- Speaker: John Junkerman, Film Director
- Moderator: Takao Takahara, Professor, Meiji Gakuin University
- Date & Time: Tuesday, September 29, 2009, 7:00 pm
- Venue: Iwasaki Koyata Memorial Hall, International House of Japan
- Admission: Free
- Language: English (no Japanese translation provided)
(Please note that Prof. Lee will not be able to attend as a moderator. Prof. Takao Takahara of Meiji Gakuin University is going to serve as the moderator instead.)
John Junkerman
Born in Milwaukee, the United States, Mr. Junkerman is a leading American filmmaker attempting to raise public awareness through his films on various socio-political and historical issues facing Japan and the global community. His first film was Hellfire: A Journey from Hiroshima (1986). A co-production with John Dower, the noted historian, it is based on his interviews with Iri and Toshi Maruki, Japanese artists known for their Genbaku no zu (Hiroshima Murals); paintings dealing with the aftermath of the atomic bombing, and was nominated for an Academy Award in 1988. His Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in Our Times (2002) gives viewers a rare opportunity to listen to and reflect on the critical discourse of Noam Chomsky, one of the most important public intellectuals and political dissidents of our time.
Introducing his film Japan’s Peace Constitution (2005), in this lecture/discussion meeting Mr. Junkerman will talk about the Constitution’s Article 9 within the broad context of Japanese pacifism and American militarism.