Shinzo Abe
There were Super Mario characters in the streets of Roppongi earlier in the day. But when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe descended on Tokyo’s entertainment district for the opening ceremony of the 29th Tokyo International Film Festival he did not repeat his Mario stunt outfit worn for the Olympic Games in Brazil. Instead he wrapped up in a strictlystarched dinner suit and a tired smile before greeting top overseas guest Meryl Streep on the steps of the Ex Theater. Warming to the task, despite the light rain, Abe broke into English to recite a line from “The Iron Lady,” in which Streep portrays another Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.
“I’d like people to take away all of the film’s surprises. At first it seems like an everyday love story, but then turns into something more deep and poignant,” Streep said of the opening film “Florence Foster Jenkins.” “It is important to maintain some continuity,” Abe said after admitting that his regular visits to the festival had been interrupted for five years while he was out of power. Wearing a Japanese, stork-themed dress, Streep picked up the election theme. “I’d like to stay and watch all of the films, but I have to go back home and help the next President get elected,” she said.
Untimely death
“What we’d like to see is for Japan to become the gateway to Asia, and for creators from Japan to go out into the world,” Abe said. He revealed that his wife had recommended him to
What has improved is the market share of Japanese films vis-a-vis the foreign competition, with the local titles out-earning the imports for the past eight years in a row. Abroad, however, Japanese films are often a hard sell. Even in Asia, long their most receptive overseas market, Japanese films rarely