September 19, 2026

Akahata ‘current’ column (excerpts)

Director Tsukamoto Shinya’s latest film, “Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People?” is currently showing in Japan.

Based on a true story, the film depicts war from the perspective of a U.S. Marine, the perpetrator, and won the “Golden Lionette Award” which was announced by Italian high school students at the Venice International Film Festival.

As soon as it opened in Japan, audiences flocked to see it. However, the number of theaters showing it is extremely limited. Numerous complaints regarding the limited screening can be found online.

The protagonist is Allen Nelson, a former Marine and Vietnam War veteran. During his lifetime, he gave more than 1,200 lectures in Japan, sharing his story. In 1997, he even appeared at the Japanese Communist Party’s Akahata Festival.

On any battlefield, anyone can become the one who kills. The movie tells the audience that Allen began to recover from his war-related PTSD when he acknowledged his guilt.

In his book, he claims that Japan refuses to acknowledge its wartime wrongdoings, and argues that Yasukuni Shrine symbolizes this refusal because it justifies Japan’s past war of aggression as a “war for self-defense.” In the book, he also states that the soldiers enshrined at this shrine are “still forced to continue carrying out their duties for political purposes.”

Allen also frequently spoke about the humanitarian value of the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution. “By upholding Article 9, Japan can become the most powerful nation in the world,” he often said.