US Base in Japan Yanks Dolphin-Hunt Documentary

US commanders wary of offending the Japanese have canceled screenings of Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, but that won't silence its message, its director tells the AP. Louie Psihoyos says he plans to hand out DVDs of the movie, which shows the gruesome annual dolphin hunt in a Japanese town, at the Air Force base near Tokyo that canceled a screening.

"The military is facing a lot of pressure by our government to make nice (with) the Japanese," the director said. "We are going to win this battle, with or without the US military." The movie—set to open in Japan this June, despite the objections of nationalist protesters—isn't just about saving dolphins, he says, but also highlights the health risks of eating dolphin meat, which often has high levels of mercury.
(More The Cove stories.)