Tag - world-war-ii

 
 

WORLD WAR II

COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 5, 2015
Hiroshima after 70 years
If the war had not been brought to an end in August 1945 with the atomic bombings, many Japanese who went on to see the revival of Japan would not have survived.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 4, 2015
Abe losing to his demons
On the 70th anniversary of Japan's defeat and surrender, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has a wonderful opportunity to set a new path for Japan, for Asia and the world. But will he take it?
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Aug 1, 2015
The top-secret flights that ended the war
Seventy years after the atomic bombings, time stands still on the Pacific island of Tinian.
JAPAN / History
Jul 25, 2015
Winds of war: Japan's balloon bombs took the Pacific battle to American soil
In May 1945, a pastor from Bly, Oregon, led his wife and a group of children on a day trip near Klamath Falls. They were all looking forward to hours of fishing and picnicking in fine weather. Everyone got out of the car while the Rev. Archie Mitchell was parking along a remote logging road and unloading...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 22, 2015
War in the jungle and war in Japan
Actor and director Shinya Tsukamoto often takes violence to strange extremes. In his first film, the 1989 horror "Tetsuo" ("Tetsuo: The Iron Man"), a businessman accidentally kills a crazed metal fetishist (played by Tsukamoto himself) with his car and, becoming "infected" by his victim, horrifically...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 18, 2015
'A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding' frames the universal horror of atomic weapons
Nagasaki is a popular setting for novels about Japan. During the years when Japan shut itself off from the world, the port town became a door left ajar, and some of the appeal for novelists is the enduring frontier myth the city has cultivated, with its easy blend of East and West.
JAPAN / History
Jul 11, 2015
Chiune Sugihara: man of conscience
Chiune Sugihara, Japanese consul in Kaunas, Lithuania, awoke on the morning of July 18, 1940, to a disturbing sight. He peered through the curtains of his bedroom window just before 6 a.m. Sugihara and his wife had been living in the consulate building since their arrival at the end of August 1939, just...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 29, 2015
Shinzo Abe's pivot to Asia
Abe should use his speech marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II as an occasion to reinforce the image of Japan as a positive force in Asia.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jun 27, 2015
'Harp of Burma' is an adventure story concealing weighty themes
"Harp of Burma" was published in Japan in 1946, but it would be 20 years before Michio Takeyama's story of Japanese soldiers stranded in Burma after the close of World War II was translated into English. In fact, Kon Ichikawa got there first in 1956, with his stark cinematic adaptation, "Biruma no Tategoto"...
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Jun 6, 2015
Japan goods popular in India; Nazis roll into Paris; mine death toll passes 160; Japan passes U.S. as top donor
100 YEARS AGO
EDITORIALS
Jun 2, 2015
Abe can't duck history issue
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe must realize that his perception of Japan's wars in the 1930s and 1940s is an issue that cannot be skirted if ties with China and South Korea are to be improved.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 1, 2015
Abe and history: What's next?
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe needs to dramatically and definitively address the 'comfort women' issue head on.
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2015
Why Putin treats fantasy as history
In the worldview of Russian President Vladimir Putin, winning matters more than truth.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 11, 2015
If Japan can really say sorry
If Japan can really say sorry for its wartime actions, it will help the entire region.
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2015
Why Germany should pay reparations to Greece
Both the law and fairness suggest that Germany should pay Greece additional war reparations.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 11, 2015
Imperial family will pay close attention to Abe's statement
The Abe administration's effort to break away from the postwar regime is a defiant political move to file a formal objection to the postwar Imperial family and to put Japan's best 'knowledgeable and thinking people' into a subordinate position.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 3, 2015
Blame Abe's bad history on diplomat George Kennan
U.S. diplomat George Kennan was instrumental in reversing U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur's efforts to liberalize Japan's economy and society.
CULTURE / Music / They're Playing Our Song
May 3, 2015
The tune that Japan wanted after the war
Michiko Namiki (1921-2001) was a fresh face in the Japanese entertainment industry when World War II came to an end. She had lost her father and brother during the fighting, her mother in the Tokyo bombings and her first love was killed on the front lines. Her story wasn't dissimilar to that of many...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
May 2, 2015
'Embracing Defeat' breaks down remorse and resistance in postwar Japan
"Embracing Defeat," the title of John Dower's landmark study of how Japan reformed and rebuilt during the U.S. Occupation, raises an interesting question: What about remorse and responsibility? It's a timely question as 2015 is the 70th anniversary of the end of a war that continues to divide East Asia....
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2015
Why prosecuting Auschwitz crimes still matters
The best symbol of German atonement for World War II is Chancellor Angela Merkel's relentless efforts to negotiate compromises in conflicts others want to resolve by force.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji