Overview

First published in 1997, this volume responds to attention in recent years which has been belatedly directed towards reviving World War II issues involving Japan. This study deals first with the manner in which such issues so long fell into abeyance under Cold War conditions, while tracing the vast and varied writing on the war which meanwhile appeared within Japan. Evolving Japanese views on the war are largely focused on debate over the revision of the postwar constitution, especially its renunciation of ""war potential"". The book also contains the first overview of the decades-long litigation within Japan on the screening of textbooks, especially on the war.

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9781138334946

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Reviews

'A sympathetic but...balanced account of postwar Japanese approaches to the war in Asia...Hicks is a highly subtle master of clear writing. He takes on this immensely complex issue and...clarifies many aspects of the relationship between postwar Japanese politics and changing Japanese perceptions of World War II, Japan's role in it and its place in the history of the past century...Hicks makes excellent use of numerous opinion polls to gauge changing Japanese perceptions of the war and Japan's war responsibility.' The Journal of Asian Studies '...a work of painstaking scholarship and a much appreciated contribution to Japanese cultural studies and military history collections.' The Bookwatch '...fascinating expose of a controversial subject...Hicks uses the text book episode as a jumping-off point to discuss how Japan has dealt with the crimes it committed during its long war in South East Asia...he presents...arguments of these right wing revisionists carefully and dispassionately.' Canadian Military History 'This book focuses on the political dimensions of a peculiar silence about Japan's participation in Asian colonization...after reading the book, one comes to the conclusion that it is not amnesia or concealment but a combination of the two which affects Japanese attitudes towards the war.' Asian Thought and Society 'Hicks considers the issues of war guilt or responsibility during specific postwar periods: occupation and reverse course (1945-52), through the high growth period (1952-72), during the oil shock and restabilization (1973-81), from the textbook uproar through the emperors death (1982-90) and the 1990s.' Journal of Japanese Studies 'This concise, chronologically organized book provides a good synthesis of existing secondary literature and clearly sets out Japan's reexamination of her attitudes towards the Pacific War...a helpful point of entry for anyone interested in the impact and legacy of the Pacific War

’A sympathetic but...balanced account of postwar Japanese approaches to the war in Asia...Hicks is a highly subtle master of clear writing. He takes on this immensely complex issue and...clarifies many aspects of the relationship between postwar Japanese politics and changing Japanese perceptions of World War II, Japan’s role in it and its place in the history of the past century...Hicks makes excellent use of numerous opinion polls to gauge changing Japanese perceptions of the war and Japan’s war responsibility.’ The Journal of Asian Studies ’...a work of painstaking scholarship and a much appreciated contribution to Japanese cultural studies and military history collections.’ The Bookwatch ’...fascinating exposé of a controversial subject...Hicks uses the text book episode as a jumping-off point to discuss how Japan has dealt with the crimes it committed during its long war in South East Asia...he presents...arguments of these right wing revisionists carefully and dispassionately.’ Canadian Military History ’This book focuses on the political dimensions of a peculiar silence about Japan’s participation in Asian colonization...after reading the book, one comes to the conclusion that it is not amnesia or concealment but a combination of the two which affects Japanese attitudes towards the war.’ Asian Thought and Society ’Hicks considers the issues of war guilt or responsibility during specific postwar periods: occupation and reverse course (1945-52), through the high growth period (1952-72), during the oil shock and restabilization (1973-81), from the textbook uproar through the emperors death (1982-90) and the 1990s.’ Journal of Japanese Studies ’This concise, chronologically organized book provides a good synthesis of existing secondary literature and clearly sets out Japan’s reexamination of her attitudes towards the Pacific War...a helpful point of entry for anyone interested in the impact and legacy of the Pacific War

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George Hicks

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