Tragedy of Japan

The important and violent developments in Japan in the first half of this century are surveyed by Kamei Fumio in this compilation-film. The historical images are accompanied by critical commentary of the imperial policy during the war. The film gives a view of the causes that led Japan to a state of war and to destruction. The film sheds a different light on the well-known historical events than the history books. The first revolutionary actions came from the right-wing political groups. Pamphlets glorifying war were distributed by the army. The invasion of Manchuria in 1931 was the first step in the aggressive political approach of Japan. The Japanese prime minister Inukai was murdered by fascists in 1933. In 1936, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Treaty with Germany. Strikes were prohibited, the freedom of speech was abolished to silence the opposition, and the seditious war propaganda prepared the population for the conquest of the world. The reports from the government on the 'Holy War' with China was generally false. The Japanese army butchered the Chinese people and called it self-defence. The non-aggression treaty was signed by Japan, Germany, and Italy, "in the name of peace". Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and the war with America had started. The film painfully shows the series of failures in wartime. The kamikaze pilots got killed before reaching their targets, but the Japanese troops desperately went on fighting, trying to keep up the morale with the help of false newsreports. Finally, Japan was beaten. This documentary raised plenty of dust and was eventually banned. It puts the emperor responsible for the many war-victims, and since it was considered illegal to accuse the emperor - whose divine status was maintained - of crimes, it was put away and given the designation 'communist'. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)