War Memory And Social Politics In Japan, 1945-2005

Japan has long wrestled with the memories and legacies of World War II. In the aftermath of defeat, war memory developed as an integral part of particular and divergent approaches to postwar democracy. In the last six decades, the demands placed upon postwar democracy have shifted considerably-from social protest through high economic growth to Japan's relations in Asia-and the meanings of the war shifted with them.

This book unravels the political dynamics that governed the place of war memor…