ASIA / PACIFIC
Page 20 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
December 4, 2023
Godzilla film director pursuing Japanese spirituality of 1954 original
By Yuri Kageyama
The Associated Press
OKYO — Godzilla, the night-
marish radiation spewing monster
born out of nuclear weapons, has
stomped through many movies, including
several Hollywood remakes.
Takashi Yamazaki, the director behind
the latest Godzilla movie, was determined
to bring out what he believes is the
essentially Japanese spirituality that
characterizes the 1954 original.
In that classic, directed by Ishiro Honda,
a man sweated inside a rubber suit and
trampled over cityscape miniatures to tell
the story of a prehistoric creature
mistakenly brought to life by radiation
from nuclear testing in the Pacific. The
monster in Godzilla Minus One is all
computer graphics.
“I love the original Godzilla, and I felt I
should stay true to that spirit, addressing
the issues of war and nuclear weapons,”
T
said Yamazaki, who also wrote the
screenplay and oversaw the computerized
special effects.
“There is a concept in Japan called
‘tatarigami.’ There are good gods, and
there are bad gods. Godzilla is
half-monster, but it’s also half-god.”
The world has been recently thrust into
GODZILLA MINUS ONE. Pictured is a scene
from the new Godzilla film, Godzilla Minus One.
Takashi Yamazaki, the director behind the latest ver-
sion of Godzilla, was determined to bring out what he
believes is the essentially Japanese spirituality that
characterizes the 1954 original. (Toho International
via AP)
a period of uncertainty, with the war in
Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic. It
was a mood that fit his supernatural “very
Japanese” Godzilla, Yamazaki said at the
Tokyo International Film Festival, where
Godzilla Minus One was the closing film. It
opened in Japanese theaters last month.
“You have to quiet it down,” he told The
Associated Press of Godzilla, as if only a
prayer can calm or stop the monster — as
opposed to trying to kill it.
Set just after Japan’s surrender in
World War II, Yamazaki’s rendition
predates the original and portrays a nation
so devastated by war it’s left with nothing,
let alone any weapons to fight off Godzilla.
Continued on page 14
Gay couple in Nepal becomes the first to officially register same-sex marriage in the country
By Binaj Gurubacharya
The Associated Press
ATHMANDU, Nepal — A gay couple in Nepal
became the first in the nation to receive official
same-sex marriage status last month. The
Himalayan nation is one of the first in Asia to allow it.
“After 23 years of struggle we got this historic achieve-
ment, and finally Maya and Surendra got their marriage
registered at the local administration office,” said Sunil
Babu Pant, an openly gay former parliamentarian and
leading LGBTQ+ rights activist.
Pant was present with Surendra Pandey and Maya
Gurung when they registered their marriage at the Dorje
village council office, located in the mountains west of the
capital, Kathmandu.
Earlier this year, Nepal’s supreme court issued an
interim order enabling the registration of same-sex
marriages for the first time.
K
Officials had initially refused to register the marriage.
The couple and Pant filed cases with the Kathmandu Dis-
trict Court and High Court, but their pleas were rejected.
According to Pant, the Home Ministry made changes in
the process enabling all local administration offices to
register same-sex marriages.
“It was quite unexpected and it was a positive breeze for
us,” Pant said by phone from the village where the couple
HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENT. In this handout photo provided by
Sunil Babu Pant, same-sex couple Surendra Pandey, center left, and
Maya Gurung, center right, who were married six years ago, pose for
a photograph with their marriage registration certificate at Dorje village
council office, located in the mountains west of the capital of Kathmandu,
Nepal. The couple became the first in the nation to receive official
same-sex marriage status. The Himalayan nation is one of the first
in Asia to allow it. (Sunil Babu Pant via AP)
was expected to celebrate.
The couple married six years ago at a temple following
Hindu tradition, with a priest conducting the rituals
among friends and family. But they had no certificate
showing their marriage was legal.
Nepal has undergone a transformation since a court
decision in 2007 asked the government to make changes in
favor of LGBTQ+ people. People who do not identify as
female or male are now able to choose “third gender” on
their passports and other government documents. The
constitution adopted in 2015 also explicitly states there
can be no discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.