is a Japanese

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

and

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

. He graduated from

Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...

majoring in

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy a ...

. He can often be seen and heard during nationalist rallies in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, especially during anti-Chinese protests. He denies Japan's destructive role in World War II. He is the main host of the right-wing Japanese media organization, Channel Sakura, which maintains an active

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

broadcasting account "SakuraSoTV". ''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

'' has said Channel Sakura "is widely known for its glorification of Japan’s role in World War II and for airing shows that deny the Japanese military forced Korean women into sexual slavery." In 1988, he released his first film, ''The Story of the Panda'', about a Japanese woman who helps Chinese people raise a panda. In 1992, he released his second film, ''Goodbye Heiji'', about a blind girl and her seeing-eye dog.

Historical negationism

In 2007, he released ''

The Truth about Nanjing is a 2007 film by Japanese nationalist filmmaker Satoru Mizushima about the 1937 Nanjing Massacre (Nanking Massacre). Background and funding Mizushima said he received more than 200 million yen (US$1.8 million) in donations from 5,000 of his ...

'', a Japanese film that denies the occurrence of the

Nanjing Massacre The Nanjing Massacre (, ja, 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu) or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the ...

. The film was based on the work of

Shūdō Higashinakano is a Japanese historian. He is a professor of intellectual history at Asia University (Japan), Asia University who Nanjing Massacre denial, maintains that the Nanjing Massacre ("The Rape of Nanking") committed by Japanese troops during the Second ...

. Mizushima has said it is an "indisputable fact" that no massacre occurredReynolds, Isabel (December 14, 2007)
"Japanese filmmaker says "Nanjing never happened""
Reuters. and he is "certain there was no bloodshed and rapes of civilians"."Japan Nanking"
AP Archive. He dismissed evidence of the massacre, calling it "faked" and "Chinese Communist propaganda".McNeill, David; Coonan, Clifford (December 5, 2007)

''The Independent''. He described several Western witnesses who were in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

at the time as communist spies. Estimates for the

death toll ''Death toll'' is the number of dead as a result of a war, disaster, or other event. It may also refer to: * '' Death Toll'', 2008 action film * ''High-Ballin, 1978 action comedy film also released as ''Death Toll'' See also * List of list ...

vary but serious historians do not doubt that the massacre occurred. He alleged that there were no illegal deaths, whereas historians have put the number between 20,000 and 300,000 deaths. In 2010 he was one of the founders of

Ganbare Nippon (''literally'': Hang In, Japan! National Action Committee), usually abbreviated to , is a Japanese conservative nationalist group founded on February 2, 2010. One of the founders was right-wing filmmaker and playwright Satoru Mizushima. The inaug ...

, a nationalist group."Nationalist Rhetoric High As Japanese Head To Polls"
NPR. December 14, 2012. Mizushima has said ''

The Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...

'', a liberal newspaper, has "fabricated history and transmitted lies" and called for the newspaper to stop publishing.Penn, Michael (September 25, 2014)
"Japanese right targets liberal media"

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mizushima, Satoru 1949 births Living people Japanese film directors Japanese nationalists Waseda University alumni People from Kakegawa, Shizuoka Nanjing Massacre deniers China–Japan relations Historical negationism