Oriza Hirata says U.S. requested radioactive water dumping

Playwright Oriza Hirata (48) has got himself into some hot, ahem, water while on a trip in Seoul. The Seinendan chief honcho made the “controversial” pronouncement that the contaminated water released by TEPCO into the sea was done following U.S. pressure.

The trouble is not that Hirata is a university teacher and award-winning dramatist and director — since most regular people won’t have heard of him — but that he holds a government position, and was speech writer for ex-PM Yukio “loopy” Hatoyama. It should not be shocking in the least that a writer speaks out publicly about the Fukushima issues, though anyone searching for a leading voice of dissent amongst the country’s intelligentsia is likely to be disappointed.

Well, what Hirata actually said, in a response to a question after a lecture on May 17th, was:

The released water had a very low concentration [of contamination] and the amount [of water] was also low…That was released after a strong request from the American government.
流された水は非常に低濃度で、量も少なくて、あれはアメリカ政府からの強い要請で流れたんです

The context (or question he was answering) is not being reported — or at least I haven’t read it yet — but even without the framing the statement is still hardly outrageous. However, there are now calls for Hirata to retract his comments, which likely he will do. (Compare Ken Clarke’s recent off-the-cuff remarks in the UK about date rape not being as serious as other forms of rape. Understandably the insensitivity of his words, regardless of their veracity, has provoked a furore.)

The water released into the sea by TEPCO in April, said to be a hundred times the legal limit of radioactivity, has particularly worried Japan’s neighbours, who were not warned or consulted in advance. Personally I don’t really understand fully why America would demand request TEPCO to dump the water but the channels of politics are no doubt murkier than the now radioactive sea around the Fukushima power plants.

Interestingly I read on some bulletin boards anger towards Hirata specifically for making the statement abroad; if he was privy to this information and fancied himself in the Assange mould, then it seems he should have told the Japanese people directly (as opposed to a Korean audience). However, there was also bafflement that he held a position working for the government in the first place. Perhaps that is the real controversy.

Hirata is known for his realism and his recent experiments with using robots in plays. His work is best known internationally in France. See Performing Arts Japan for an in-depth interview with him.

Hideki Noda quits AERA magazine over sensationalism

Weekly magazine AERA recently rather shamefully joined what had mostly been a foreign media nuclear sensationalist frenzy with its now infamous, alarmist “Radiation is coming to Tokyo” edition, which went on sale on March 19th.

A close-up of a chilling, biosuited face across the cover and the fearful headline in red clearly made for a image on the news stands meant to induce panic in an already shaken and confused population.

Regular columnist (and playwright) Hideki Noda was apparently not happy about this example of “journalism” and has quit in protest.

This was how he last column read, published in today’s (March 28th) issue:

突然ですが、最終回です。

先週号のアエラの表紙を見て私は愕然とした。

十五万部という発行部数の雑誌がそのコトバの重みを知らないはずはない。

危険を出来るだけ正確な情報でそのまま伝えること、これがまっとうなマスメディアのやることだ。

アエラという雑誌は何を目指しているのですか？フィクションですか？それともノンフィクションですか

It’s very sudden but this is my last column. … I was astounded when I saw the cover of last week’s issue of AERA.
…
A magazine with a circulation of 150,000 certainly knows the power of words.
…
It’s the mass media’s job, as much as it can, to report correct information about a crisis just as it is is.
…
What is AERA trying to do? Is it fiction? Or nonfiction?

The fact that his angry final column was published with his statements intact likely indicates contrition on the part of the AERA editorial team, but it might be too late to win back any respect they had.

[Via @product1954]

Performance Changes, Cancellations due to Earthquake

Due to catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in Tohoku last Friday, a number of theatre performances were immediately cancelled, including at the Kanagawa Arts Theatre, Parco Theatre and Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space.

One week on, the situation is changing daily, affected by the threat of aftershocks (many centering in the Tokyo and Kanto region), the grave need to conserve electricity, rolling blackouts, as well as the issues at the Fukushima nuclear reactors. Performances in Kanto are especially likely to be cancelled or postponed, although there is quite a strong “the show must go on” atmosphere too.

Visitors heading to see performances should definitely check that the show is still going ahead and I am also trying to provide major updates via my Twitter feed.

Shu Matsui wins Kishida Kunio Drama Award

It’s third time lucky for Shu Matsui who, after several nominations, has finally scooped the Kishida Kunio Drama Award for his play “Proud Son” (Jiman no Musoko), which was staged last September in Tokyo and Osaka. The prize comes with 200 thousand yen cash.

