“At the wedding of two of their comrades, several young radicals begin to speak out critically of the groom, a newspaper reporter, and his behavior in the recent demonstrations against the US-Japan security treaty in which they have all participated. The party turns into an angry debate among the members of the wedding as to how they should have conducted themselves, with accusations of betrayal and cowardice.
“Shochiku reluctantly released the film on October 9, 1960, and a few days later abruptly pulled it from the theaters when Japan's Socialist Party leader, Inejiro Asanuma, was murdered by a knife-wielding assassin. The company, which had been uneasy in the first place with the film's politics, withdrew it on the grounds that it was inflammatory.
“At his own wedding shortly thereafter (to the actress Akiko Koyama, who plays Misako, the groom's school chum, in Night and Fog...), Oshima loudly denounced Shochiku to the assembled guests, which included several of the company's executives. His career at the studio ended then and there. Despite infrequent screenings, the reputation of Night and Fog in Japan grew over the years to the point that it finished high (a tie for 11th place with Yojimbo) in a Kinema Junpo poll of the greatest Japanese films of all time.” David Owens, Japan Society