“Sinking of Japan” was a Japanese box office hit in summer 2006. It was a loose remake of 1973 movie “Japan Sinks”, based on the fictional novel by Sakyo Komatsu.
The 2006 movie (日本沈没; “Japan Sinks” or “Nihon Chinbotsu“) was directed by Shinji Higuchi and starred Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, Kou Shibasaki and Etsushi Toyokawa etc.
Sinking of Japan Synopsis
The movie was based on fictional story that Japan was sinking into the sea due to tectonic plates’ motions. Japan had less than a year to migrate all its population, as volcano eruption, earthquakes and tsunami began to erupt the Japanese soil.
The hero and heroin of the movie were Toshi (Kusanagi Tsuyoshi) and Reiko (Kou Shibasaki); who developed a special feeling for each other during the crisis. As the situation worsened for Japan, Toshi was offered an opportunity to leave the country, while Reiko who was a rescue worker decided to stay on and helped the needed.
When Toshi was pondering to leave the country (or not), scientists found out that Japan still had a chance of survival… and Toshi was the only one that could save Japan from destruction.
Despite its box office success, the movie received mixed reviews by movie critics; a sarcastic award actually named Sinking of Japan the worse movie of the year.
Personally I think it was a decent movie. I don’t really like the love story between Toshi and Reiko; I thought it was a bit boring. The CGI effects weren’t top class compared to Hollywood productions, but it’s still pretty cool.