Chapter 1223

The preview screening for "Departures" was, unsurprisingly, reported in that day's evening paper.

Photos of Naoki Nagayama with Tomokazu Miura and Momoe Yamaguchi were prominently displayed in the center of the entertainment section, and the reporters praised the film "Departures" to no end.

Phrases like "a film seen once in 50 years," "a soul-stirring masterpiece," "a work that breaks through once again," and "..."—all sorts of flattery flowed as if it were free, letting people once again experience the power of the Japanese media's hyperbole.

By the next morning, the film title "Departures" could be said to be all over various media outlets; even the morning news on television mentioned it, saying that renowned director Naoki Nagayama had brought his latest film, a grand comeback masterpiece for Momoe Yamaguchi, and it was arriving in a big way...

"It makes one blush just watching it..."

Naoki Nagayama put down the newspaper and shook his head; sometimes these media outlets really have no integrity!

"Haha, that's because Naoki-san gave them travel expenses!"

Akina laughed.

"I saw it myself; Watanabe-kun gave a certain someone a big red envelope!"

"... Uh..." Naoki Nagayama looked at Akina in surprise. "Eiichiro Watanabe? That guy is too careless in how he does things, isn't he?!"

"Hahaha, that's because I happened to be dodging reporters, which is why I saw it..."

Akina had entered the venue early for the preview screening yesterday, and because she was being careful to avoid the cameras, she had witnessed that scene.

"What's the use of dodging reporters... you still got photographed."

Naoki Nagayama handed a newspaper to Akina to look at; in one corner, there was a headshot of Akina with text next to it saying something like "Akina Nakamori specially invited to attend, cheering for her husband."

"Tsk tsk tsk, is it really just a small tofu-block in the corner?" Akina also shook her head. "I rarely appear in such corners since I became famous~"

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

"?"

Suddenly hearing a tsking sound that didn't belong to either of them, Naoki Nagayama and Akina both turned their heads to look at little Xia Hua beside them.

They saw that the little one, who should have been busy eating, now had an empty tray, and her oily little mouth was actually mimicking Akina, making a tsk-tsk-tsk sound...

"How did Hua-chan learn this so quickly..."

Akina hurriedly served more food to the little one, feeling a bit of a headache, and glanced at Naoki Nagayama.

"It must be from learning bad habits from Naoki-san!"

"... It was clearly from learning from Akina..."

Naoki Nagayama wanted to retort, but he surrendered under the pressure of his wife's bright gaze...

"Alright, alright, she learned it from me... Hua-chan, don't learn these bad habits in the future..."

"Hmph hmph~~~" Akina was satisfied then, humming twice through her nose~

"Hmph~ hmph~"

Little Xia Hua followed suit... making Akina feel very embarrassed...

"Hahahaha~" Naoki Nagayama couldn't help but laugh. "Still saying she didn't learn it from Akina?!"

"... Naoki-san!"

"Hahaha~ That's the truth!"

Naoki Nagayama hurriedly finished his breakfast, laughed, and ran off to go upstairs and change his clothes.

"Even if Akina threatens me, I have to say it!"

"..."

After going upstairs to change into a suit and shirt, Naoki Nagayama went back downstairs to prepare to leave.

Today was the hearing for the "Proposal for Labor Protection for Film Industry Practitioners," which is why he had to dress a bit more formally.

"Naoki-san, do you really not need me to accompany you?"

"No need, it's just a small hearing."

Naoki Nagayama gently hugged his wife.

"Politics is such a dirty business; Akina shouldn't get too involved in it~"

"Then... have a safe trip, and may you succeed at the first attempt!"

"Hai~"

In one of the deliberation halls of the House of Representatives, even though the deliberation hadn't started yet, the seats were gradually filling up with people.

Looking closely, representatives of film industry practitioners—such as editors, cinematographers, screenwriters, directors, stage designers, prop masters, and so on—had all come to observe.

There were also high-society celebrities, well-known critics, human rights activists, other assembly members, and socially concerned individuals.

Reporters from various media outlets and television station staff also entered to start setting up media equipment; this hearing was completely open to the public, and everyone could record or broadcast it.

"I didn't expect there to be so many people..."

Tsutomu Hata of the Takeshita faction said to Eihei Aoki, secretary to Noboru Takeshita.

"Is the influence of this proposal a bit too much?"

It was just an industry labor protection proposal; how could it attract so much attention?

"It's mainly because Shuyou's 'Departures' had its preview screening yesterday, and at the preview, Koichi Hamada also made a public appearance..."

Eihei Aoki also found it strange; when did Shuyou and Koichi Hamada get connected? Added to some scattered assembly members and members of the Socialist Party faction, they had actually formed a force that couldn't be ignored.

"I was wondering why Koichi Hamada was greeting us before."

Tsutomu Hata realized; when Koichi Hamada was making overtures within the Liberal Democratic Party for convenience before, they all thought it was just because he was related to Ikuo Suo of the Burning agency.

"So he was standing with Naoki Nagayama all along!"

"Hmm..."

Eihei Aoki glanced at the momentum of today's hearing and felt that the idea of wanting to make things difficult earlier might not work out.

"Aoki... are we still going to block the 'Proposal' from passing today?"

"Of course... after all, this proposal came out of the Nakasone Cabinet... we can't let the Tanaka faction have it so easy."

"..."

Tsutomu Hata shook his head; party strife is like crabs waiting to be steamed in a basket—they don't think about how to climb out, but rather how to pull down the crab that is trying to climb out!

When it was almost time for the hearing, House of Representatives Speaker Kenzaburo Hara served as the moderator, with the deliberation committee composed of assembly members and officials lined up on the semi-circular deliberation seats.

Then, as the proposer of the "Proposal," Minister of Education Masajuro Shiokawa sat in the middle, and behind him were Shuichi Yin Tang as the professional consultant, the managing director of the Tokyo Film Association, and some officials who had signed on as affiliates.

Naoki Nagayama and the representatives of the film industry sat to the side as professionals, waiting to be questioned.

On the other side were the hearing recorders, who were responsible for recording the text of today's hearing and forming a hearing report after the hearing ended.

"Tap tap tap..."

The sound of the wooden gavel rang out; after attracting everyone's attention, moderator Kenzaburo Hara began to explain the purpose and significance of today's hearing, and then finally,

"The hearing for the 'Proposal for Labor Protection for Film Industry Practitioners,' proposed by the Minister of Education, officially begins..."

"First, please have the hearing officer explain the topic, the basic content of the 'Proposal,' and its necessity... You have 5 minutes~"

"Respected members of the deliberation committee... Under the guidance of successive governments and with the support of relevant departments, Japan's film industry has achieved huge success... In the future, it might become one of the nation's economic lifelines...

In the ever-changing present, the norms and order for the industry itself are still imperfect...

Especially regarding the protection and maintenance of the rights and interests of grassroots practitioners..."

Minister of Education Masajuro Shiokawa spoke eloquently; these were all drafts written by his subordinates.

"This is the original intention of the Ministry of Education in proposing the 'Proposal for Labor Protection for Film Industry Practitioners.' We will provide the most basic labor protection for the lowest-level practitioners, safeguard their basic rights and interests, and promote the healthy and orderly development of the film industry..."

Almost all leaders of groups or departments have one ability: speech, talk, and eloquence. As the head of the Ministry of Education, Masajuro Shiokawa was naturally no exception.

The 5 minutes flashed by, and Masajuro Shiokawa's impassioned words landed with impact...

Making the audience participating in the hearing couldn't help but applaud~

"Tap! Tap! Tap!"

Moderator Kenzaburo Hara had to tap the wooden gavel to maintain order at the scene.

"Please keep quiet... Next, the deliberation committee will ask questions!"

In order, the members of the deliberation committee began to ask about the content of the "Proposal."

In fact, Masajuro Shiokawa only understood some summary outlines of this "Proposal," but it didn't matter; his brain trust had already memorized the entire "Proposal," and Shuichi Yin Tang, sitting behind him, helped him face all the difficulties.

"May I ask Minister Shiokawa, the minimum guaranteed wage mentioned in the 'Proposal,' what standard is it based on?"

"This needs to be determined based on the latest data published by the Ministry of Labor in the previous year."

Masajuro Shiokawa explained.

"On par with workers in the whole industry..."

"How is the maximum working time determined? You know, the film industry is also a special industry; sometimes working hours cannot be distinguished according to ordinary workers... For example, when a film crew is shooting a movie, sometimes they will rotate for many days... or even weeks..."

The next committee member also asked the professional consultant seat where Naoki Nagayama was.

"Experts, am I right?"

"Hai, such a situation does exist..."

The representative of the senior editors nodded.

"For a film crew, it is divided by a project... the total working time does not exceed the legal working time multiplied by the production cycle..."

Masajuro Shiokawa answered after hearing Shuichi Yin Tang's whispered reminder.

Next, the committee members asked questions about the content of the "Proposal" itself. In fact, everyone understood by now that the deliberation committee did not oppose the idea of protecting workers' rights in the "Proposal," but only had some questions about the specific standards.

This is also inevitable under the general trend of the spread of "democracy" and "civil rights" ideas since the 1980s; protecting the rights of the public has already become a banner to attract support~

As long as there is no intentional obstruction, this hearing should just be a formality where everyone is happy.

However...

Isn't there someone who wants to oppose it!!

When it was Tsutomu Hata's turn, he asked directly:

"Minister Shiokawa, as far as I know, this 'Proposal' was proposed by Chairman Shuichi Yin Tang of the Tokyo Film Industry Association, not initiated by the Ministry of Education. Is that correct?"

