Victims and Victimizers: Public Memory and Apology in Japan and the US on the 50th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombs

Abstract

Public memory is the way that we as citizens collectively remember our country's past. This space is a highly controlled retelling of events, and is a frequent point of contention as different groups fight to define the narrative. This is especially true in the case of war, and even more so in the case of World War II, since it was a war of national ideology. Almost universally, war is regarded as a terrible, but sometimes necessary event. To this extent, the way that citizens understand why their country is involved in a war is crucial to maintaining national stability and popular support for the government. While Japan is often criticized for its World War II narrative, it's not clear that America is any better. Japanese memory is one that is heavily shaped by the government and which skims over Japanese atrocities, focusing instead on Japanese experience as victims of the atomic bomb. American memory of the same war is sensitive, and not open to challenge or reinterpretation. It too was shaped heavily by government. These complex, and often conflicting narratives of war are forces that continue to cause international tensions and prevent reconciliation. The 50th anniversary of the end of World War II in 1995 was a prime time for former enemies to reconcile. The Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union had just wrapped up a few years earlier, and the anniversary brought the war to public attention. Despite this, no reconciliations or apologies occurred between the US and Japan. In fact, in 1995, the two countries publicly supported opposing views on the bomb: President Clinton affirmed (to the relief of many US veterans) that there would be no apology for Hiroshima, since wrongs had been done by their use.' On the other end, Motoshima, mayor of Nagasaki, said that the US was wrong to use the atomic bombs on Japan, and needed to apologize.