YOIHI PROJECT to share vision for earth’s future through films about Japan

A cutting-edge Japanese film production team has joined forces with global scientists in natural sciences to launch the YOIHI PROJECT. The project aims to tell human stories of living in different eras through movies. In the midst of the urgent calls for action on climate change and the environmental crisis, this project seeks to use the power of entertainment to create “yoihi (good days)” for future generations to enjoy movies 100 years from now.

Mitsuo Harada, the project representative, states, “What YOIHI PROJECT aims to create is movies that depict humanity while touching on various environmental issues such as bioeconomy, circular economy, sustainability and SDGs. Through these films and projects, we hope to generate interest in environmental issues and create opportunities for people to contemplate on them.”

A film features circular bioeconomy in the Edo period

The inaugural film, “Okiku and the World (Sekai no Okiku)” directed by Junji Sakamoto, starring Haru Kuroki, Kanichiro and Sosuke Ikematsu, is set to be released nationwide in Japan on April 28. This heartwarming human story is based on the concept of circular bioeconomy in the Edo period.

The director Sakamoto comments about the film, “… you can view society from the ‘dirty’ places. I wanted to depict the youth of a fallen samurai’s daughter and the lower-class people involved in waste management, based on the food cycle in the pre-industrialized era in Japan. The lightheartedness in their struggles represents the resilience, sincerity and resistance of common people who refuse to have their self-esteem taken away by anyone. It is a sharp irony towards modern society.”

About unique YOIHI PROJECT

The YOIHI PROJECT is a unique initiative where filmmakers and natural scientists collaborate and merge the academic awareness of sustainabilities with artistic film creations and other project activities. With the appointment of Yoshiyuki Fujishima, Technology and Innovation Director having global circular bioeconomy network of researchers, and Kiyohiko Igarashi, a project fellow who launched the One Earth Guardians program at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the project aims to collaborate with top natural scientists from Germany, the United Kingdom, Finland, the United States and other countries to capture global trends and reflect them in the project.

In addition, the project aims to support activities that contribute to regional revitalization through film production and implement educational and experiential programs. The YOIHI PROJECT is currently creating other movies, including documentary films that we should look out for in the near future.