Submersion of Japan

Nihon Chinbotsu
Film poster using American title for the film
Directed by	Shiro Moritani
Written by	Shinobu Hashimoto Sakyo Komatsu (novel)
Starring	Keiju Kobayashi Hiroshi Fujioka Ayumi Ishida
Cinematography	Daisaku Kimura Hiroshi Murai
Edited by	Michiko Ikeda
Music by	Masaru Sato
Distributed by	Toho (Japan) New World Pictures (US)
Release date	December 29, 1973 (1973-12-29)
Running time	143 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Box office	$7 million (Japan)

Nihon Chinbotsu (日本沈没, literally "Japan Sinks" or "Submersion of Japan"; English release: Tidal Wave) is a 1973 film directed by Shiro Moritani. It is based on the novel Japan Sinks by Sakyo Komatsu, published the same year. The film stars Lorne Greene, Keiju Kobayashi, Hiroshi Fujioka and Ayumi Ishida. A remake was released in 2006, Nihon Chinbotsu, loosely based on a second section of this series.

The movie caused a sensation in Japan and paved the way for later "panic" features. Komatsu, the author of the novel, made a cameo in the beginning scenes of the movie.

Synopsis

Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes shake Japan. Firestorms burn beautiful Japanese cities to the ground. A weather survey group discovers that the Japanese Archipelago is moving towards the Japanese Trench, which if left to continue on its collision course, would bring the whole island of Japan under the sea.

Both Japanese and American governments must find a solution to the problem or find refuge for the Japanese in neighboring countries. The movie begins with a brief description of the geological formation of Japan. Later, Toshio Onodera is shown relaxing at a beach near Kumamoto City with Reiko Abe, his wife. However, Mt. Aso erupts, forcing the two to escape the beach.

Later, Toshio and Tadokoro have a talk with several American geologists, Warren Brody, Rodger Furren, and Ken Hill in Tokyo about the now fast-moving subduction of both the Pacific and Eurasian plates. Later a massive monster earthquake, with its epicenter on the Sagami Trough, strikes the Kanto Region, killing millions in Tokyo and in other areas, causing tsunamis and floods that kill hundreds of thousands more in Tokyo, Yokohama, and other large cities, and fires burn down Tokyo, with thousands more killed in much of the Kanto Region in the process. Rescue efforts begin. Toshio Onodera hears about the earthquake damage. But before he can do anything to help, a deadly aftershock kills millions of refugees fleeing the city. Toshio later arrives to help a team of Japanese geologists and American military with plans to save the Japanese. However, the plan backfires when a gang of thugs attacks him. Although Toshio manages to settle the ordeal, the leader of the gang, Yusuke Yuki, refuses to give up and later begins harassing Toshio with a Type 99 rifle. He also threatens to murder his family if he refuses to surrender hope for the Japanese. Toshio is about to give in and fight-when two of his American friends save him. Sgt. Hank Thompson begins hogging him with violent punching, while another soldier, Pvt. Gary Hilton throws him into a brick. Finally, Yuki wounds Brody by shooting him in the chest with a Type 26 revolver. Sgt. Thompson knocks the gun out of his hand. Finally, Private Hilton injures Yuki by whacking him in the waist with a broken metal telephone pole fragment. Then he pulls out a Colt M1911 and dumps an entire projectile into Yusuke, which instantly kills him.

With the ordeal settled, Toshio takes an American Bell Huey helicopter to Osaka. There, Toshio finds the Prime Minister and tells him about the earthquakes in Numazu and Tokyo. Later, countless hundreds of thousands are killed when Sendai is destroyed by a violent tsunami. Toshio is dumbfounded by the news when it gets printed in the newspaper. Toshio later tells the Prime Minister about the tsunami's destruction on Sendai. He speaks with Shinji Yuki, his colleague. Toshio later is surprised at the news that Japan will sink with more devastation than expected. Shocked, Toshio decides to flee the archipelago. Along the way, he hears more shocking and devastating news. First, thousands, if not millions, are killed when Osaka submerges from a tsunami. Later, Mount Fuji violently erupts. It destroys the countryside. A few weeks later, Toshio is speaking with a small team of Japanese scientists in Kumamoto City near the Kumamoto Prefecture. As they speak, Mount Aso violently bursts, destroying the city and killing millions. It seemingly kills Reiko, who tries to call him via telephone.

Concerned about Reiko, Toshio flees Kumamoto with millions of other Japanese refugees. Later, Toshio is chosen to guide a fleet of ships carrying refugees to neighboring Pusan, South Korea by helicopter. However, the plan backfires when a tsunami kills the refugees by sinking each of the ships. Later, it's revealed that Reiko survived the Osaka tsunami. Eventually, another tsunami destroys Hakodate. Later, the Prime Minister decides to flee with his family-but before he can, his daughter's grandfather dies. Later, Tadokoro arrives. The Prime Minister insists that he should join him on the journey. However, Tadokoro refuses, saying that he needs to stay and help the Japanese survivors reach safety. The Prime Minister ends up going without him and uses a Japanese Airline airplane en-route to Beijing, China. The movie closes with the Prime Minister's family taking an express train en-route to Beijing, China. Before the credits, the camera pans to show the that the entire archipelago has sank completely.

Cast

• Dr. Tadokoro - Keiju Kobayashi
• Onodera Toshio - Hiroshi Fujioka
• Abe Reiko - Ayumi Ishida
• Fran - Rhonda Leigh Hopkins
• Ambassador Warren Richards - Lorne Greene
• Prime Minister Yamamoto - Tetsuro Tamba
• Watari - Shogo Shimada
• Narita - John Fujioka
• Australian Prime Minister - Andrew Hughes
• Japanese Ambassador - Nobuo Nakamura
• Prime Minister's Chauffeur - Haruo Nakajima
• Dr.Nakata - Hideaki Nitani
• Yuuki - Isao Natsuyagi
• Assistant Professor Yukinaga - Yusuke Takita

Tidal Wave

Tidal Wave
Directed by	Andrew Meyer
Starring	Lorne Greene
Distributed by	New World Pictures (US)
Release date	May 1975
Running time	82 minutes
Box office	$3.5 million (US)

Roger Corman bought the US rights to the film for his New World Pictures. He cut out a great deal of footage and added new sequences directed by Andrew Meyer starring Lorne Greene as an ambassador at the United Nations. The film was a big success at at the US box office.

External links

• Japan Sinks at IMDb
• Japanese Wikipedia