"Kagawa 1st Ward" Director Arata Oshima depicts the true picture of Japanese democracy in an entertaining masterpiece that surpasses his previous work [Director's Interview Vol.171]

Arata Oshima, the director of the uniquely entertaining documentary `` Why Can't You Become Prime Minister? '' (20 *hereinafter referred to as ``Why You~''), has a new work called ``Kagawa 1 Ward,'' which can be said to be a sister edition to his previous work.

In conclusion, this work is also very interesting. Packed with exciting election campaigns, deep human drama, and shocking facts, this film is as perfect as the finest makunouchi bento box. An election movie? I hope you will throw away your prejudice that it will be difficult and rush to the theater.

The highlight of this work is the House of Representatives election held in October 2021. The person fighting for his advancement is Junya Ogawa of the Constitutional Democratic Party, and his opponent is Takuya Hirai (the first Digital Minister) of the Liberal Democratic Party. In addition, candidates from the Nippon Ishin no Kai join in, and a fierce three-way battle ensues.

During the election campaign, Oshima-gumi points the camera not only at the main character Ogawa but also at his opponents, exposing the reality of the election that we have never seen before, and exposing the audience to even more shocking facts.

Oshima, who proved with his previous work ``Why You'' that the best entertainment is the most effective way to convey a Arrival to the audience, has once again succeeded in leaving something big in the hearts of the audience with this work. .

This work is sure to become the most talked about work in 2022. We asked Director Oshima to tell us a lot about the inside story.

Index

• A sequel completed in just one and a half years
• A series of events that make the movie interesting...
• What exactly are voters?
• Coverage of the election campaign was even interrupted by filming
• Hesitation about intervening in reality
• My movie within 2 hours
• Did “Why You” have an impact on the election?

A sequel completed in just one and a half years

Q: It took 17 years to complete the previous work ``Why You~'', but this work was produced at a fast pace, taking one and a half years. Please tell us about the circumstances during this time.

Oshima: Even after the previous work was completed, I was planning to continue interviewing Junya Ogawa. If I were to follow Mr. Ogawa, I don't know when I would be able to make a work of it, but I thought it might be five years from now.

At that time, in September of last year, part of the Democratic Party of the People and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan merged, and independent members also joined, forming the new Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. At that time, some people actually asked Ogawa if he would like to play in the national team.

“Kagawa 1st Ward” © 2021 NETZGEN

Q: Has that fact been made public?

Oshima: Not really. In the end, however, Ogawa did not run because he did not have enough people to recommend him and was unable to take the initiative himself. The reason for this is that he has not been elected in a single-seat constituency. This is like an unwritten rule and is a big shackle. (*Author's note: Junya Ogawa lost the election in Kagawa 1st ward in 2017, but was re-elected on a proportional basis.)

For Mr. Ogawa, this is a liability, and he has declared that he will retire early after he turns 50. So I knew that the next election would be very important. At the same time, the Suga administration was established, and Takuya Hirai, Ogawa's opponent in the constituency, became the minister in charge of digital reform. Although Mr. Ogawa's name recognition has increased partly due to the influence of the movie, his opponent in the upcoming election is the Minister of Digital, which can be said to be the centerpiece of the cabinet.

In local constituencies, the title ``minister'' is a big one. Although Hirai already has a strong base, he has even been given the title of ``minister.'' This made the wall even higher for Mr. Ogawa.

So, around fall of last year, I started thinking about the possibility of making a spin-off film with the theme of the election itself.

Another thing I wanted to know was what really made the Liberal Democratic Party so strong. So it was around May or June of this year that I decided to make a film with the title ``Kagawa 1 Ward.''

A series of events that make the movie interesting...