One of the judges, playwright, actor and director Ryo Iwamatsu, said:

An outstanding portrayal of life’s anti-climaxes. Although the focus is on the relationship between mother and son, the unique perspective on the world also stirs up sexual aromas. The at times violent and simple scene changes are proof of how the writer has won fame for putting his thoughts into drama.
(My translation.)

(Japan’s theatre prizes are unusual in that judges are typically contemporaries. Here, Iwamatsu was joined by playwrights Ai Nagai, Hideki Noda, Akio Miyazawa, Shoji Kokami and Yoji Sakate. No journalists, critics, editors or academics in sight!)

In a Japan Times interview when “Proud Son” was staged, Matsui said:

People today, especially Japanese, are very similar to zombies; they have a lack of independence and go through their days living so passively. I wondered what would it be like if the zombies were only pretending to behave in a robotic manner — and what if they were to stand up together one time . . . . This kind of thinking helps me come up with plays about today’s complex society.

Other nominees were Junko Emoto, Tomohiro Maekawa, Masaaki Akahori, Yu Takeuchi, Ichiro Maruomaru, Takahiro Tamura, Seiji Nozoe, and Akihito Nakatsuru.

Amon Miyamoto interview

I met with the loquacious Amon Miyamoto to talk about his new role as artistic director of the Kanagawa Arts Theatre (KAAT). The interview has been published in English on CNNgo (Japanese version here).

The new Kanagawa Arts Theatre (KAAT), Yokohama
Photo: William Andrews

I had some initial doubts about the choice of Kinkakuji as the inaugural production at KAAT but Miyamoto very eloquently explained his reasons for production.

The forthcoming programme for KAAT is very varied. There is the esoteric (Bunraku from Hitoshi Sugimoto), the trendy (chelfitsch) and the more mainstream (Koki Mitani), so hopefully the venue should attract a good crowd. Kinkakuji at any rate is sold out.

Director Amon Miyamoto
Photo: William Andrews

Kanagawa Arts Theater inaugural season

As previously reported, Yokohama is getting its own major theatre in the form of the Kanagawa Arts Theater (KAAT) and now the venue’s schedule has been finalized up till the summer.

New works by major names, both newish (Toshiki Okada, Keishi Nagatsuka) and older (Koki Mitani), dominate the schedule, alongside the TPAM international conference and stage versions of familiar texts.

The latter includes Ryunosuke Akutagawa and is certainly true of Kinkakuji (The Temple of the Golden Pavilion), an adaptation of Yukio Mishima’s novel from director Amon Miyamoto, who is also artistic director of KAAT. Cynically or cleverly (whichever your preference) casting V6 boyband member Go Morita, the famous story revolves around a disturbed young monk eventually burns down the glorious temple in Kyoto.

Major directors seem to enjoy casting male idols in anguished roles, as Ninagawa has demonstrated again and again. A stage version of a decades-old text may not seem the most radical or appropriate choice for the theatre, though of course the jury is out till it opens. A play about Mishima’s own controversial life, at a time of a growing right-wing movement in Japan, might perhaps have been more interesting.

Kinkakuji, January 29 to February 14

At the same time as the TPAM conference, a series of German performances are taking place at KAAT’s studio spaces, including visits from Rimini Protokoll and She She Pop.

Artist Hiroshi Sugimoto is also staging his version of the Chikamatsu Bunraku puppet work Sonezaki Love Suicides. An experimental re-imagining of the original, New York-based Sugimoto is known for his success with a range of genre, including photography and film.

Sonezaki Love Suicides, March 23rd to 27th

Toshiki Okada continues his association with Yokohama by staging his latest, A Sonic Life of Giant Tortoise, performed by many regulars of his productions, before touring to three other venues in Japan.

His more recent plays have shown some departure from his trademark use of incongruous dance movements and disparate, banal dialogue. This new work concerns a couple and their inability to get the most out of their lives, and no doubt fans will be keen to see how his vision is developing.

A Sonic Life of Giant Tortoise, February 2nd to 15th

Finally, the last main production announced so far is another biggie. Taking a break from film work (or not), Koki Mitani’s new play Kokumin no Eiga (literally, “Film of the People”) has a starry cast and is set in 1940s Berlin.

Kokumin no Eiga, April 20th to May 1st

Harajuku Performance 2010

On December 22 and 23 Harajuku Performance + 2010 at Laforet will host a festival of visual, music and sound performances. Planned participants include SHIMURABROS., Steve Jansen and Open Reel Ensemble × Braun Tube Project.

This year’s is the fourth in a series of annual mini festivals of dance, theatre, music and visual performance. Tickets cost ￥3,500 in advance per day.