In Tokyo, Godzilla returns to old stomping ground

From earthquakes to concern over China’s rise and wavering US support, Japan’s favourite monster has a lot on his plate as he returns home from Hollywood

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Published: 10:00am, 6 Aug 2016Updated: 1:20pm, 7 Aug 2016

After a decade-long fling with Hollywood, Godzilla has emerged from the muck of Tokyo Bay to reclaim his rightful territory around Japan’s capital, and still offers a mirror on the Japanese people’s worries and fears.

The rampaging reptile is one of the most universal, enduring and recognisable symbols of Japanese popular culture and the longest running series – at more than 60 years – in film history. Only James Bond comes close as an enduring international film franchise.

Some say the new film, Godzilla Resurgence, which opened in Japan on July 29 and will open in other Asian cities throughout August, is the series’ best ever offering. It is the first totally Japanese Godzilla film since Godzilla: the Final Years in 2004, and becomes the 31st in the series, after 29 by Toho Productions and two American productions.

The most recent American version, 2014’s Godzilla by director Gareth Edwards, featured many of the familiar tropes: the monster is born out of and sustained by nuclear radiation (in this case a Japanese nuclear power plant); he stomps through cities smashing buildings right and left; and he battles with another monster, Muto (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism).