Nihon chinbotsu (2006)

Japan will sink down to the deep sea. The governments only hope is evacuate all Japanese to some other countries.

Director:

Shinji Higuchi

Writers:

Sakyo Komatsu (novel) (as Sakyô Komatsu), Masato Kato (screenplay)

Stars:

Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Ko Shibasaki, Etsushi Toyokawa

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Tsuyoshi Kusanagi	...	Toshio Onodera
Ko Shibasaki	...	Reiko Abe (as Kô Shibasaki)
Etsushi Toyokawa	...	Yusuke Tadokoro
Mao Daichi	...	Saori Takamori
Mitsuhiro Oikawa	...	Shinji Yuki
Mayuko Fukuda	...	Misaki Kuraki
Hideko Yoshida	...	Tamae Tanokura
Akira Emoto	...	Prof. Fukuhara
Jun Kunimura	...	Kyosuke Nozaki
Kôji Ishizaka	...	Prime Minister Yamamoto
Ken'ichi Endô	...	Shin-ichirou Nakata
Takeshi Katô	...	Prof.Yamashiro
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hideaki Anno	...	Yamashiro's Son in law
Moyoco Anno	...	Yamashiro's Daughter
Harutoshi Fukui

Storyline

In the aftermath of a major earthquake under Suraga Bay, Misaki (a young girl) and Toshiro (a pilot of a deep sea submarine) are rescued from a ruined city street just as leaking gasoline ignites. Reiko Abe arrives just in time, lowered from a helicopter. Scientists predict that Japan will sink within 40 years, due to subduction of a tectonic plate to the west. However, Dr. Tadokoro, who leads an oceanic scientific team that includes Toshiro, calculates that this will happen far sooner, in only 338.54 days. He presents his findings to Prime Minister Yamamoto who decides to create a new department for impending disaster relief assigning Saoro Takamori to cover the new duties, since of all his ministers she will take it seriously but also bring "heart" to the process. As further earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions devastate Japan, the government pleads with other countries to take refugees. Yamamoto flies to China to negotiate relocations there, but his plane is destroyed by a...

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Plot Keywords:

earthquake | japan | tsunami | disaster | disaster film | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

15 July 2006 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Doomsday: The Sinking of Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

JPY 598,694,766 (Japan), 16 July 2006, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dentsu,J Dream,Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, the leading man, is a member of the very popular Japanese boy band SMAP. He has been in many TV dramas and movies.

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Connections

Remake of Tidal Wave (1973)

User Reviews

A solid SF/disaster movie

I actually caught an ad for JAPAN SINKS in a Japanese magazine last year, and wondered what the heck it was until I saw the trailer for the film. It was then I remembered that I had seen the English translation of Sakyo Komatsu's novel some years back. I got it, and it was quite good, as well as chillingly realistic. It's enough to make the reader dread hearing any news about earthquakes in Japan.

Now, I've read the book, and seen this 2006 movie version (the first movie came out in 1973). And you know what? I thought the movie was quite good, even if there are major changes from novel to film (but that's understandable). The story is simple--a major tectonic shift will cause Japan to sink within a year. Massive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis rock the country as frantic efforts are made to evacuate as many people as possible. One scientist has a plan that could stop the sinking of the country and save what's left of the landmass, but can it be implemented in time? I saw JAPAN SINKS at Otakon 2007, and while there were a couple of problems I had with it--it does run a bit too long, and a couple of the character moments were a little too sappy--I was nonetheless blown away. The sheer concept of an entire nation sinking into the sea was made terrifyingly real, and the effects were some of the best I've ever seen, rivaling anything that Hollywood has done. The film also plays no favorites with the main characters, with some not making it to the closing credits.

Frankly, I've been surprised by some of the negative comments made about this film. Difference of opinions, I guess. Personally, I enjoyed it. And I've read the original book.