Organisers at one stage even pondered whether the Oct 22-30 show could go on after the devastating disaster threw the nation into a period of "jishuku," or self-restraint, which resulted in many events being cancelled. In addition, the Fukushima nuclear crisis scared away many foreign tourists.
But organisers decided to carry on, to send a message about Japanese strength to the world, festival chairman Tom Yoda told Reuters in an interview.
"We had some difficulty getting people to understand that Tokyo is safe, but I think we overcame that problem," he said.
In fact, entries totalled nearly 1,000 films from 76 countries, up 17 percent over the previous year, and participants at TIFFCOM, the contents market which runs alongside the main festival, are up 10 percent with all booths sold out, he said.
Director Paul W.S. Anderson's 3D swashbuckler "The Three Musketeers" and Jackie Chan's historical drama "1911" get the festivities started in a special double opening, with Chan, Anderson and "Musketeers" star Milla Jovovich set to walk the ecology-themed Green Carpet in central Tokyo's Roppongi Hills.
The festival will also hold a day of screenings in the north-eastern city of Sendai, in the coastal area that suffered major tsunami damage, as well as show films that were shot after the disaster such as "Tokyo Drifter" and "Women on the Edge."
In the main competition section, 15 films will vie for the $50,000 Sakura prize, before the festival wraps with baseball drama "Moneyball," starring Brad Pitt.
The festival used to lean more toward art films, but for the past few years has been trying to screen more mainstream movies with commercial possibilities, especially in its opening and closing selections, in a bid to reach younger audiences, said Yoda, who is also CEO of Japanese film company Gaga.
South Korea's booming Busan festival, which runs earlier in October, has also become one of the hottest venues for Asian filmmakers and has no doubt stolen some of Tokyo's thunder
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