Director's Note

Being a historian and sociologist, I wanted to document this historical event. My mission was to capture this event so it could be passed down to future generations.

I had no experience in directing a film, and never had any interest to do so until now. In my books, I have always been compiling fragments from past historical documents tell stories. On this project, it didn't matter whether I was using words or film as a medium to tell this particular story.

Obviously, I would never have been able to complete this film alone. Numerous independent filmers granted me access to their footage, and many people including a former Prime Minister cooperated with me without any compensation.

The people who appear in this film are truly stars in my eyes. They are diverse in gender, generation, class, origin, nationality, and orientation. When they gathered in front of the Prime Minister's Office to protest it was such a rare, powerful, and beautiful moment.

Miraculous moments like these rarely occur in a country or a society. I should know, I'm a historian. The only thing I did was to capture this extraordinary moment.

Everyone who sees this film will have a different take on it. After you see the film, please share your honest opinion of the film with the person sitting next to you. Only an audience, as well as society which is a collection of diverse audiences can give meaning to a film. I'm sure that something new will emerge for you and for society from this interaction.

Eiji OGUMA

Eiji OGUMA(小熊英二) is a professor of Faculty of Policy Management at Keio University in Tokyo. His researches cover the national identity and nationalism, colonial policy, democracy thoughts and social movements in modern Japan from the view of historical sociology. He has earned 6 prizes for his published works in Japan. He has participated and gained credibility in anti-nuke movement in Tokyo after Fukushima incident. This is his first film work which was completed by cooperation of many activists and voluntary filmers.

映画『首相官邸の前で』小熊英二(おぐま・えいじ)