A new documentary film by a Japanese-American director... dissects the issue of Japan's wartime sexual enslavement of women and girls from the viewpoint of scholars and social activists.<br />Our Lee Min-sun got a chance to hear about the film from the director himself.<br />A new documentary film about the victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery,... also known as 'comfort women',... takes a different apprach compared to other films on the same subject matter.<br />Instead of focusing on testimonies from the victims,... the film is composed of a series of interviews from Japanese, South Korean and foreign scholars and activists,… compiled over three years.<br />Following the argument from both sides,... the film uncovers the nefarious side of the Japanese neo-nationalists... who sometimes throw personal insults at the vicitms.<br /><br />Dezaki who worked 5 years in Japan as a teacher,... became curious as to why Japanese neo-nationalists wanted to whitewash their country's history.<br />That's when he learned about Takashi Uemura,... a former Asahi Shimbun reporter who received heavy flak for an article he wrote on the issue.<br /><br />"I felt very connected to his story because I was bashed also for my videos on racism in Japan. So I was just curious why they wanted to erase this history of the comfort women issue and just like they wanted to erase my video."<br /><br />Starting off as a graduate school project, the film was invited to the Busan International Film Festival last year... and gained international spotlight.<br /><br />"I understood from the very beginning that my background as a Japanese-American was a huge factor in making the film. I don't think I would have gotten a lot of the interviews I got had I not been Japanese-American. So, the fact that I was a male Japanese American really appealed to a lot of people in that I was kind of like a third party."<br /><br />He explains... that knowing the context of the comfort women issue is the key to finding a solution for both Japanese and Koreans and hopes that his film will provide a good introduction to the complicated issue.<br />The film will be released in theaters in Korea on July 25th, but it already screened in Japan since April to surprisingly positive reviews from the public...though Japanese neo-nationalists were not happy with their interviews in the film and even sued the director.<br /><br />"People who didn't know about the issue at all are saying that they really appreciate that the film was made and that they can understand this issue on a deeper level. So, the reception has been really really good in Japan. It's a positive thing because otherwise if people don't talk about it, people don't know about it, and there's no way that the situation can change."<br /><br />Regarding the recent trade sanctions adopted by the Abe government... in protest of the forced labor issue, the director expressed his deep regret.<br />He said human rights issue should not be dealt with in such manner,... at least not in the manner currently being shown by the Japanese government.<br /><br />Howev
