Controversy continues over “The Cove”

Nationalist groups have been suffocating the Oscar winning movie “The Cove” in Japan.  At least three theatres have canceled screening the documentary movie and twenty-three are in limbo trying to decide if they will show it or not. It was also banned from being shown at a U.S. Military base on the grounds of it being too controversial.

The movie documents an annual dolphin hunt that takes place in a Japanese village. The bloody slaughter is captured on hidden cameras and depicts the fishermen as local thugs.The protestors are pointing out that dolphin hunts are not found in only Japan but in other countries as well. They say that it is anti-Japanese and that the movie has links to Sea Shepard, the anti-whaling groups that has regular run-ins with Japanese whalers.

This is not the first time that Nationalist groups have flexed their muscle. “Yaksuni” was a movie that suffered the same fate two years ago. That movie was about a Japanese war shrine which honors Japanese soldiers, regardless of whether they were heroes or war criminals.

The current controversy has taken on overtones of suppression of the freedom of speech. Directors, academics and journalists have come together to write a letter to the theaters, asking them not to succumb to pressure from the Nationalist groups. An event was also held on Wednesday, where the movie was shown and discussions were held after wards on the issues of freedom of speech and theater cancellations.