When 20th Century Fox was planning the release of "Rising Sun" in Japan, some worried it might raise a storm of protest as it had in the United States.
To their surprise and relief, it's barely raising eyebrows.Asian-American groups picketed theaters in several U.S. cities when the film opened this summer, saying it presented Japanese as predatory and sinister.
But in the two weeks since the film has opened here, it has failed to arouse much interest among either media or moviegoers, let alone protesters. It earned a mediocre $1 million in the first week.
And some viewers say the portrayal of Japan, while flawed in parts, is generally on target.
"I thought it portrayed Japan pretty well, even though it was a bit overstated," Yumiko Kimura, an employee at an airline company, said while leaving a showing. "This country isn't as bad as all that."
"We don't think white people are stupid, for instance," said her friend Ryoko Fukuzawa, an electronics company employee, referring to a line by the gruff, self-styled Japan-expert played by Sean Connery.
"There were some inaccuracies, but I don't think it's worth making a fuss over," she said. "I, for one, have never heard of anyone eating sushi off a naked woman's belly."
Aside from a few complaints about excessive bowing and awkward Japanese language, other randomly interviewed viewers said the movie, a thriller in which American detectives foil a Japanese company's attempt to cover up a murder in its Los Angeles boardroom, was generally accurate in depicting large Japanese companies as dens of corruption and dishonesty.
The film appears to have little shock value, partly perhaps because tales of corporate wrongdoing and excesses abound in Japan.
But few average citizens associated themselves with such goings on or feel they reflect the Japanese as a people.