19 March 1999
 

TOKYO (AP) -- Fearing attacks by right-wing extremists, a movie
theater in western Japan said Thursday it would stop showing a
controversial film about Japanese atrocities in China in the 1930s.
 
The Cinesalon Paveria in Fukuoka, 560 miles southwest of Tokyo,
had planned to show the film ``Nanking 1937'' until July 10, but
will end the run on July 3 instead.

 The movie, produced jointly by Hong Kong and Chinese
film-makers, takes place during the ``Rape of Nanking,'' the
Japanese Imperial Army's 1937 rampage through the city now known as
Nanjing. Up to 300,000 people -- including many civilians -- were
killed; rightists claim the massacre has been exaggerated to
discredit Japan.

Protesters have caused trouble for other theaters that have
shown the film, including slashing the screen at a theater near
Tokyo.

The Fukuoka theater said it had hired two guards to protect
viewers.