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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2017)
ASIA / PACIFIC August 21, 2017 THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 3 Department of Consumer & Business Services Building Codes Division ORIGINAL GODZILLA. In this April 28, 2014 file photo, original Godzilla actor Haruo Nakajima, speaks during an interview at his home in Sagamihara, near Tokyo. Nakajima, the actor who stomped in a rubber suit to portray the original 1954 Godzilla, died August 7, 2017 at age 88. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa, File) Haruo Nakajima, who played the original 1954 Godzilla, dies at 88 By Yuri Kageyama AP Business Writer OKYO — He stomped over miniature bridges and buildings in a rubber suit and gave the world Godzilla, the fire-breathing, screeching monster that became Japan’s star cultural export and an enduring symbol of the pathos and destruction of the nuclear age. Haruo Nakajima, who portrayed God- zilla in the original 1954 classic, died of pneumonia, his daughter Sonoe Nakajima told The Associated Press. He was 88 years old. The film, which went on to become a mega-series and inspired Hollywood spin- offs, struck a chord with postwar Japan, the only nation in the world to suffer atomic bombing, in Hiroshima and Naga- saki in the closing days of World War II. Vivacious and energetic, Nakajima said he invented the character from scratch, and developed it by going to a zoo to study how elephants and bears moved. He said it was important to show the pathos of the creature, which could only smash everything in its way. The theme of his Godzilla was grand and complex, he said, addressing universal human problems, as it spoke to a Japan that still remembered wartime suffering. “If Godzilla can’t walk properly, it’s nothing but a freak show,” Nakajima said in a 2014 interview with The AP at his T suburban Tokyo apartment, proudly sitting among sepia-toned photos of him as a young man and Godzilla figures. “It’s not some cowboy movie,” he said. He recalled that the rubber suit he wore was so hot, especially under the glaring lights of the movie set, that the sweat he wrung from his shirt would fill half a bucket. In the original movie, directed by Ishiro Honda with an unforgettable score by Akira Ifukube, Godzilla surfaces from the Pacific Ocean suddenly, a mutation as a result of nuclear testing in the area. Nakajima was a stunt actor in samurai films when he was approached to take the role of Godzilla. Some fans prefer Nakajima’s version over some Hollywood depictions, which they say resemble an evil-looking animal. Although recent Godzilla films use computer graphics, the latest Japanese Godzilla remake, released last year, went back to using a human actor, Mansai Nomura, a specialist in the traditional theater of kyogen. His movements were duplicated on the screen through “motion- capture” technology. Until recently, Nakajima had continued to be a star guest at festivals and events. He had been scheduled to be featured at the Tokyo International Film Festival in October. “I am the original, the real thing,” he said in 2014. “My Godzilla was the best.” The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, Building Codes Division (BCD) ensures safe building construction while supporting a positive business climate. Hiring a licensed electrician or plumber helps ensure that the person doing the work is qualified. To check on whether a person you wish to hire is licensed, visit our website at bcd.oregon.gov, then click on “license holder search.” For more information about obtaining a license, please call (503) 373-1268. BCD also wants to remind you that permits help protect the safety and value of your home. You may need a permit if you are: a room n Building a fence taller than 6 feet n Remodeling a kitchen or bathroom n Adding electrical circuits n Building a deck 30 inches above ground n Building a shed n Adding Call your local building department or check our website, www.PermitsProtect.info, to find out when you need a permit for your building or remodeling job. www.bcd.oregon.gov 72nd A-bomb anniversary in Nagasaki held amid U.S.-North Korea tension TOKYO (AP) — Japan marked the 72nd anniver- sary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki amid growing tension between the U.S. and North Korea. Nagasaki mayor Tomi- hisa Taue said the fear of another nuclear bomb attack is not in the distant future and urged nuclear states to abandon the weapons. He criticized Japan’s government, being under the U.S. nuclear um- brella, for not contributing to the U.N. nuclear arms ban treaty. Pyongyang and Wash- ington recently traded escalating threats. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened North Korea “with fire and fury” and North Korea’s military said The Asian Reporter is published on the first & third Monday each month. A-BOMB ANNIVERSARY. People pray at a church in Nagasaki to mark the 72nd anniversary of the world’s second atomic bomb attack over the southwestern city, on August 9, 2017. Japan marked the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki amid growing tension between the U.S. and North Korea. (Takuto Kaneko/Kyodo News via AP) it was examining its plans for attacking Guam. The U.S. launched the world’s first nuclear attack with a bomb dropped on August 6, 1945 that killed 140,000 people in Hiro- shima. The bombing of Nagasaki three days later killed 70,000 more. News page advertising deadlines for our next two issues are: September 4 to 17, 2017 edition: Space reservations due: Wednesday, August 30 at 1:00pm Artwork due: Thursday, August 31 at 1:00pm September 18 to October 1 edition: Space reservations due: Wednesday, September 13 at 1:00pm Artwork due: Thursday, September 14 at 1:00pm For more information, please contact our advertising department at (503) 283-4440.