'Oppenheimer' shown in Japan with trigger warnings amidst tense reactions in Hiroshima

"Oppenheimer," the acclaimed film directed by Christopher Nolan, premiered in Japan on Friday, marking its debut in the country eight months after a controversial grassroots marketing campaign. The movie, which focuses on the story of US physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and the race to develop the atomic bomb, recently emerged as the biggest winner at the Academy Awards. Despite initial concerns about its nuclear theme, the film has achieved significant success worldwide, grossing nearly $1 billion in box office revenue.

Despite being a significant market for Hollywood films, Japan had not screened "Oppenheimer" until now. The country's historical sensitivity to nuclear themes, stemming from the devastation caused by atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War Two, led to initial hesitation. These events resulted in the loss of over 200,000 lives, making Japan particularly cautious about films dealing with nuclear topics.

”Of course this is an amazing film which deserves to win the Academy Awards,” said Hiroshima resident Kawai, 37, who gave only his family name.

”But the film also depicts the atomic bomb in a way that seems to praise it, and, as a person with roots in Hiroshima, I found it difficult to watch.”

A dedicated fan of Christopher Nolan's films, Kawai, who works as a public servant, eagerly watched "Oppenheimer" on its opening day. The theater he chose was located just a kilometer away from Hiroshima's Atomic Bomb Dome, adding a poignant context to his viewing experience.

”I’m not sure this is a movie that Japanese people should make a special effort to watch,” he added.

Pictures shared on social media displayed signs displayed at the entrances of certain Tokyo theaters, cautioning viewers about the depiction of nuclear tests in the film, potentially stirring memories of the devastation caused by atomic bombs.

Agemi Kanegae, a resident of Hiroshima, had conflicting emotions after watching the movie at last.

”The film was very worth watching,” said the retired 65-year-old. ”But I felt very uncomfortable with a few scenes, such as the trial of Oppenheimer in the United States at the end.”

After its debut in the United States in July last year, the film gained worldwide popularity. However, in Japan, the fan-created online memes, such as "Barbenheimer," which connected it to "Barbie," a light-hearted blockbuster released around the same time, offended many.

Initially, Universal Pictures did not include Japan in the global release plan for "Oppenheimer." Eventually, Bitters End, a distributor of independent films in Japan, picked up the movie, scheduling its release after the Oscar awards ceremony.

Before the movie premiered, atomic bomb survivor Teruko Yahata expressed her eagerness to watch it, hoping it would reignite discussions about nuclear weapons. Yahata, now 86, mentioned feeling empathy for the physicist responsible for the bomb. This sentiment was shared by 19-year-old student Rishu Kanemoto, who watched the film on Friday.

”Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where the atomic bombs were dropped, are certainly the victims,” Kanemoto said.

”But I think even though the inventor is one of the perpetrators, he’s also the victim caught up in the war,” he added, referring to the ill-starred physicist.