Now Playing on MediaStorm: Japan’s Disposable Workers for Pulitzer Center

We are pleased to present Japan’s Disposable Workers, a film series produced in collaboration the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Based on Shiho Fukada’s portrait series, the film explores the labor issues affecting Japan in three sections, to illustrate the larger global labor crisis at work.  Overworked to Suicide After the recession of the 1990s, Japan’s white collar salarymen increasingly must work arduous hours for fear of losing their jobs. Working essentially two shifts a day for weeks at a time leads frequently to feelings of depression, something that is still stigmatized in Japan.   Net Cafe Refugees Internet cafes have existed in Japan for over a decade, but in the mid 2000s, customers began using these spaces as living quarters. Internet cafe refugees are mostly temporary employees, their salary too low to rent their own apartments.   Dumping Ground Kamagasaki, Osaka, Japan used to be a thriving day laborer’s town. Today, it is home…

Continue ReadingNow Playing on MediaStorm: Japan’s Disposable Workers for Pulitzer Center

Pulitzer Center Film Festival Premieres Shiho Fukada and MediaStorm’s “Japan’s Disposable Workers”

There's still time to enjoy the Pulitzer Center Film Festival “Global Crises, Human Stories” - a week-long celebration of reporting from around the world featuring feature-length films and shorts by Pulitzer Center journalists. A special shorts program features work by award-winning photojournalists, including the premiere of Shiho Fukada's Japan's Disposable Workers, produced in collaboration with MediaStorm. Event Details Screenings take place September 20th - 26th, 2013. Tickets are $5 general admission, and $3 for students and seniors. All films will be shown at the West End Cinema ( 2301 M Street NW, Washington, D.C. -- closest metro stop: Foggy Bottom (blue/orange lines) Screening Times Wednesday, September 25: 3 pm: Outlawed in Pakistan 7 pm: No Fire Zone Thursday, September 26: 5 pm: Seeds of Hope 9:20 pm: The Abominable Crime See full listing for schedule and description of other films. About Pulitzer Center The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting is an American…

Continue ReadingPulitzer Center Film Festival Premieres Shiho Fukada and MediaStorm’s “Japan’s Disposable Workers”

Pulitzer Center and MediaStorm Present “Japan’s Disposable Workers”

In collaboration with the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, MediaStorm created a documentary based on Shiho Fukada’s portrait series, Japan’s Disposable Workers. In three sections the film explores the labor issues affecting Japan, and in so doing, illustrates the larger global labor crisis: Overworked to Suicide After the recession of the 1990s, Japan’s white collar salarymen increasingly must work arduous hours for fear of losing their jobs. Working essentially two shifts a day for weeks at a time leads frequently to feelings of depression, something that is still stigmatized in Japan. Net Cafe Refugees Internet cafes have existed in Japan for over a decade, but in the mid 2000s, customers began using these spaces as living quarters. Internet cafe refugees are mostly temporary employees, their salary too low to rent their own apartments. Dumping Ground Kamagasaki, Osaka, Japan used to be a thriving day laborer’s town. Today, it is home to approximately…

Continue ReadingPulitzer Center and MediaStorm Present “Japan’s Disposable Workers”