Screening of "East Asian Anti-Japan Armed Front" for the Uncovering Memories: Violence, Cold War, and East Asia Series

 

3:00- 3:05 Greetings and introduction

3:05 - 4:20 Screening

4:20 - 4:35 Break

4:35 - 5:30 Conversation with Director Mirye Kim

 

On August 30th, 1974, the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries bombing was carried out by the East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front. Following Mitsubishi bombing, a series of Japanese corporations were attacked by the Front. They were arrested in May 1975. More than 40 years have passed since then, I went to Japan to see the trace of their thought.

 

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The film East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front delves into the Japanese militant groups of the 1970s that actively opposed Japan’s neo-imperialism and colonialism. By targeting and bombing symbolic imperialist corporations, these groups sought to reveal how Japan's imperialist structures continued to exert influence in former colonies, perpetuating capitalist violence even after these nations had gained independence. The film follows the stories of imprisoned participants and their supporters, urging viewers to rethink conventional ideas of "violence." The state and media's portrayal of the group's actions as mere "terrorism" served to obscure their critique of ongoing imperial violence, effectively whitewashing Japan's imperial past. Through this film, the long-silenced voices of the East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front are brought back into the conversation, encouraging a deeper reflection on their activism.

  

 

This film screening series presents three films that explore experiences and memories related to violence, imperialism, and the Cold War in East Asia. By critically examining the Japanese armed group's resistance against neo-imperialism (East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front), the unrecorded memories of women in U.S. camptowns in South Korea (The Pregnant Tree and the Goblin), and the herstory of the April Third Incident that spans Japan, South Korea, and North Korea (Soup and Ideology), these films delve into the enduring impacts of state violence and socio-cultural trauma. These discussions are essential not only for understanding the past but also for addressing its ongoing resonance in contemporary society.