Japanese film documents history

cctv.com 09-02-2005 16:56

Sixty years have passed since the end of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. But even in these peaceful times, more than 2,000 Chinese people are still affected by discarded Japanese weapons. In today's edition of our special series, we introduce you to a Japanese documentary maker, Tomoko Kana, who has filmed the stories of people who suffered from chemical weapons.

Bitter tears in their eyes, these people have had their future suddenly taken away. In her documentary, "From the Land of Bitter Tears", Tomoko Kana has focused on these heart-broken people. They all suffered from chemical weapons made by Japan in the war.

Tomoko Kana said, "Although sixty years have passed, more and more new victims have appeared after the war. I was shocked greatly and I think I should tell people the truth through TV. So I started to do a program that relates to the post-war victims. "

Tomoko Kana said that she decided to make the film after meeting a 27-year-old woman, Liu Min, in Harbin, when she traveled through China in 2003. Liu Min's father died in 1995 because he had been injured seriously in an accidental explosion from a bombshell left by the Japanese force. The money for his treatment left Liu Min with a huge debt when she was only a teenager. Liu Min and her brother had no choice but to leave school and work. Deeply moved by her tears , Kana decided to produce a documentary film about Chinese people suffering from the discarded weapons.

Kana said, " I have neither joined in making such poisonous gas nor invaded China, but being Japanese, I can't escape from the facts. I want to help these victims in some way."

Tomoko Kana spent 10 months travelling across Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province and visited more than 60 victims. Among them, the oldest is seventy years old while the youngest is only seven.

With an accidental touch of the poisonous gas, some of the victims have been coughing day and night for over 10 years and some have to constantly take medication. All of this moved Kana deeply. She felt the responsibility as a Japanese person with a conscience.

Tomoko Kana said that the young generation in Japan knows little about that war. She hoped to teach Japanese people about their country's responsibilities, and to face the historical truth. She also said that she wanted to help victims hurt by the Imperial Japanese Army.

Editor:Chen Zhuo  Source:CCTV.com