Masaki Kobayashi
According to Okamoto, Masaki Kobayashi was originally supposed to direct "Japan's Longest Day" but didn't want to, so co-producer Sanezumi Fujimoto suggested that Okamoto direct it. Okamoto believes that this film and his subsequent film "The Human Bullet" are expressions of his anti-war feelings. "Japan's Longest Day" portrays the actual people who were able to remain above the fighting, but did fight with each other, while "The Human Bullet" is a satire of those who did have to fight in the war.