The Cove to be aired in 日本!

If you have not watched the Oscar-winning documentary called "The Cove", what are you waiting for? Full of suspense and adventure, this documentary is about the killing of dolphins in… you guessed, 日本 (Japan).

What is interesting is that, after much struggle, the film will be finally aired in Japan itself! This is historical, for the film directly attacks the country for the killing of dolphins and the media censorship in it.




Check their official web-page:

http://www.thecovemovie.com/

Source: The Cove in Japan

What I think is amusing is that the Japanese have a strange sense of "paranoia", in that they think that foreigners are trying to invade their country. I believe this is a trauma due to the A Bombs (something that should have never happened), passed from generation to generation and through history books. However, people (Nihon-jin) must understand that it is not to "invade" their country, but to save the few whales that are left (obviously Norway and Iceland have a lot to do with this issue too).


This is taken from the Save Japan Dolphins blog:

The Cove Opens Tomorrow, but the Extremists Are Not Giving Up

by Ric O’Barry
Campaign Director
Save Japan Dolphins
Earth Island Institute

Last week we had some important successes in Japan -- several theater owners came forward and committed to show The Cove movie despite threats from extreme nationalists, and we also won a key injunction in a Yokohama court against the group protesting the film – an almost unheard of injunction.

Unfortunately, the extremists are again ramping up, employing their worst tactics to date.

This week they moved to the Yokohama theater owner’s home, and when that didn’t work, they moved on to his mother’s home:



As you can see from the video, the woman is elderly. She has nothing to do with the distribution of the film. This harassment with loud speakers outside her home is intimidation of the lowest order.

We have repeatedly tried to engage our critics –- inviting them to participate in open forums, but they refused. Rather than discuss the issues they employ highly aggressive bullying tactics to shut down the film. I personally believe they are being paid to protest and don’t really have a point of view. I don’t even think they care about Taiji. Their only goal is to keep people from knowing the truth, no matter what it takes. As we know, corruption is endemic on this issue, with many people making money off trafficking in live dolphins for oceanariums and selling poisoned dolphin and whale meat on the open market with no health warnings to protect the people of Japan.

To this end it is clear the extreme nationalists - and whoever is funding them - aren’t giving up, and our Japanese distributor is small with a very limited budget. Earth Island has been helping with promotion and security, but much more will be needed if we want to expand beyond these six theaters. We have 17 theaters on hold right now that want to screen the film, but are fearful of the consequences.