POINT OF VIEW/ Tatsuya Mori: Self-censorship a dangerous trend to follow

Five movie theaters in Tokyo and Osaka that had planned to show Chinese director Li Ying's documentary "Yasukuni" canceled scheduled screenings this month. The theaters said the decision was made voluntarily as a precaution against potential trouble and harassment.

The controversy started when a weekly magazine ran an article that labeled the work as "biased." In response to the article, a lawmaker of the Liberal Democratic Party questioned the propriety of the film having received a public subsidy. After watching the film at a special preview, the lawmaker reportedly commented that "its message is partial."

Documentaries are a subjective means of expression that can drastically change one's view of the world. Thus, there is no such thing as an objective documentary. Saying documentaries must be neutral is a viewpoint that lacks literacy toward them.

Personally, I saw "Yasukuni" as an endeavor in which the director desperately tried to maintain a balance. Critics must have jumped to the conclusion the movie is biased simply because Yasukuni Shrine was filmed by a Chinese director.

Makers of documentaries give shape to their messages in the form of images. People holding various opinions see them and form their own judgments. That is what documentaries are about. If politicians label them as "biased" before they open, it makes them politically charged. Such an act is tantamount to applying "pressure" on viewers to interpret documentaries in certain ways.

But the lawmaker who triggered the controversy may be bewildered at the repercussions she caused.

"Phase transition" is a term used in thermodynamics. It is the transformation of the physical properties of a substance.

For example, water may change its form to ice or vapor while each particle remains the same. What is interesting is that water at zero degree may be either liquid or solid. If water is cooled slowly to below zero, it retains its liquid form without becoming solid. The process is called "supercooling." If we hit a glass containing supercooled water, the contents instantly freeze.

These days, Japan appears to be in a state of supercooling. Take, for example, the case of the Kameda boxing brothers and their father and former trainer. The Kamedas, who were once touted as heroes of professional boxing, became a target of public bashing overnight after one of the brothers lost a match due to foul play.

The same can be said of yokozuna Asashoryu and former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. As individuals, they have not changed, but the way society treats them suddenly changed due to the circumstances surrounding them.

Perhaps all the LDP lawmaker did was to hit the glass of supercooled water. There must be ways to deal with harassment by right-wing forces condemning "Yasukuni" as being "anti-Japanese." But instead of standing up to them, the movie theaters chose to voluntarily cancel screenings.

Their behavior reflects the critical state of a society filled with anxieties and discontent. Society is so unstable at the moment that public opinion may be reversed at any time.

I once covered "songs banned for broadcast," which are typically considered taboo because the lyrics are rebellious and anti-establishment. Although people say they are exercising self-restraint not to sing or air such songs, that is not true. They are checking themselves to meet heteronomous rather than autonomous regulations.

The absence of clear-cut rules makes people feel uneasy. In order to escape such anxiety, they put up signs that say: "Danger. Do not go beyond this point." As long as they do not overstep those boundaries, they feel safe. Such signs are put up all over the place, and before long, bans start to take on a life of their own. Before we know it, such regulations become routine, and supercooling of society advances.

With sardines and killifish, if a fish flees, the whole school follows it. People also like to form groups. But once groups get out of control, the situation becomes dangerous. That is why people who act independently are frowned upon. There is a growing trend in Japanese society to follow the majority and attack minority views and opinions.

How can we break away from a supercooling society? The media, including movies, have to keep on reporting, producing works and expressing themselves. They must continue to make an effort to "show" and "be heard."

The public is urged to accept them as they are and form diversified views based on what they see and hear. At the risk of sounding uncool, I believe there is no other way for us but to speak out and listen.

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The author is a documentary filmmaker and nonfiction writer.(IHT/Asahi: April 17,2008)