'Oppenheimer' finally premieres in Japan to mixed reactions and high emotions

Hiroyuki Shinju, a lawyer, noted Japan and Germany also carried out wartime atrocities, even as the nuclear threat grows around the world. Historians say Japan was also working on nuclear weapons during World War II and would have almost certainly used them against other nations, Shinju 

Well said Mr.Shinju.

Takashi Yamazaki, director of “Godzilla Minus One,” which won the Oscar for visual effects and is a powerful statement on nuclear catastrophe in its own way, suggested he might be the man for that job.

“I feel there needs to an answer from Japan to ‘Oppenheimer.’ Someday, I would like to make that movie,” he said in an online dialogue with “Oppenheimer” director Christopher Nolan.

Could be interesting and Yamazaki might be able to pull it off. Minus One did not show a 100 percent heroic view of the Japanese war effort. Contrast the horror of the use of atomics with the horrors Japan's militarist government forced on the people.

That would be in harmony with Oppenheimer.

The movie and book it is based upon, "American Prometheus" shows a man haunted by his decisions and also hounded by demagogues looking for "leftists" and "socialists" under every bed to blame for their own failings.

Sound familiar?

You can see the parallels to US politics today and that is why Oppenheimer is so powerful in its themes, even beyond the technical aspects of cinema.

“The film was made in a way to validate the conclusion that the atomic bomb was used to save the lives of Americans.”

Well, yeah, that's the reason

In war, the first priority is the lives of your own men/women, above the priority of the lives of your enemy's men/women. Because at the end of the day, the leaders have to explain themselves to the mothers and fathers of their own men/women, but they don't have to do that to the mothers and fathers of their enemy's men/women. If they lose the support of those mothers and fathers, they won't be their leaders no more

The bomb was made, first and foremost, to save the lives of Americans, before about saving the lives of Japanese (or Germans too, for that matter, if Hitler didn't surrender by the time the bomb was completed - Germany just lucked out that it got defeated before the bomb was used against it; Germany was trying to make the bomb too, so they knew)

Historians say Japan was also working on nuclear weapons during World War II and would have almost certainly used them against other nations, Shinju said.

“This movie can serve as the starting point for addressing the legitimacy of the use of nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as humanity’s, and Japan’s, reflections on nuclear weapons and war,” he wrote in his commentary on “Oppenheimer” published by the Tokyo Bar Association.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has jurisdiction over the definition of “war crime” and does not include the use of nuclear weapons as a war crime.

However, if the use of nuclear weapons were considered a “war crime,” all nations capable of using nuclear weapons are prepared to commit a “war crime” when nuclear weapons become the only means of repelling a violent attack by a powerful outside force or preventing the resurgence of a demonstrated violent aggressor.

Indeed folm is made over an american point of view. I was fed up about how long the political scenes were lingering at the end of the movie. It was not concerning the nuclear aspects and did not relate to the world change it had brought.

M. Oppenheimer was conflicted, but so were surely all other scientists directely involved in that Project Manhattan. There must be way more to show than the sexual desires of a man.

Hiroyuki Shinju, a lawyer, noted Japan and Germany also carried out wartime atrocities, even as the nuclear threat grows around the world.

Kudos to Shinju for acknowledging this.

“Japan was also working on nuclear weapons during World War II and would have almost certainly used them against other nations”

Are you feeling better reading the above sentence? Lacking in resources and technology, Japan’s nuclear weapons program never took off. The Japanese lawyer’s hypothetical does nothing to justify the US nuclear bombings.

“Oppenheimer” does not directly depict what happened on the ground when the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, turning some 100,000 people instantly into ashes, and killed thousands more in the days that followed, mostly civilians.

The bombs were actually detonated above not dropped 'on' due to the belief most of the radioactive elements would rise into the stratosphere and the damage would be less

Unfortunately that was not the case

Hiroshima detonated at 2000ft

Nagasaki detonated at 1650ft

Sincere condolences to those that perished and to those suffering still

The bomb was made, first and foremost, to save the lives of Americans

That's a bit twisted way of looking at it.

“The film was made in a way to validate the conclusion that the atomic bomb was used to save the lives of Americans.”

There is white house documentation showing that Truman knew how devastating it was going to be AND that he didn't want to have to look into the eyes of any mother to an American soldier to explain that he didn't use all means possible to end the war as quickly as he could.

@Asiaman7

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has jurisdiction over the definition of “war crime” and does not include the use of nuclear weapons as a war crime.

Below from the ICC web page, a quick summary

ICC and nuclear weapons

Nuclear weapons and the Rome Statute

Use of nuclear weapons is not explicitly covered by the Rome Statute, in contrast to the other forms of weapons of mass destruction - chemical and biological weapons - the use of either of which is explicitly defined as a war crime by Article 8 (b) (xviii) and (xxvii) respectively.

Nevertheless, given the immense and indiscriminate destructive power of nuclear weapons and their wide-ranging catastrophic humanitarian consequences, use of nuclear weapons would constitute a war crime under several other provisions of Article 8 (b),

In some circumstances, use of nuclear weapons could constitute a crime against humanity as defined in Article 7.

Change in legal status of nuclear weapons

With the entry into force on 22 January 2021 of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), nuclear weapons are now comprehensively prohibited under international law, in exactly the same manner that chemical and biological weapons are prohibited by the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention and the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention respectively. This change has rendered the Rome Statute’s different treatment of nuclear weapons anomalous

The film was made in a way to validate the conclusion that the atomic bomb was used to save the lives of Americans.”

And many Japanese and other Asians too. Nearly a million Japanese troops were deployed in Kyushu waiting for what would have been the bloodiest battle of all. Millions of japanese civilians had been given bamboo sticks to fend off Us tanks and guns. The 2 bombs made all that unnecessary.

I'm looking forward to finally seeing it. We're gonna wait until next week, and see a weekday afternoon showing to avoid crowds. Plus, the theaters in my area have mid-week discounts, as well.

The American cared less about the humanity of Japanese,this what happened to people when you live at the mercy of others,the same postering by Japanese today,knowing they are sitting ducks,your ability to advocate war, should be based in your ability to carry it out without the aid and protection of others

Tokyo was probably the 3rd target,the US actually had 10 more waiting in their wing for Japan

Why were the bombs dropped upon civilians and not on military targets? That is the war crime.

The film was made in a way to validate the conclusion that the atomic bomb was used to save the lives of Americans.”

Yeah iam not sure if that's accurate in my opinion

Seems to me using those bombs and making the movie about it was just an opportunity to basically p" show off " as arrogant American bullying does best !

Not to say Japan didn't have it coming - but oh well were all stuck in a revolving groundhog day of victims and heroes

“From Hiroshima’s standpoint, the horror of nuclear weapons was not sufficiently depicted,” he was quoted as saying by Japanese media. “The film was made in a way to validate the conclusion that the atomic bomb was used to save the lives of Americans

The guy they interviewed understood perfectly. This guy doesn't understand at all. War is about winning, and at the least possible harm to yourself. The bombings DID save American lives and that was one of the primary objectives. Some people never get it.

Fuss about nothing...

I remember long ago in my early days in Japan watching the movie Tora Tora Tora on Pearl Harbor day.

“From Hiroshima’s standpoint, the horror of nuclear weapons was not sufficiently depicted,” he was quoted as saying by Japanese media. “The film was made in a way to validate the conclusion that the atomic bomb was used to save the lives of Americans.”

It was used to save American lives and it also, coincidentally had the effect of saving the lives of many more Japanese.

That the film is not about the Japanese and their tragedies made the film’s message no less poignant for me.

Goodman,most American strongly opposed our country going to war, when insecure people depend on America for their survival,the US is the only thing stopping Japan from being attacked by Russia,China and NK,and when you live at their mercy,you are not an independent nation

Oppie was a commie, surrounded by commie family and friends, I personally can't reconcile any good intention (if he had any) towards humanity that he may have had with the consequence of his ambition to beat the Germans.

