Nebulous Morality. Interview with Sion Sono

archived 28 May 2024 11:55:45 UTC
Asian Movie Pulse
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Nebulous Morality. Interview with Sion Sono

May 28, 2024
Sion Sono making murals. According to Shuji Terayama one shall throw away the books and learn how to read the streets. Photo from the director's archive. Courtesy of Sion Sono Production
May 28, 2024
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Sion Sono talks about the accusations towards him, the trial of the case, Shuji Terayama and his career and childhood
The issue with Sion Sono has been on going for quite some time now. I will not analyze what happened, since I feel that the articles linked next shed much light to the case

https://variety.com/2022/film/news/sion-sono-sexual-harassment-1235224844/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/sion-sono-accused-of-multiple-sexual-assaults-1235125282
At the same time, I feel that in every case, both sides should be heard, and in that regard, I decided to also feature an interview that Nikodem Karolak recently conducted with the director. This, however, does not mean that I condone any type of the behavior mentioned in the aforementioned articles (which I definitely condemn) neither that I do not realize how much of a toxic setting the (Japanese) movie industry can be. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
When meeting Sion Sono for the first time, one expects to encounter a bizarre circus character – a conspicuous Mad Hatter and defiant amanojaku (heavenly evil spirit, a demon-like creature in Japanese folklore) in one – capable of turning everything around him into chaos, without prior warning. The impression that eventually emerges, however, is one of a diminutive, reserved, timid, withdrawn man. Like the Wizard of Oz, Sono has retreated behind the ramparts of his own art in such a way as to prevent anyone from discovering that he is, in fact, no more and no less human. In the interview Sono speaks out publicly for the first time about the Shūkan Josei defamation case and online libel brought against him in 2022; declares his strong connection to with the whole avantgarde oeuvre and talks about artistic inspirations, as well the desensitized condition of Japanese society. 
I have to ask you this question in the beginning, which may be as well considered a double-edged sword, since you yourself directed it towards your own characters in “”. After many vicissitudes, can you confidently say that you are connected to yourself? 
Looking back in the past, I sense that I talk to myself more than ever before. In this way, I  build up my own connection. But, am I actually connected and at peace with myself? At times my condition indicates the opposite… 
What exactly happened in 2022? 
The Shūkan Josei tabloid newspaper, standing at the antipodes from what we consider a decent level of journalism, without any proper investigation or evidence printed a defaming article on me, as though I had been sexually assaulting women. Its content was preposterous to the teeth, however soon for whatever reason it started being reprinted all over the world, including The Hollywood Reporter, putting me into a kafkaesque situation. 
You mean the whole content was false? 
All of it. As you might have read before, there are a few accusers depicted in the article, however upon the trial it turned out most of them had been fabricated. In other words it's a perfect example of a gutter press where one puts words in the mouths of people that never truly existed. It got to the point where even the distribution company mentioned in the article that allegedly was accusing me of misdemeanors was nowhere to be found, being made up by the reporter. 
One of those who surely existed was, however, the now deceased Mira Chiba. What is the story behind her? 
At that time she claimed that she had been brought to my house in the company of a man who then left her alone with me. I was said to have thrust her to the bed and made unwanted advances. This is, however, all not true and to prove it there happens to be a witness who testified she came back home safe and sound. The whole article is thus a mixture of lies, fabrication and slander. 
Can you then assert you are not guilty with a clear conscience? 
I am not guilty. That article is a perfect representation of a false accusation. 
Having said that, there seems to be a plot against you. Why would those people hold such a grudge against you and go so far to destroy someone else's life, your life to be exact? 
In 2022 in Japan there were a lot of rumors about people from the industry engaged in sexual exploitation. Those tabloids were fishing for big names, so as to prove the point and bolster up their sales. In other words they did not hold any grudge or evidence against me, so as to speak, but rather set me up as an easy target and started spinning the cobweb of lies by hunting via the Internet for possible victims. Since there was no evidence, the result is what it is. 
Then it was Shūkan Josei who called up Mira Chiba first? 
Exactly. Among those people was also the cameraman Shin Hayasaka, known from his long-lasting collaboration with the director Hideo Sakaki, the infamous sexual perpetrator, as it turned out later. When Shūkan Josei went to Hayasaka in order to interview him on Sakaki, he changed the subject by claiming he knows a girl harmed by Sion Sono. In order to distract media attention from himself, he brought Mira Chiba and convinced her to testify to frame me up. She was suffering from mental issues and nervous breakdown. Upon police investigation it turned out that she had even abused her own child…She was also the one sending me immoral lewd propositions and sexual innuendos. Can you believe that she sent out tons of text messages on Twitter claiming she had been regularly consulting with Nicolas Cage and his newly-wed Japanese wife on my matter in order to ban me from Hollywood, so as to enhance her credibility? Pathetic. I asked Nicolas Cage and his wife Riko the other day and obviously they had never heard of such a scheme before. Now, I hope everyone will have a clear vision of who Mira Chiba really was. 
What was Hayasaka's goal, then? 
Well, people would obviously raise questions against him on how he could have collaborated with a sexual offender for so many years, without noticing anything. Unbelievable, right? He meticulously planned to introduce Chiba, so as to turn the air of suspicion towards me. She took the bait and fabricated the story. Two birds with one stone, as that would also show him in the light of a hero who not only distanced himself from Sakaki, but also rescued a ‘damsel in distress'. 
Among online anti-Sono community there is also another reappearing name, Yuki Matsuzaki. What about him? 
Hayasaka needed a backup comrade, so he plotted with him against me so as to gain attention and fame taking advantage of the rising #MeToo Movement in Japan. Petty little liars, that's what they are. I am still in the midst of the trial of defamation against Matsuzaki. He is spreading his rubbish, conspiracy theories on Twitter/X. Once he wrote that I had done something wrong to an actress, but in the trial when he is asked to provide evidence, there is none. He says he simply believes so. In the beginning stages of the trial when it was conducted online due to the pandemic, he couldn't even provide any materials as he had been apparently so occupied by his Twitter audience. 
What is the current situation, upon the settlement of the trial against Shūkan Josei? 
I was no judicial expert and was told by the lawyers to terminate the trial or else it would be going in circles for another year or so, and I didnt have enough mental capacity to continue it. In the end the magazine deleted all articles which I thought would be enough to start things over and get back to normal life. For a journalist to be forced to delete their own article basically constitutes a major fraud, yet the Hayasaka-Matsuzaki mob think they know better. They are nothing else as ultra-leftist extremists, one could also call it fascist justice. 
The progressive feminist movement in Japan is currently combined with the strong pressure of the #MeToo and cancel culture movement. An outstanding Polish theater director, Jan Klata, responds to this phenomenon in this way: If the male inquisition is replaced by the female inquisition, will it be more fair? How would you respond to these words?
If you can say such statements out loud, then you have freedom of speech in Poland. What is happening recently in Japan is a real witch hunt. Some time ago, a huge scandal broke out involving a Korean performer DJ Soda, which contributed to the agitation against Japan. She is famous for appearing in skimpy clothes and showing off her curves. Being undressed like this, she thrusted herself towards the crowd of fans, later accusing men of molestation, because someone had supposedly touched her accidentally in the bust area. My wife was very outraged, because if the artist pushes herself into a zone closed strictly to viewers and in addition initiates physical contact, with all respect, but you reap what you sow. 
What made the #MeToo and cancel culture movement explode in Japan so sharply, but with a delay of several years?
Nebulous morality. Japan must still respect the United States. What about the ban on smoking in public places? It also came from the United States. Only in Japan's case it has grown extreme. You can smoke outdoors abroad, but not in Japan. The #MeToo movement has similarly positioned itself on a radical perch. Japan had no specific regulations on sexual harassment and it adopted them blindly, so that now it is best not to approach anyone. There is a strong necessity of law alteration that could protect citizens from online libel and false accusations before starting jumping into hasty conclusions. There is a certain, ultra-leftist menacing clique trying to use their position to libel and thrive on other people's misery.  I can't help praying someone will finally legally put an end to it. 

