Japan Sinks

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Japan Sinks (Sinking of Japan, Nihon Chinbotsu (日本沈没, Nihon Chinbotsu^?)‎) (2006) is a Tokusatsu film directed by Shinji Higuchi, one of the top special effects masterminds in Japan, best known for his work on the Heisei Gamera trilogy. The film was released as Sinking of Japan in some countries.

The film is an improved loose remake of the classic earlier 1973 version based on the SFnovel by Sakyo Komatsu. The film stars Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and Kou Shibasaki. In the movie due to a collision of tectonic plates the central plate that Japan sits on will soon break apart. As a result in 338 days Japan will break apart and collapse into the Pacific Ocean.

The theme song of this movie is "Keep Holding U" by SunMin thanX Kubota.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film starts off with a bang in the form of a fiery, post earthquake and volcano scenario. Kusanagi saves a lost little girl and is in turn rescued by Shibasaki Kou who swoops down from a helicopter. In a refreshing reversal of the common formula, it's a woman of pure action and a sensitive male scientist. They hook up for dialogue scenes every 15 or 20 minutes, which becomes fairly repetetive, but the fleeting time they spend together amidst the ensuing disaster deepens their bond fairly believably. There are subplots involving Shibasaki's family, who run a little restaurant in Shinagawa, the government frantically trying to deal with the situation, and Toyokawa's scientist who delivers the bad news -- Japan doesn't have 40 years until it sinks, it has less than one year.

Earthquakes, volcanoes and tidal waves strike the archipelago as tectonic plates begin to curl into the ocean, dragging Japan down with it like a swimming pool cover. The government tries to mobilize evacuation of the entire country as the death toll mounts, but many countries refuse the mass influx of Japanese refugees, in what could be read as an ironic reversal of the tough immigration policies here. Thousands of others try to make it to Japan's mountainous highlands. Kusanagi is guaranteed escape to the UK, where he wants to take Shibasaki and Misaki, the little girl, but Shibasaki is married to rescuing as many people as possible. For the sub-genre at hand, the drama and acting wasn't bad.

Special mention must be made of the special effects. Almost every shot of lava geysers, land dropping away, Tokyo collapsing, tidal waves looming, and Mt. Fuji itself pulsating with magma were equal to if not more convincing than the film's Hollywood counterparts. There were some amazing aftermath shots as well -- a devasted vista from Kiyomizu Temple, Nara's giant buddha statue half buried in the earth, Nagoya and Tokyo's tallest buildings toppled. Custom destruction posters were made for five of Japan's major cities: Tokyo, Fukuoka, Kyoto, Nagoya, and Sapporo. Higuchi is a talented man who knows how to integrate effects seamlessly into traditional filmmaking techniques. The film of course had the complete cooperation of all of Japan's rescue and self-defence forces. If you're excited by ships, hovercrafts, military vehicles and undersea hardware, you're in for a treat.

While post-9/11 America is somewhat sensitive about depicting large amounts of people dying onscreen (cf. The Day After Tomorrow's almost deathless spectacle), Nihon Chinbotsu shows many souls being sucked into the earth, crushed by avalanches or swept away by thundering waves (memories of the Indian Ocean tsunami came to mind). It's all fairly bloodless, but the mass hysteria is quite disturbing and children are not spared. Some elements are reminiscient of Spielberg's War of the Worlds, especially the refugee-like masses, and the microcosm subplots sometimes recalled a Roland Emmerich film, but it is thought that Nihon Chinbotsu fared better than either.

Disaster films always walk a fine line between entertainment, tragedy and outrageousness, but Japan is a country with real and proven potential for natural calamities. The daisy-chain of deep sea atomic bombs that save what's left of the country's land mass recall a more disturbing reality of 60 years ago. In the scenes where Tokyo falls, viewers may experience shivers.