'The Cove' to Be Screened in Japan from June

TOKYO —The Cove,the Oscar-winning U.S. documentary on a controversial dolphin hunt in a Japanese town, will be screened by at least 26 movie theaters across Japan from next month, the distributor of the film said Tuesday.

Unplugged Inc said the screening will start in Japan at Theater N Shibuya and Cinemart Roppongi, both in Tokyo, on June 26. The distributor added that theaters in at least 15 other prefectures, including Hokkaido, Kanagawa, Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Okinawa, will follow but gave no details about when they will start showing the film.

The company said it is still negotiating with other theaters for possible screening.

The film, mostly shot in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, partly with hidden cameras, won the 2010 Academy Award for best documentary but stirred criticism in Japan with some arguing that it has factual errors.

The distributor faced the possibility of canceling the planned screening of the film in Japan due to strong opposition from the town of Taiji, its fishery association and other groups.

‘‘While there are some voices against the decision to screen the film, the majority of opinions are supportive and many of them say ‘let audiences judge for themselves,’‘’ an Unplugged official said.

from Japan Today

Banning Male Employees from Having Beards

MAEBASHI —The municipal government of Isesaki in central Japan on Wednesday banned male employees from wearing beards, citing concerns that citizens find beards unpleasant and the need for public servants to maintain decorum.

The government of the Gunma Prefecture city said it has received complaints from some citizens who were offended by city office employees who had come to work unshaven following a holiday, and that it has instructed the employees concerned to shave each time a complaint was filed. But it is the first time that the city has put the ban, which carries no penalties, in writing.

The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said it believes Isesaki is the country’s first municipality to introduce such a policy.

The ban was introduced in step with the start of this year’s ‘‘Cool Biz’’ casual attire campaign for the summer months for city government employees. The campaign, which is aimed at cutting back on air-conditioner use by allowing government and company employees to work without jackets and neckties, has been practiced in Japan since 2005 under the initiative of the Environment Ministry.

‘‘Some citizens find bearded men unpleasant, so beards are banned,’’ a city government in-house notice says.

Although public opinion has become more tolerant of beards, ‘‘public servants should look like public servants,’’ a city official said.

But an official at the Environment Ministry said it is ‘‘hard to say’’ whether beards have anything to do with maintaining decorum.

Minoru Fujii, a member of the Hige (beard) Club, a Tokyo-based organization to promote beards that consists mostly of barbers, said, ‘‘I’m designing beards for my customers based on the concept of ‘a beard acceptable in the office.’ In the case of public servants, maybe the ban can’t be helped.’’

from Japan Today