The article continues on the next page

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About the author

Nikodem Karolak

Nikodem Karolak is the Director of InlanDimensions International Arts Festival, Chairman of Bridges Foundation, a film/theatre producer, an artist manager, a literary translator/interpreter, a former laureate of prestigious PhD scholarship of The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology at Waseda University in Tokyo, and a laureate of Adam Mickiewicz University Foundation for the best PhD researchers in 2018. In 2016-2018 he curated  Avant Art Festival in Wroclaw and supervised various international festivals as a translator and interpreter, such as The Theatre Olympics (2016), Malta Festival Poznań, Konfrontacje Theatre Festival, Five Flavours Film Festival. In 2019, he translated Chijin no ai (Naomi) by Tanizaki Jun'ichirō from Japanese into Polish, curated the New Horizons International Film Festival.
In October 2019, he launched InlanDimensions International Arts Festival with support from three strategic partners in Poland – The Gdansk Shakespeare Theatre, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan and The Grotowski Institute in Wroclaw, opening up a new connection between Japan and Poland. In November & December 2019, he co-organized a Terayama Shūji film retrospective and stage performances of Nuhikun - Directions to Servants at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in collaboration with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. In 2020 co-produced Aoba Ichiko European tour. Currently producer of InlanDimensions International Arts Network and initiator of cultural projects linking Japan with Poland and The West.
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