By Mie Sakamoto,
Shoji Sakurai has had his share of "anniversaries" -- some good, some bad and some, like the day he was handed a life sentence for a crime he did not commit, too painful to fathom.
In his new documentary titled "My Anniversaries" released earlier this month, film director Kim Sung Woong tells the story of how Sakurai overcame incredible adversity through a positive mindset, and now dedicates his life to helping others facing injustice.
Sakurai, now 75, endured 29 years of false imprisonment, starting with his arrest in 1967 before his eventual release from prison. He has tried to maintain the same bright demeanor throughout, even after his recent terminal cancer diagnosis.
Sakurai and his former classmate Takao Sugiyama were sentenced to life in prison over the infamous "Fukawa Incident," a high-profile murder-robbery involving a 62-year-old man killed in Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, though they were exonerated in 2011 following a retrial.
"No matter how much I cried or screamed, I knew I couldn't get out. So I had to resolve to spend that time being happy," Sakurai said in the film, which follows his story for over a decade. "I decided to live a cheerful and joyful life, and find something to take interest in."
Sakurai was just 20 at the time of his arrest, a period characterized by hardship and loss, in which he made a "false confession," as he writes in his poems. During that period, a police officer threatened him with the prospect of the death sentence, and his parents later passed away while he was behind bars.
There were happier anniversaries to follow. Sakurai was released from prison in 1996, and married his wife Keiko three years later. He finally won an acquittal over a decade after his release, despite Sugiyama passing away in October 2015.
In August last year, Sakurai marked a landmark victory in a damages suit against his prefecture and the state, with a high court ordering compensation of 74 million yen ($503,000), acknowledging an illegal investigation by police and prosecutors took place.
Kim, who had filmed Sakurai on previous projects involving convicted criminals trying to prove their innocence in the courts, was motivated to go ahead with the fourth film on the topic after Sakurai's victory in the damages suit.
"It is very difficult to obtain a murder retrial, let alone secure a successful acquittal. Although innocent people naturally deserve to win state compensation, winning a damages suit is exceptionally rare," said Kim.
Kim's first film about convicts, "Sayama: Until the Invisible Handcuffs are Removed," released in 2013, features a man attempting to clear his name after being sentenced to life in prison for allegedly killing a 16-year-old high school girl in Sayama, near Tokyo, in 1963. It won the Mainichi Film Award for documentaries.
Kim said Sakurai is a "superstar" among those who consider themselves falsely accused because most never get the opportunity to appeal their case.
"I thought his experience could serve as a guide for the falsely accused seeking exoneration, encouraging them to look ahead and keep raising their voices like Mr. Sakurai," the 59-year-old director said.
During his incarceration, Sakurai wrote diaries and poems. He also wrote the lyrics to his own CD albums and began holding concerts after his release.
Although he tries to put on a brave face through his words, with humorous tales that often make audiences laugh, the film also reveals the psychological scars that serving nearly three decades behind bars for a crime he did not commit left on him.
His wife Keiko recalled him "trying to (jump) out of the window, screaming, 'I feel like I'm mentally and physically falling apart,'" while begging her to hold on to him. She said that behind his cheerfulness, there was pain. "False accusations can truly destroy a person," she said.
Although he has never committed murder, Sakurai admits he was not wholly innocent of wrongdoing. On the day of the murder, Sakurai broke into someone's house in Tokyo at Sugiyama's urging. For that, he feels nothing but shame, he says.
After a cancer diagnosis in September 2019, Sakurai was told by a doctor that he had only one year to live. Despite this, he continues to travel across the country in order to engage in community activism, giving speeches and supporting others who say they have been wrongly accused of murder.
Kim, whose debut film was a documentary about first-generation Korean women in Japan, says he has always tried to dispel stereotypes when presenting various issues, based partially on his own experiences as a second-generation Korean living in the country.
Born in Osaka's Tsuruhashi area in western Japan, home to a large Korean community, Kim was often told by others to demonstrate the "right Korean image," such as learning the Korean language and eating kimchi, the traditional spicy pickled cabbage.
"I have always felt uncomfortable with the idea that Koreans in Japan should live this way," Kim said. "But I had no answer to counter that sentiment and lived feeling agonized for years."
Even so, Kim says that while being a Korean living in Japan has influenced his work, it is only part of his concern as a documentary maker. If he deems something "wrong" in society, he calls it what it is, regardless of historical context.
"In my filmmaking, I try not to present the issues from a historical perspective but explore them from the people who are in front of me," Kim said.
"A film themed on false convictions may set a high bar for the general public. But everyone faces their own challenges in their lives, and I wanted this film to encourage people to take a step forward by presenting Mr. Sakurai's positive attitude to life."
The film reached theaters in Tokyo on Oct. 8 and will also be screened in other areas of Japan. Kim said that the production team is preparing an English version of the film, intending to exhibit his work at film festivals abroad.
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