National / History Nov 25, 2021
World War II battleship captain harbored concern over Japan-U.S. ‘power gap’
Eighty years after the war’s outbreak, surviving family of Bunji Asakura reveal the captain’s fear of a grim outcome.
National Sep 24, 2021
Top Japanese and South Korean envoys vow to improve ties but fail to end various disputes
Despite a lack of tangible progress on sticking points, a Tokyo official saw the roughly 50-minute meeting positively, saying the two countries had "a thorough discussion."
National Aug 23, 2021
Miyazaki town marks anniversary of WWII plane crashes that killed Japanese pilot and U.S. soldiers
Residents had all but forgotten the two crashes, which each occurred on a nearby mountainside, but interest in accidents was revived in 1987 when a local historian discovered wreckage.
National Aug 14, 2021
South Korea marks 30 years since first public testimony by former 'comfort woman'
The comfort women issue remains a source of tension between South Korea and Japan, which ruled the Korean Peninsula from 1910 until it was defeated in World War II in 1945.
Culture Jun 3, 2021
Exhibition commemorating Japanese A-bomb sites opens in Australia
The displays include one of four paper cranes made by U.S. President Barack Obama on his visit to Hiroshima in 2016.
Commentary / Japan | API Geoeconomic Briefing May 25, 2021
How Japan can avoid losing out on the world stage
by Yoichi Funabashi, Yuichi Hosoya and Ken Jimbo
Tokyo must learn from its history of making bad decisions and being slow to deal with postwar crises.
Film / Reviews Mar 17, 2021
‘Kontora’: A poetic meditation on the human cost of war
by Mark Schilling
Director Anshul Chauhan’s second feature is a haunting drama that transcends its Japan-specific World War II subject matter.
Film Jan 28, 2021
The film will detail the life of Sadako Sasaki, an iconic figure who died from leukemia 10 years after the atomic bombing.
National / History Dec 4, 2020
He escaped death as a kamikaze pilot. 70 years later, he told his story.
by Ben Dooley
Kazuo Odachi hid his wartime past from almost everyone, but finally published his memoirs, which were recently released in English.
Books Oct 10, 2020
What are the stories we’re reading about Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
by Eric Margolis
This year’s releases on the atomic bombs run the gamut of perspectives, proving that historical events are very much what we make of them.
Art Sep 24, 2020
Japanese POW art in Australasia analyzed for first time
by Anna Watanabe
Academics say the previously ignored works illustrate the 'isolating and traumatic experience of internment.'
Books Aug 15, 2020
'Memoirs of a Kamikaze': A teenage World War II pilot’s life in his own words
by Louise George Kittaka
Kazuo Odachi’s memoir about his life as a kamikaze pilot is a poignant reminder of the resilience of humanity in times of adversity.