE This is mostly shown through extras running through collapsing sets – NEXT SLIDE – and the blowing up of miniature landscapes – NEXT SLIDE – as well as combinations of the two, as here is a screenshot of a full-size set that was blown up, with stunt doubles running through it in full body burn suits.  NEXT SLIDE – Japanese diplomats try to negotiate with other countries to allow in survivors as the country sinks. This is the Prime Minister of Australia, and his response is implied as typical of other countries – they are happy to preserve items that represent Japan’s culture and history, but as soon as people come in, they are afraid that the Japanese will just use up their resources and food very quickly.  NEXT SLIDE – In between all the destruction, Onodera helps to save other survivors in a desperate attempt to find Reiko alive; after a phone call from her is cut off because of an earthquake.  NEXT SLIDE – The rate of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes increases as the film continues – NEXT SLIDE – and their effects are shown from birds-eye views of Japan, 4 and explosions that signify the break-up and sinking of the islands – NEXT SLIDE – as well as a seemingly infinite number of tsunamis.  NEXT SLIDE – In the final moments before the whole of Japan is submerged, the Prime Minister is rescued – NEXT SLIDE – and Onodera and Reiko are seen travelling on different trains in different parts of the world. This implies that the Japanese become a nomadic people after the disaster, with no permanent area for them to settle in.  NEXT SLIDE – So, even though it is a big-budget effects extravaganza, the film is quite bleak in its proposition of what could happen in such extraordinary circumstances. This makes me think that as well as being an adaptation of a similarly bleak novel, the film was strongly influenced by other destruction-heavy films of the time. Japan Sinks continues a trend of countries trying to rival Hollywood in depicting disaster spectacles – such as the Italian film, The Day The Sky Exploded (1958), and the British film, The Day The Earth Caught Fire (1961). Hollywood science-fiction films of the 60s and 70s were depicting a lot of nihilistic post-apocalyptic scenarios as well. In particular, examples include Planet of the Apes (1968), The Omega Man (1971) and Soylent Green (1973). Those three films alone suggest Charlton Heston could be to blame for the tone of these films, though that’s a whole other potential theory that has yet to be explored…  NEXT SLIDE – That Japan Sinks had tapped into a popular aesthetic is, I believe, evidenced by its retitling and redistribution alone. Roger Corman’s New World Pictures company bought the rights for the film for its distribution in the USA. They then cut it down to 82 minutes and re-released it as Tidal Wave in 1974. Although, this does little to affect how the movie ends; as the same scenes of Japanese refugees on trains are shown in the re-edited version. A re-cut of the film suggests that Roger Corman was just interested in capitalising on the film’s scenes of destruction. But, in contrast to this, the lack of change to the film’s downbeat ending suggests it related to nihilistic themes in 5 American science fiction films of the time (a lot of which had been released in Japan as well). Subsequent reviews and analyses of Japan Sinks have been carried out by Stuart Galbraith, Susan J. Napier, and Thomas and Yuko Weisser. They generally dismiss the American re-edit and appraise the original Japanese version for commenting on the supposed feeling of distrust that Japan’s public had towards the rest of the world at the time. I don’t deny that interpretations of the history of 1970s Japan could provide this view of the social context. Nonetheless, I think that the possible reasons I have put forward for why Japan Sinks was re-edited and released in American cinemas also adds to an understanding of why the film was made and why it was so successful.  NEXT SLIDE – With the 2006 film, given the English title The Sinking of Japan, there was no re-edit for its release in abroad. It had been another box-office hit for Toho in Japan. The film does re-tell a popular Japanese story and could also be interpreted in relation to perceived feelings in the public sphere. But I propose that the film’s aesthetics, drama and romantic subplot were important factors for its popularity as well.  NEXT SLIDE – Again, I will quickly explain the narrative alongside some stills. The effects and romance in the film are foregrounded right from the start. The character of Onodera, later established as a submarine pilot, is on holiday in Suruga Bay, and is caught in an earthquake that also reveals the re-activation of a nearby volcano. Through this event he meets Reiko, who comes in to assist as a natural disaster rescue worker. Though this opening posits some interesting gender roles in a twist from the original film, the love story that develops between the two characters is told fairly generically in the rest of the movie. Onodera is also affirmed as a stereotypical male hero by the end.  NEXT SLIDE – following the prologue, the film’s credits are shown alongside a montage of the Japanese population in various rural and urban landscapes. 6  NEXT SLIDE – the main characters are then established. On the top row, on either side, is Onodera and Reiko, respectively. Reiko may seem familiar to some people, as she is played by Koo Shibasaki, who played the infamously murderous Mitsuko in Battle Royale. Pictured in between them is the Prime Minister Yamamoto. Then on the bottom row, from left to right, is Deputy Prime Minister Nozaki, played by Jun Kunimura (perhaps most famous for being beheaded by Lucy Liu in Kill Bill). Saori Takamori is next to him, who mobilises the government’s disaster response efforts. And finally Dr Tadokoro is played by Etsushi Toyokawa, who then went on to star in the similarly apocalyptic 20th Century Boys – which I’ll remind everyone is screening later today…  NEXT SLIDE – first evidence is presented from an international team of scientists, who tell the Japanese government that Japan is likely to gradually sink into the ocean.  NEXT SLIDE – this then prompts a submarine mission to analyse the tectonic plates surrounding Japan, headed by Onodera and Dr Tadokoro.  