Soundtrack from A *Candy Factory Project
ROUTE 189 - ANGEL JAPAN
artonline.jp/angelj.html
ROUTE 189 also known as American Street.
It's only about 400 meters long situated in front of the U.S Marine Corps Iwakuni Air Station at Iwakuni city Yamaguchi prefecture.
U.S Marine Corps Iwakuni Air Station is a largest U.S military base in the mainland in Japan.
The base expanded through the Korean War to the Vietnam War and the red light district has been developing around the road ever since.
In 1955, 2500 prostitutes for American soldiers called "Only" were working there. Many of the sex crimes by US marines have been taking place around this street.
11 murder cases by U.S soldiers since 1955 which include vicious crimes such as : a woman who was raped and murdered by a screwdriver and a hammer in her abdomen. Another abandoned dead body was found with breasts and genital organs cut.
However compared to similar murder cases by U.S soldiers in Okinawa or South Korea, these particular crimes were never reported by the main media in Japan.
Exhibitions :
BREAK FESTIVAL 2.4 Ljubljana Slovenia 2007,
The Kitakyushu Biennial'07 Japan,
Media Scope MoMA /The Museum of Modern Art New York 2007,
The Rooseum Centre for Contemporary Art Malmo Sweden 2005,
Akiyoshidai International Art Village Yamaguchi Japan 2005.
released March 3, 2021