Directed by:
Kihachi OkamotoScreenplay:
Shinobu HashimotoCinematography:
Hiroshi MuraiComposer:
Masaru SatōCast:
Toshirō Mifune, Sō Yamamura, Chishû Ryû, Takashi Shimura, Susumu Fujita, Akira Kubo, Kiyoshi Kodama, Hisashi Igawa, Michiyo Aratama, Daisuke Katō, Kōji Mitsui (more)Plots(1)
On August 15th, 1945, the Japanese people faced utter destruction. Millions of soldiers and civilians were dead, the rest were starving, and their cities had been reduced to piles of rubble, two of them vaporized by atomic bombs. The government was deadlocked; some ministers called for surrender, and others argued that honor demanded a final battle on home soil. To break the impasse, the cabinet took the unprecedented step of asking the Emperor to decide the fate of the nation.
Unable to bear the suffering of his people any longer, and finally given the power to do something about it, the Emperor decreed that Japan would surrender.
Much work remained to be done: the Imperial Rescript had to be composed, the Emperor had to record it, and it had to be broadcast to the nation. And there were many soldiers and civilians who could not accept surrender, and would do anything, even commit treason, to avoid it.
In a single 24-hour period, the fate of 100 million people would be decided.
(official distributor synopsis)
Cast
![Toshirō Mifune](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/268/268053_2ff826.jpg)
Toshirō Mifune
China
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Samurai Rebellion (1967)
![Sō Yamamura](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/157/950/157950077_1d32fc.jpg)
Sō Yamamura
Japan
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
Tokyo Twilight (1957)
Revenge (1963)
![Chishû Ryû](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/271/271621_c51c65.jpg)
Chishû Ryû
Japan
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
Tokyo Twilight (1957)
The Human Bullet (1968)
![Takashi Shimura](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/272/272248_eaa921.jpg)
Takashi Shimura
Japan
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Asu o tsukuru hitobito (1946)
![Susumu Fujita](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/271/271342_95544c.jpg)
Susumu Fujita
Japan
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
Asu o tsukuru hitobito (1946)
High and Low (1963)
Akira Kubo
Japan
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
Shintaro Katsu's Zatoichi (1989)
Sanjuro (1962)
![Kiyoshi Kodama](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/400/159400828_e8ab97.jpg)
Kiyoshi Kodama
Japan
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
47 Ronin (1962)
Steamboy (2004)
Hisashi Igawa
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
Harakiri (1962)
After the Rain (1999)
![Michiyo Aratama](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/279/279590_52b65e.jpg)
Michiyo Aratama
Japan
Best movies:
![Daisuke Katō](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/157/886/157886513_8bb3e1.jpg)
Daisuke Katō
Japan
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Yojimbo (1961)
Kōji Mitsui
Japan
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
Woman in the Dunes (1964)
High and Low (1963)
![Seiji Miyaguchi](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/279/279848_3a706d.jpg)
Seiji Miyaguchi
Japan
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
Early Summer (1951)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Yutaka Sada
Japan
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
High and Low (1963)
Red Beard (1965)
Kazuo Kitamura
Japan
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979)
High and Low (1963)
Keiju Kobayashi
Japan
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
Vengeance for Sale (2001)
Sanjuro (1962)
![Yûzô Kayama](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/410/160410775_874eb7.jpg)
Yûzô Kayama
Japan
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
Red Beard (1965)
Sanjuro (1962)
かつべひろゆき
Japan
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
Violent Cop (1989)
![Jun Hamamura](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/430/161430946_aaacb0.jpg)
Jun Hamamura
Japan
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966)
Samurai Rebellion (1967)
Hiroshi Nihon'yanagi
Japan
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
Early Summer (1951)
The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961)
Etsushi Takahashi
Japan
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
The Human Bullet (1968)
Zatoichi at Large (1972)