"..."

Masajuro Shiokawa was, after all, an old hand in politics, and immediately said:

"That is indeed the case. The Tokyo Film Industry Association is an industry representative association established under the leadership of the Ministry of Education to deepen the connection between government functional departments and the industry, and to help the Ministry of Education better carry out relevant work..."

"Chairman Shuichi Yin Tang, after research, discovered the shortcomings in the development of the film industry. Based on the results of internal discussions and exploration within the association, he put forward suggestions to the Ministry of Education... After research by the Ministry of Education, the feasibility of the plan was determined, and a proposal was formed and submitted to the Diet..."

"Assemblyman Hata, this is a reasonable and compliant procedure; there is nothing wrong with it!"

"There is nothing wrong with the procedure..." Tsutomu Hata nodded. "However, the Tokyo Film Industry Association has been established for less than half a year. Can the views it reached really represent the entire film industry? I have doubts about this..."

"..."

At this time, Shuichi Yin Tang had to stand up and speak:

"Respected members of the deliberation committee, the Tokyo Film Industry Association has not been established for long, but as the chairman, I, and other standing committee members are all senior practitioners in the film industry...

For example, President Ikuo Suo of the Burning agency, representatives of Toho and Toei, etc., all have many years of experience in the industry...

In addition, there are numerous members, covering all aspects of the upstream and downstream of the film industry, so saying that the Tokyo Film Industry Association can represent the majority opinion of the film industry is absolutely no problem!"

Tsutomu Hata began to pick bones in an egg:

"This cannot be determined by the film industry itself; it needs to be researched and evaluated by a third-party institution representing the film industry..."

"But our Tokyo Film Industry Association is already the representative institution of the film industry..."

Shuichi Yin Tang continued to say.

"There are also the Directors Association, the Screenwriters Association, etc., all of which are part of the Film Industry Association..."

The Tokyo Film Industry Association truly encompasses most practitioners upstream and downstream of the film industry, and Shuichi Yin Tang was not afraid at all when saying this.

"This is just one side of the story..." Tsutomu Hata still did not give up. "We need more evidence to judge..."

But he couldn't find any loopholes for a while, and he subconsciously looked at the professional seat beside him:

"Experts, do you agree with Chairman Shuichi Yin Tang's words?"

"..."

The people in the professional seat all looked at Naoki Nagayama... They even wanted to laugh at Tsutomu Hata's question...

The third-party professional consultant and the hearing person are actually the same family!

"Assemblyman Hata."

Naoki Nagayama spoke.

"I think Chairman Shuichi Yin Tang's words make sense! The Tokyo Film Industry Association is indeed enough to represent the mainstream opinion of the industry!"

"You... you..." Tsutomu Hata recognized Naoki Nagayama. "Naoki Nagayama! You are in the same group as Shuichi Yin Tang!"

"No..."

Naoki Nagayama's expression was serious.

"My identity at this moment is a representative of young directors, here specifically to observe this hearing!"

"Pfft..."

A snicker came from somewhere, and soon the audience observing the hearing was discussing it heatedly...

"Assemblyman Hata."

Koichi Maruyama, the general manager of Toho, was also among the professional consultants, and he also spoke.

"As a representative of the film studio, I also think that the Film Association can represent the opinions of most practitioners in the film industry..."

Next were the Screenwriters Association, actor representatives, etc., who also voiced their approval.

At the end of the day, most of these professional consultants related to film had already joined the Tokyo Film Industry Association, so how could they oppose their own association's proposal?

Not to mention that this proposal was entirely for the good of the association members~

"You... you..."

Tsutomu Hata was choked and unable to speak, and he angrily turned off the microphone.

It seemed that the Film Association could not be made difficult at this hearing...

But it didn't matter; there would be a Diet vote later, and at that time, he would know the consequences of offending the Takeshita faction!

Eihei Aoki, a confidant of Noboru Takeshita, was watching coldly from among the audience at this time.

He was surprised to find that it seemed that the practitioners of the film industry, organized under the institution of the Film Industry Association, had already become a huge community of interests, somewhat starting to transform into the shape of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.

You know, the most influential economic federations in Japan, "Keidanren" and "Nikkeiren," are formed by many powerful industry associations, and they have huge influence on Japan's economic decision-making.

"Film Industry Association..."

Eihei Aoki silently chewed on this name.

"It has huge economic potential, and it has a natural huge advantage in culture and propaganda..."

If a blockbuster film is made to support the left wing, then the left-wing party will definitely be able to win a significant advantage that year...

If various stars and artists support a certain assembly member, then the assembly member will definitely be able to get more votes in the election.

"Must remind Takeshita-san... no, must remind the Liberal Democratic Party to firmly control the Tokyo Film Industry Association in their hands!"