By HIDESHI NISHIMOTO/ Staff Writer
February 17, 2022 at 19:01 JST
Thomas Ash (Photo by Hideshi Nishimoto)
Thomas Ash, a Japan-based filmmaker who worked to expose conditions inside the nation’s much criticized immigration facilities, staunchly defended his decision to secretly record interviews with detainees to ensure the subject matter got a wider airing.
Detainees often languish for years in facilities across Japan for overstaying their visas.
His documentary film “Ushiku,” which consists of video and audio recordings of interviews with nine detainees at the Higashi-Nihon Immigration Center in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, is scheduled to be screened in Tokyo and elsewhere from Feb. 26.
“Is this what you call hospitality?” a detainee of African descent asks in the film in reference to Japan’s boasts of offering “omotenashi” to visitors.
The detainee went on a hunger strike after his requests for temporary release from the facility were rejected 14 times. A Kurdish detainee attempted suicide after waiting more than four years at the facility for his request for refugee status to be granted.
Ash, 46, began visiting foreign nationals detained at the facility in 2019.
He left the United States around 20 years ago to work in Japan as an assistant English teacher. He then got into filmmaking and produced a highly acclaimed documentary on the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, as well as TV documentary programs.
Initially, he had no plans to shoot a film about the detention facility.
But as a devout Christian who was raised in a family of a minister and joined the church choir when he was a boy, Ash became angry at the way long-term detentions were taking a toll on detainees’ mental and physical health. He listened to their problems as a church volunteer.
The Immigration Services Agency prohibits visitors from taking photos or videos of their conversations with detainees.
Ash concealed a tiny camera to record interviews with detainees who were seated on the other side of an acrylic panel. The immigration facility banned him from visiting after finding out he was secretly filming.
Ash said he felt he had no choice but to secretly record the interviews.
“Many Japanese have no idea what is going on at the immigration facilities,” he said. “I’m sure they will understand why I felt compelled to shoot the film if they watch it to listen to what detainees have to say.”
The film’s official website can be accessed at: (https://www.ushikufilm.com/).
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