Word: harborful
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...Pearl Harbor's invasion of Japan also coincides with the rise of a new national mood. The hugely popular Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is determined to rekindle a feeling of pride after a decade of economic doldrums. His plans to revise the constitution, which renounces any offensive military capability, and to visit the Yasukuni Shrine, a contentious memorial for dead war veterans (including World War II war criminals), have elicited outcries abroad but little to none at home. Two years ago the Diet restored the World War II-era Hinomaru flag and Emperor-worshiping Kimigayo anthem as official standard-bearers...
...chaotic Tokyo office dart from desk to desk with armloads of flyers and press kits. A woman digs through a mountainous pile of movie stills; visitors mill under a massive close-up of Affleck. This is the war room, campaign headquarters for Disney's high-stakes launch. Pearl Harbor's budget?one of the biggest in history?is more than double the industry average and means the movie has to earn $400 million worldwide just to break even. But in Japan the company isn't only striving to turn a profit; it also wants to be sure it doesn...
...That explains the contorted strategy of marketing the film solely as a love story. Japanese billboards for Pearl Harbor insist it is just like Titanic, a colossal hit that raked in $225 million in Japan, whose film fans tend to love action-packed adventures with romantic leads. The trailer shown in Japan is vague about who the enemy actually is, cutting out close-ups of grim-faced Japanese soldiers heading off to bomb Hawaii that are shown in trailers elsewhere. A 14-page spread on the movie in the fan magazine Pia never even mentions Japan's involvement...
...Despite Disney's spin, Internet chat rooms reflect a certain hostility. Hundreds have joined a thread titled, Committee to Boycott Pearl Harbor. One contributor gripes: "They'll probably make a movie called Hiroshima next, in which heroic American soldiers bomb those evil Japanese and save the world." Another writes: "In Armageddon, you could excuse the message that America is number one because it's science fiction. But Pearl Harbor looks to be pure propaganda...
...Japanese war veterans, many of whom have endured vilification at home, the movie is digging up painful memories. "Pearl Harbor was so long ago," says Yuzo Fujita, 84, a onetime Zero pilot. "Why must they keep bringing it up?" Another former airman puts it this way: "When it comes to the war, we are always seen as bad. But bad things were committed on all sides. Think of all the people they killed in Hiroshima. I fear young people will see the movie and believe that's the way it happened...