Even though it was written 12 years ago, What Happens Before War still serves as a cautionary tale, and this brand new short film is helping to take it to a whole new generation.
Back in 2004, a group called Ribbon Project put out a wonderful book promoting Japan’s anti-war stance. Through 70 years of peace, most of the people of Japan have grown up never having to experience the horrors of war. At the time, there were some vocal members of the government who wanted to make some changes to the constitution in order to allow Japan to better defend itself. What Happens Before War was a response to those proposed changes which warned people of the kinds of things that could happen before Japan became engaged in an actual conflict.
The book has now been animated by a group called NOddIN, which formed after the Great East Japan Earthquake back in 2011. The group felt that this book still has a very important message and hopes that this new accompanying animation will bring the book to a wider audience.
▼ Japanese with English subtitles
While many of the warnings might be just theoretical, there are a few points that the book mentions about that have already come to pass.
▼ Passed in 2014, the secrecy laws impose lengthy prison sentences for anyone leaking state secrets.
▼ In September 2015, 11 security bills and amendments passed which permit the Japanese Self-Defense Force to provide material assistance to its allies participating in combat.
Whether or not you agree with Japan’s stance on war, we can all at least agree that the creators of this video did a wonderful job bringing What Happens Before War to life—it certainly gave us some food for thought.
Source, images: YouTube/戦争のつくりかた
Additional Information: NOddIN
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