Far Right Closes Yasukuni Screening in Tokyo

A cinema in Tokyo has canceled the screening of a controversial film about the Yasukuni shrine after Japanese ultra nationalists threatened its Chinese director.

The nationalists say the film is too critical of the war shrine in Tokyo, which honors 2.5 million Japanese who have died in battle since the late 19th century.

Japan's former enemies say the shrine glorifies its militaristic past, as it also honors 14 class A war criminals, including the country's wartime prime minister, Hideki Tojo.

Ying Li, who spent 10 years researching and producing the documentary, said he had taken care to present a balanced view of the Yasukuni controversy.

Though it focuses on an elderly sword smith who makes weapons traditionally used by Japanese military officers, the film carries no commentary and includes interviews with both critics and supporters of the shrine.

Li said he had received threatening phone calls to his office in Tokyo.

"The threats started after press previews and one of the callers said he would barge into our office to confront us if we released the film," he said in an interview with the Kyodo news agency.

T-Joy, operator of Wald9 cinema in Tokyo's Shinjuku district, said it had decided not to show the documentary to avoid exposing neighboring businesses to intimidation from ultra nationalists.

A spokesman for T-Joy said there were concerns that the film would "cause trouble."

"[It] has been talked about so much that it may create trouble and we don't want to inconvenience other building tenants," Kyodo news agency quoted the spokesman as saying.

Three other cinemas in Tokyo and several others elsewhere in Japan still plan to show the film from April 12.

Last week conservative MPs were accused of censorship after they demanded a screening ahead of the film's general release.

T-Joy's decision to shelve the screening comes soon after rightwing activists forced a hotel in Tokyo to cancel a teachers' conference on its premises.

In response, the Japan Teachers Union last week filed a lawsuit against the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa, demanding 300 million yen in compensation.

The hotel said it had decided not to allow the union to use its facilities because it feared ultra nationalists, who have a record of disrupting teachers meetings, would intimidate other guests.