Miyazaki adds voice to Japanese opposition
Print Edition
JAPAN cannot use military strength to counter China, Hayao Miyazaki, the director of Oscar-winning animation “Spirited Away,” said yesterday as he joined a chorus of protest against a change in Japan’s security policy.
Miyazaki, 74, has long spoken out against war and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s desire for measures allowing broader use of Japan’s military, particularly in his final film, “The Wind Rises,” which earned him accusations of being a “traitor.”
Abe’s rush to push through changes to Japan’s pacifist constitution, arguing that China’s growing strength needs to be countered, was “exactly the opposite” of what he should do, Miyazaki told a rare news conference.
“It is impossible to stop China’s power through military strength,” said the famously reclusive master of animated fantasy, whose films have made him a household name in Japan.
“They need to think of a different way. That’s why our pacifist constitution was created.”
“The Wind Rises” told the story of Jiro Horikoshi, the man who designed Japan’s feared “Zero” fighter.
The film, and an essay criticizing “people who mess around with our constitution,” earned him unprecedented criticism and thousands of comments, from disappointment at his foray into politics to those who branded him a traitor.
“The years of war were a terrible experience for Japan, with some 3 million people losing their lives,” said Miyazaki. “Older people can’t forget that. For them, the pacifist constitution was like a ray of light.”
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