Who said this is a sensitive topic for the Japanese? . What’s so delicate about this? The Americans first bombed two cities, brought the entire Japanese nation to their knees, then gave money to restore the economy, “settled” on the island of Okinawa and are now dictating to Japan how to live and build a foreign policy. This delicate topic is called very simply - America bought the Japanese completely with giblets.

Oppenheimer was a flawed, brilliant genius and truly an "American Prometheus".

https://time.com/6898636/robert-oppenheimer-communist/

As such his contributions that will go down in history deserve to be examined and discussed.

Being a communist,is a political affiliation,not a reflection of their character

Being a communist,is a political affiliation,not a reflection of their character

Communism demand elevation of the party above all else, above hunanity, above god, above self. Evidently bad for the human race. Don't you wonder what if he wasn't a commie?

Communism demand elevation of the party above all else, above hunanity, above god, above self.

He affiliated with groups supporting civil rights for African-Americans and immigrants in racist 30's and 40's America.

And union members being oppressed by capitalists even though he came from a wealthy family.

It mad him a good and humane man, and even his development of the A-bomb came from a desire to oppose evil regimes.

Quite a contribution to humanity.

Two questions come to my mind with the equal weight: i) why didn't the Japanese government decide to end the war, earlier, with better terms rather than the unconditional surrender?; ii) was two A-bombs used to end the war or was it a show of US power vis-a-vis communists?

The US government (not the american people) should have never dropped these infernal bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Japan already lost the war and the narrative that they would have never Surender is just one side story.

I understand that this film is very sensitive here and I think the topic is very delicate.

What the US government did with Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not just a crime against civilians,women men and children but against the whole humanity.

William77Today 12:38 am JST

What the US government did with Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not just a crime against civilians,women men and children but against the whole humanity.

But still less of a crime than what Japan did.

OnlookerMar. 29 11:47 pm JST

ii) was two A-bombs used to end the war or was it a show of US power vis-a-vis communists?

Either way it secured Japan's future and 99% of its territory.

YrralMar. 29  07:48 pm JST

Tokyo was probably the 3rd target,the US actually had 10 more waiting in their wing for Japan

no. maybe one more 3-4 weeks away.

it didn’t matter, truman blocked using any more. you can read it in his handwritten diary. he said he didn’t have the stomach to kill more women and children. read it.

The movie that romanticized the biggest war crime in world history is coming to Japan!!..

Absolutely NO THANKS..

The movie that romanticized the biggest war crime in world history is coming to Japan!!..

..

It’s already in Japan.

As you clearly haven’t viewed the production suggests your comment is nebulous…

This is a great film, the world should see it.

The movie that romanticized the biggest war crime in world history is coming to Japan!!..

This is a false statement, the movie does not romanticise Nuclear war. Maybe you should watch it, and then get back to the forum.

sensitivity of the subject matter.  

You mean the inevitable victim card playing and revisionist trash spouted by Japan's right wing lunatics? In which case it's not sensitive subject matter. Germans know the attacks on them was to stop Nazism. Time a few Japanese woke up too.

@didou

Below from the ICC web page, a quick summary

Your excerpt is NOT from the ICC web page, as you likely knew when you made the claim.

— Quote from the website of Unfold Zero, a United Nations initiative for a nuclear-weapon-free world

In 1994, the United Nations General Assembly established a negotiating forum for an International Criminal Court (ICC), which would prosecute individuals with respect to crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The definition of war crimes, over which the ICC has jurisdiction, includes the use of poison or poisonous weapons, and the use of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and all analogous liquids, materials or devices. There was a proposal to include the use of nuclear weapons as a crime under the jurisdiction of the ICC, but this was rejected by nuclear armed States (with the exception of India) and other nuclear reliant States (NATO allies) and so was not included.

Prior the 2 bombs, how many millions innocent people did the Japan Imperial Army masacrated and genocide again?