Sinking of Japan
Sinking of Japan is a 2006 Japanese tokusatsu disaster film directed by Shinji Higuchi. It is an adaptation of the novel Japan Sinks and a remake of its earlier film adaptation Submersion of Japan, both released in the year 1973. It stars Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Kou Shibasaki, Etsushi Toyokawa and Mao Daichi.
Plot
Submersible pilot Toshio Onodera wakes up pinned inside his car in Numazu following an earthquake. As an aftershock triggers an explosion, a rescue helicopter led by Reiko Abe saves him and a young girl named Misaki while a nearby volcano erupts. Reiko's family takes in Misaki as her injured mother dies.Following the earthquake, a scientist warns the Japanese government that the nation will sink within 40 years. Geoscientist Yusuke Tadokoro doubts the prediction and analyzes rocks in Kyushu, Hokkaido, and Mangaia in the Cook Islands, where he hypothesizes that the rock came from the ancient continent of Japan after it split from Pangaea. Tadokoro realizes Japan will sink in 338.54 days instead and reports his theory to the Cabinet, recommending immediate action, but none of the ministers are convinced. He is ejected from the chamber, but not before he angrily explains to everyone how Japan will sink, with the destruction of the Fossa Magna and the eruption of Mount Fuji as the climax.
The next day, Prime Minister Yamamoto flies to China to make arrangements for the impending resettlement of Japanese refugees and appoints a close colleague, Tadakoro's ex-wife, Saori Takamori, as disaster management minister. Tadokoro's predictions come to light as the Daisetsuzan Volcanic Group in Hokkaido erupts, followed by Mount Aso in Kyushu. The eruption of Aso destroys Kumamoto and shoots Yamamoto's plane out of the sky, killing him.
Over the following months, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis devastate Japan. When the economy collapses, the government declares a state of emergency but acting Prime Minister Kyosuke Nozaki announces that the nation will take five years to sink. Because of Nozaki's indifference to the situation, Takamori runs to Tadokoro's laboratory, where he proposes using experimental "N2" explosives drilled into the crust to separate the land from the megalith pulling it down. The minister calls for help from drillships around the world, with Chikyū being selected as the vessel of choice.
Misaki, Reiko's family, and the rest of Tokyo's residents are evacuated. In the Chūbu region, they narrowly survive a massive landslide while heading through a mountain pass in the Japanese Alps towards a refugee center, but are left stranded after a crowded bridge collapses ahead of them. Another massive earthquake hits Tokyo, sinking multiple wards and prompting Takamori to recommend the Imperial Family's evacuation.
Yuki Tatsuya, Onodera's fellow submersible pilot, dies in an attempt to activate the warheads from a central module. Onodera takes his place using an old submersible brought out of museum storage and spends a night with Reiko before the operation, during which they express each other's love. Although he locates the detonation module, a sudden landslide damages his submersible to the point that it is running on emergency power. Onodera uses all the remaining power to move into position and install the detonator. Onodera succeeds in his task and calmly awaits his death. The warheads explode, creating a chain of explosions along the seafloor, which fractures the tectonic plate pulling Japan towards the subduction zone. At Mount Fuji, scientists monitoring its unrest are relieved after it calms down, confirming that Japan has been spared from total destruction.
The success of the mission reaches Takamori aboard the amphibious carrier Shimokita, which has been converted into the Japanese government's temporary headquarters. Takamori is selected by her colleagues to address the nation and the Japanese diaspora, citing her leadership during the crisis. She announces that people can finally return and holds a moment of silence in honor of Tatsuya and Onodera's sacrifice. In Fukushima Prefecture, Toshio's mother, who insists on staying behind until the end, is overjoyed when she sees birds return, a sign of his success. Reiko rescues her family as they look towards a bright sunrise before the credits start rolling, showing a drastically altered Japan.
Cast
- Tsuyoshi Kusanagi – Toshio Onodera, a submersible pilot working for Tadokoro
- Kou Shibasaki – Reiko Abe, a member of the Tokyo Hyper–Rescue team
- Etsushi Toyokawa – Yusuke Tadokoro, geologist
- Mao Daichi – Saori Takamori, science and disaster management minister
- Mitsuhiro Oikawa – Yuki Tatsuya, submersible pilot
- Mayuko Fukuda – Misaki Kuraki, young child found in Numazu
- Jun Kunimura – acting Prime Minister Kyosuke Nozaki
- Kazuo Kitamura - Minister of Justice
- Koji Ishizaka – Prime Minister Yamamoto
- Aiko Nagayama – Toshio Onodera's Mother