NEXT SLIDE – Not long after, massive earthquakes and volcanic explosions hit the islands of Japan. But this time, the Prime Minister’s plane is caught in the destruction. This leads to the stepping in of the deputy Prime Minister, and Saori Takomori leads attempts to evacuate the survivors.  As the destruction spreads – NEXT SLIDE – Japan’s historical artefacts are quickly sent to other countries, before any survivors – NEXT SLIDE – even though Saori protests – NEXT SLIDE – the Deputy Prime Minister shows her that even if they attempt to rescue everyone in the quickest possible time, millions will still die as this is carried out.  NEXT SLIDE – As Nozaki says these words, tidal waves hit people escaping harbours – NEXT SLIDE – volcanic eruptions increase – NEXT SLIDE – and earthquakes hit urban areas – NEXT SLIDE. 7  Then Saori consults Dr Tadokoro, who suggests a very Armageddon-style “macguffin” as a solution to the crisis – NEXT SLIDE – This is by drilling a series of holes into the tectonic plate that is sinking, through using oil-drilling ships from around the world. Numerous explosions will then be set off through an experimental nuclear material that is called N2 (picture of explosions). Typically, there is only one container of the N2, though it is claimed as capable of breaking Japan away from the sinking tectonic plate.   NEXT SLIDE Alongside these events, Onodera and Reiko are seen being drawn together and apart by the destruction and their separate roles in submarine missions and the rescuing of survivors. As also may seem clichéd, they only decide to reveal their love for each other just after Onodera decides to put himself forward as the submarine pilot who will sacrifice himself to manually detonate the N2 – NEXT SLIDE – Through his actions, Japan actually stops sinking – NEXT SLIDE – and the remaining government officials announce a process of repatriating survivors to the now much smaller landmass.  Several reviews can be found for the 2006 film. Comparisons to the 1973 original are inevitable. The director, Shinji Higuchi, is also noted as being responsible for similar special effects in the more recent Godzilla and Gamera films. Mark Schilling is an American writer who has lived in Japan since the 1970s. He also finds that the movie has interesting representations of ‘soft nationalism’, as the majority of characters choose to stay in Japan despite the impending destruction. However, the majority of reviews focus on how the film depicts the destruction and romantic subplot For example, the review in Variety, by Derek Elley, says that the effects are impressive, as are the performances, but they are all let down by slow narrative pacing. Calum Waddell in NEO magazine instead derides the performances, especially those of Onodera and Reiko. Earlier Hollywood disaster features are seen as being influential, particularly Armageddon and Titanic, and 8 not just due to the effects. Similarities are found with those films’ romantic subplots and their emphasis through the inclusion of a pop ballad, described as ‘ear-piercing’ as much as it is ‘heartfelt’.   NEXT SLIDE While Hollywood films such as Titanic, Armageddon and The Day After Tomorrow were popular at the Japanese box office; figures from the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, printed in the journal Focus, also show that native romantic stories and dramas with ensemble characters were popular too. Just a few examples of these would be the tragic Crying Out For Love From The Centre Of The Earth (2004) and the slow but cheerful Always: Sunset On Third Street (2005). In addition, there is one other point that I believe is important in proposing that these elements made the film more popular than any potential subtext on Japanese culture and national identity. This is the fact that a parody of the film was released in the same year…  NEXT SLIDE – which was titled The World Sinks Except Japan. Rather than making jokes about the romance and special effects, the film reverses the premise of Japan Sinks and uses the scenario to make fun of various figures from around the world. Such people are mostly from American politics and films, as they vie to continue their careers within Japan’s gradually diminishing living room. This crude attempt at satire points out how national or cultural issues, or references to social context and/or history, are portrayed in films and other media. The point of this seems to me that such subtexts can be ignored or laughed at by filmmakers and potential audiences, as much as they can be identified with through the narratives of films.  NEXT SLIDE – To sum up then, I believe that my brief analysis has shown that these films were not just significant within their country of origin. As portrayed in their narratives, the apocalyptic disaster that falls on Japan affects countries around the world 9 as well as the country’s inhabitants. The films themselves not only have a similar impact on global cinema, but are themselves affected by films originating from other countries. Japanese cinema is therefore part of a global dialogue with other films from around the world. This global dialogue is a fact of life in all aspects of culture, in Japan and other countries, and not just in film and media. I say this because in the 2006 film, as seen here, a sequence of survivors in various areas around Japan is shown, and one area is Sendai. This brings to mind the global coverage of the Toohoku earthquake, where Sendai was perhaps hit the worst; as well as bringing to mind the global response to the disaster. Such events have consequences specific to the affected countries – a fact that the original author of Japan Sinks, Sakyo Komatsu, was aware of before his death on July 26th this year. He had said that he hoped to see how Japan would overcome the consequences of the earthquake that struck in March, but sadly was unable to. Although, in many disasters that are often reported in news media, aid and emergency responses are provided from nearby countries, and not just by the affected nation alone. Japan is no exception, and disaster in films and other media can illustrate the global dialogue that it is inextricably a part of. 1974 Tidal Wave Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XGPDhxhB00 2006 Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNQNFsE_iJc 10 World Sinks Except Japan Trailer http://www.nipponcinema.com/trailers/the-world-sinks-except-japan-trailer 11