[/floatl]Mainichi: Court nullifies bureaucratic cancellation of permission to screen controversial film about Emperor
A court ruled that a film director should be allowed to use a public facility to screen his film that criticizes the Imperial family. The Yokohama District Court ruled on Friday that the cancellation by the Naka Ward Office in Yokohama of its permission for director Fumiki Watanabe to use a public facility to show his film should be suspended. "There are no special circumstances that require the permission to be canceled simply to prevent disturbances at the facility or in its vicinity," the presiding judge said in handing down the ruling...Though the ward office had earlier given permission to Watanabe in September, it later annulled the permit on Oct. 1, on the pretext that Watanabe had a history of illegally putting up posters for his movies. The ward argued that visitors to the museum and neighborhood residents would be disturbed by campaigners opposing the screening of the film, which asserts that Emperor Akihito is not a child of Emperor Showa. However, the court said that canceling the screening would generate tremendous damage in terms of freedom of expression that could not be redeemed later with compensation...more...
