(Disappearance of the Capital) is a

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

directed by Toshio Masuda. It is based on

Sakyo Komatsu was a Japanese science fiction writer and screenwriter. He was one of the most well known and highly regarded science fiction writers in Japan. Early life Born Minoru "Sakyo" Komatsu in Osaka, he was a graduate of Kyoto University where he stud ...

's novel ''Shuto shōshitsu'' which won the 6th

Nihon SF Taisho Award The is a Japanese science fiction award. It has been compared to the Nebula Award as it is given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan or SFWJ. The Grand Prize is selected from not only Science Fiction novels, but also various SF mo ...

in 1985. The film's score was composed by

Maurice Jarre Maurice-Alexis Jarre (; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009)allmusic Biography/ref> was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations with ...

, and special effects were directed by

Teruyoshi Nakano was a Japanese special effects director. Early life Nakano was born on in Andong Province, Andong, Manchukuo (now Dandong, Liaoning, China). His father worked for an affiliate of South Manchuria Railway called International Transport. His ...

Plot

One day,

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 ...

and its metropolitan area are suddenly covered by a giant dome-shaped and electromagnetic "cloud" for an unknown reason, and the whole thing seemed to disappear and all communications with the outside of "the cloud" are cut off. Therefore, governments and scientific researchers in various places were extremely shocked and hurriedly organized to study countermeasures. But people are unable to cross "the cloud" into the Tokyo metropolitan area. The Soviet Navy

fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada *Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach, ...

is getting close near

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

, and the U.S. is forcing Japan to form a new government. So an emergency national governor's meeting was held, and made the national governor's meeting a transitional agency of state affairs. Scientists outside "the cloud" try to rescue 20 million lives in "the cloud" by using artificial high-power electromagnetic jammers.

Cast

Tsunehiko Watase (July 28, 1944 – March 14, 2017) was a Japanese actor known for portraying Rintaro Kano in ''Keishicho Sosa Ikka 9 Gakari'' ("Homicide Team 9"). He won the award for best supporting actor at the 2nd Japan Academy Prize for '' The Incident'' an ...

as Tatsuya Asakura, General Manager of Hokuto Electric's Technology Development Department * Yūko Natori as Mariko Koide, freelance journalist *

Shinji Yamashita is a Japanese actor who is represented by the talent agency From First Production. He graduated from Shimonoseki Commercial High School and dropped out from Chuo University's Faculty of Letters. Biography In 1975, Yamashita was admitted to the ...

as Yosuke Tamiya, Kansai Broadcasting Press *

Isao Natsuyagi was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1963 to 2013. Career In 1960, Natsuyagi began attending the Bungakuza actors school while attending Keio University. He eventually left Keio before graduating and entered the H ...

as Eiji Sakuma, JASDF *

Ichirō Zaitsu , also written Ichiro, Ichirou or Ichiroh is a masculine Japanese given name. The name is occasionally given to the first-born son in a family. Like many Japanese names, Ichirō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: * 一� ...

as Kawamura, Director of Kansai Broadcasting Press *

Yōko Ishino (born February 20, 1968) is a Japanese actress and tarento. She was born in Ashiya, Hyōgo. Ishino debuted in 1985 as a pop singer, and first appeared on television in 1986. Her older sister is Mako Ishino. Ishino has also attended in Horikos ...

as Mieko Matsunaga, college student and part-time employee at Hokuto Electric Research Institute *

Raita Ryū is a Japanese actor. He is well known for his role as Gorisan (Detective Ishizuka) in ''Taiyō ni Hoero!''. He has a son , who is a musician and guitarist. Once, he belonged to Toshiro Mifune's production company. Selected filmography Films *' ...

as Horie, Deputy Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Bureau *

Ittoku Kishibe , born , is a Japanese actor and musician. Career He originally entered show business as the bassist for the Japanese rock bands, The Tigers and Pyg, but later switched to acting. The veteran of over 115 films, he won the Best Actor Japanese Ac ...

as Yasuhara, member of Hokuto Electric Research Institute *

Yoshie Taira (born October 12, 1954, in Obihiro, Hokkaido) is a Japanese actress. She graduated from St. Margaret's Junior College in Suginami, Tokyo. From 1985 to 1999, she was a costar in the TBS prime-time television series ''Ōoka Echizen'' in the ro ...

as Yumiko Asakura, wife of Tatsuya Asakura *

Sei Hiraizumi is a Japanese actor. In 1964, Hiraizumi joined Daiei Film company and started his acting career. In the 1970s to early 1980s, he appeared in a lot of jidaigeki and detective television dramas as a guest villain actor. Hiraizumi starred as Koichi ...

as Wada, Kansai Broadcasting Society Department Desk *

Shōji Yasui was a Japanese actor. He was best known for playing the central role of Private Mizushima in Kon Ichikawa's '' The Burmese Harp''. Career Born in Tokyo, Yasui first joined a troupe led by Kazuo Hasegawa. He entered the Nikkatsu studio in 1954 an ...

as Ambassador to the United States Otsuki *

Kei Taguchi is a Japanese actor. He is most famous for playing villains and appeared in many jidaigeki and detective television dramas as a guest.日本タレント名鑑'82 VIPタイムズ社、1981 P.113 He is also known as voice actor. Taguchi graduated f ...

as Ambassador to the United Kingdom Uekusa *

Renji Ishibashi , born is a Japanese actor. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 15th Hochi Film Award for '' Rōnin-gai''. Filmography Film Television Video game * '' Yakuza: Dead Souls'' - Oyassan References External links * Renji Ishib ...

as Miyoshi, Secretary of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications *

Haruko Katō was a Japanese actress. Biography Haruko Kato was born in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, on 24 November 1922. After training at acting school, she was signed up with the film production company Toho in 1939, debuting in ' in the same year. She marri ...

as Umeko Koide, Mariko's mother * Norihei Miki as Matsukichi Kimura *

Fumio Watanabe (October 31, 1929 – August 4, 2004) was a Japanese actor most known for his work with Japanese New Wave director Nagisa Oshima. He was born in Tokyo and graduated from the University of Tokyo before joining the Shōchiku studio in 1956. Sele ...

Osaka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture ...

Governor Komuro *

Hideji Ōtaki was a Japanese actor. He has served as President of the Mingei Theatre Company. Career After serving in World War II, he became interested in the theater and helped found the Gekidan Mingei troupe in 1950. He gained fame for his television work ...

as Professor Otawara *

Tetsurō Tamba was a Japanese actor with a career spanning five decades. He is best known in the West for his role in the 1967 James Bond film '' You Only Live Twice'' as Tiger Tanaka. Biography Tamba had a part-time job as an interpreter at Supreme Commande ...

as Representative Nakata :''Source for cast''

Release

''Tokyo Blackout'' was released theatrically in Japan on 11 January 1987 where it was distributed by

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...

. It was released in the United States by Toho International on 29 August 1987.

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

* * 1987 films Japanese science fiction films Daiei Film tokusatsu films 1980s science fiction films Cold War films Films based on science fiction novels Films set in Kanagawa Prefecture Films scored by Maurice Jarre Films directed by Toshio Masuda Daiei Film films 1980s Japanese films {{1980s-Japan-film-stub