The Pacific War and Its Political Legacies

"Denny Roy's book is a must read not just for those who want to learn (or re-learn) the lessons of World War II, but for those who want to understand Northeast Asia political dynamics today. His explanation of the unsettled claims and seismic shifts resulting from the Pacific War, and the way they have been interpreted (and all too often manipulated) by Japan and its neighbors, provides invaluable insights, not only for Americans but for Asians who cannot seem to get beyond the history issue. By cutting through the myths and objectively analyzing the facts, this book can contribute significantly to the long overdue healing process essential to long-term regional stability." -- Ralph A. Cossa President, Pacific Forum--Center for Strategic and International Studies, Honolulu "East-West Center's Professor Roy has shone a bright light into the Asia-Pacific's slowest-healing wounds. He relates the Pacific War's stories and tragedies of three generations ago to contentious issues that continue to resonate in the world's most vibrant region. Practitioners and general readers as well as academics will benefit from these thoughtful insights." -- James A. Kelly Senior Adviser, Center for Strategic and International Studies Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Competition among the national myths of the Pacific War held by the various countries of Northeast Asia and by the US about the Pacific still rages in the international politics, even while accurate understanding of what actually took place in that war has largely faded.

Competition among the national myths of the Pacific War held by the various countries of Northeast Asia and by the US about the Pacific still rages in the international politics, even while accurate understanding of what actually took place in that war has largely faded. Unresolved wartime grievances continue to constrain, distort, and embitter bilateral relationships, erupting over such issues as the Yasukuni Shrine, Japanese history textbooks, the Nanjing Massacre, the comfort women, how to remember the atomic bombs, and the US military bases on Okinawa. The first part of The Pacific War and Its Political Legacies recounts as straightforwardly and impartially as possible the trains of events of the Pacific War that continue to vex international relations in Northeast Asia. This summary historical narrative provides the reader with enough backstory to challenge the reader's own assumptions and to judge the veracity and balance of other competing national interpretations of the war. This second part of The Pacific War and its Political Legacies explains: the origins of contending interpretations of the war; how those interpretations have led to the positions and policies of postwar governments and societal groups on issues directly related to the war; and how the domestic and international political interests of successive postwar governments and factions have shaped the interpretations that are selected by national elites for inculcation by the national educational, political, and media systems under their control. Dr. Roy teases out the ambivalent roles of national elites as prisoners and inventors of history, constrained to reaffirm received national myths of the Pacific War while dynamically altering them to suit current political purpo