Nobody Knows question

[Linda Ehrlich]

Dear Alex: Good questions, but hard to find the answers. When I wrote my
FILM QUARTERLY review of NOBODY KNOWS, the editor insisted that I include
the angles you asked about. I sent some queries to the director but they
refused to answer about the original case (I can understand that). I asked
several colleagues in Japan to help me find some of the legal information,
but it was a completely closed case.
   I actually disagreed with the editor about this approach. It seems to me
a story that could happen (tragically) in any big city, anywhere in the
world. Linda Ehrlich

On Mon, May 17, 2010 at 3:26 AM, Alexander Jacoby <a_p_jacoby at yahoo.co.uk>wrote:

> Dear All,
>
> I am just putting the finishing touches to an essay on Koreeda's Nobody
> Knows, and I have two questions which I'd be splendidly grateful if anyone
> could answer over the next couple of days (I ought to be returning the final
> draft to Arthur Nolletti on Thursday).
>
> Firstly, a question which might require a little knowledge of Japanese
> custody law. When the convenience store owner asks why Akira and his
> siblings don't alert social services, Akira says that "We wouldn't be able
> to stay together. That happened before and it was terrible mess." My
> question is what we assume "That happened before" implies. Are we to assume
> that the kids were reported to social services and split up before because
> their mum has left them alone for long periods before? Or is the implication
> that the mother has failed to register the births, and therefore doesn't
> have legal custody of the kids?
>
> Secondly, and relatedly, I've read conflicting accounts of the original
> 1988 case. Some say that none of the five children of the original mother
> had had their births registered. Others say that the eldest child, the model
> for Akira, had been registered, but that the other four had not. Can anyone
> give me chapter and verse on this (preferably with a source!).
>
> All the best,
>
> ALEX
>
>
>
>
>


-- 
Linda E.

http://lindaehrlich.350.com/
www.lindaehrlich.com
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