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Kamen Rider Shows Running Out of Allowed Places to Film in Japan

The long-running tokusatsu franchise Kamen Rider is running out of locations where the crew can film the show.

Actor Kento Handa and producer Shinichirō Shirakura attended a screening of the 2003 film Kamen Rider 555: Paradise Lost at the Shibuya Toei theater on February 17. After the screening, both men answered questions and offered comments for the audience. Shirakura revealed that since 555, the Kamen Rider series has added more and more "extreme" scenes. The addition of these scenes have made it much more difficult to find suitable filming locations. Shirakura said frankly that he fears that filming the series in Japan may no longer be possible one day.

Numerous restrictions and regulations in Japan can make filming difficult. In addition to obtaining permits for shooting on public locations from each city or prefecture, local residents need to give approval as well, a process which film makers often complain takes too long. In addition, filming permission is routinely denied altogether in Tokyo because the areas are too crowded. Locals have also been known to refuse permission to their area being filmed even in the middle of the night because the scene would involve a car chase or a violent crime.

Source: Oricon News via Hachima Kikō