Children of the Dark (闇の子供たち Yami no Kodomo-tachi) is a Japanese movie directed by Junji Sakamoto about child prostitution and organ sales in Thailand. It is based on a novel by Yan Sogil.

In certain areas of Thailand, where child prostitution and sale of human organs are a daily reality, many children are murdered to provide organs for the people desperate enough to pay to save their own children. When a Japanese journalist teams up with a Japanese NGO member to expose this practice and try to put an end to this systematic abuse of children they're struck with the sobering reality that the problem may just be too widespread for two people to stop.

WARNING: this movie contains more horrible things per second than any movie we have ever shown before. Approach with caution. There’s no way to unsee this movie, and that’s probably as it should be for a film about child trafficking. Already kicking up a ruckus, this Japanese drama is based on a novel by Yon Sogil, and it was shot in Thailand and initally released on just seven Japanese screens. That screen count increased to 102 after the film was forced out of the Bangkok International Film Festival and became an international cause celebre when it was banned in Thailand. In the West, however, it has screened at just a handful of film festivals and has been turned down by most of the rest, which is bizarre for a movie by acclaimed arthouse auteur Sakamoto (FACE) starring two of Japan’s hottest stars, Aoi Miyazaki and Satoshi Tsumabuki. 

Middle-aged Japanese expat journalist Nanbu (Yosuke Eguchi) is stationed in Thailand and when he’s told that kids are being sold on the black market for their organs he’s initially suspicious but soon he sniffs out a real story. Cut to: Aoi Miyazaki as fresh-faced Keiko who has come to Thailand to work for an NGO. Her Thai colleagues label her a poverty tourist, and they’re not wrong. She crosses paths with Nanbu when they’re tipped off about a child sex brothel in Northern Thailand where kids are “processed”: some sold to tourists who have come to Thailand for a cheap organ transplants, the others sold to tourists who have come to Thailand for a roll in the hay with an eight-year-old.

In the darkest corners of Thailand, child prostitution and organ sales flourish. In order to save a child's life, another child's organ must be taken. An outraged Japanese journalist and a young, passionate Japanese NGO (Non-governmental Organization) staff attempt to save "children of the dark", from being consumed by arrogance and greed. However, the harsh realities of lice intervene.

Human life and the human heart are never supposed to be for sale. However, today, unchecked arrogance and greed permit both to be sold on the open market. Tragically, despite wide public acknowledgement, organ sales, child prostitution, and slavery continue to proliferate. Children of the Dark is a film that fearlessly tackles the ugly depths of the human heart, hurling the first, most damning stone at the core of Japanese society, and also the world. It is not a film that aspires to entertain its audiences. However, by exposing these problems to audiences worldwide, there is a hope taking steps to resolve them. The film unflinchingly portrays the tragic realities unfolding today and raises the consciousness of everyone who sees it. Director Sakamoto notes "The problems these children face are at the root of all problems in the world." He directs sincerely and powerfully with a talented multinational cast to bring these stark events to life.