Watanabe wins

[Aaron Gerow]

In an interesting case involving the right to screen a film, the director 
Watanabe Fumiki (his films include Bari zogon and Zazanbo) sued Kanagawa 
Prejecture after it refused to allow him to rent the Kanagawa Citizen's 
Hall to show his film Hara hara dokei. The Prefecture was apparently 
afraid that screening the film, which is against the Emperor system, 
would earn the wrath of right-wing extremist groups. On the 8th, a 
Yokohama court ruled against the Prefecture, declaring it had violated 
local law that stipulats public use of the hall, and awarded Watanabe 
200,000 yen. The court said that "objectively there was no legitimate 
reason for refusing use."

Aaron Gerow
Yokohama National University
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