During the winter of 1944, Kitani, a soldier, returns to his unit in Osaka after a two year absence. None of the men inducted with him are left, and his new comrades greet his sulky attitude with suspicion and resentment. The men have been told that Kitani was in hospital during his absence, whereas he was actually in prison: caught between two officers competing for a lucrative position, Kitani had been accused of stealing a wallet belonging to Hayashi, a First Lieutenant. The resulting inquiry had extended into Kitani’s personal life, with letters written to his lover construed as expressing anti-military sentiments.

Believing the army to be corrupt, chaotic and isolated from the real world, Kitani confides in one of his comrades, who describes the army as a ‘vacuum zone’. When word spreads that Kitani was really in prison, the men begin to taunt him by referring to him as the ‘ex-con’. Kitani finally breaks, and sets about mercilessly punishing both his comrades and Hayashi.

Vacuum Zone is based on NOMA Hiroshi’s novel of the same title. The novel was in turn based on Noma’s experiences in military service, and draws a parallel between the Imperial Army and Japanese society during the war years. The novel caused a sensation, exposing the cruel and vindictive punishments administered to soldiers and the corruption that characterised the army. Director YAMAMOTO Satsuo and most of his staff were labour activists involved in the struggles at Toho Studios in 1948. They were blackballed during the red purge carried out by the occupying forces, but established independent production companies that gave the impetus to the left-wing production movement in the 1950s, of which Vacuum Zone was one of the early commercial and artistic successes. Appearing at the time of the Korean War and a bitter debate on rearmament, the film had a substantial public impact.