‘Oppenheimer’ Draws Praise in Japan After Long-Delayed Release

A movie about the atomic bomb’s creator was always going to be a touchy topic in the only country attacked with the weapon.

But after an eight-month delay reflecting those sensitivities, “Oppenheimer” opened in Japan on Friday to generally favorable reaction from Japanese viewers. Some said it offered a perspective beyond the widely held view in the U.S. that the bombings were justified because they hastened the end of World War II. 

Film critic Takeo Matsuzaki said Christopher Nolan’s movie differed from earlier Hollywood portrayals of the bomb by showing how physicist...