Memories of the War and Japanese “Historical Amnesia”

Japan’s “historical amnesia”, represented by conservatives’ denial of the Nanjing massacre, sanitization of history textbooks, and Japanese politicians’ visits to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine continues to generate tensions between China and Japan. This study aims to understand the degree to which “historical amnesia” is prevalent amongst today’s Japanese people. Should Japanese “historical amnesia” be diagnosed as a complete loss of memory, or is it instead more accurately described as partial or selective amnesia? To answer this question a survey was conducted amongst Japanese university students to assess to what extent the participants are aware of the history of their nation’s atrocities and how past transgressions are understood in the institutionalized historical narratives in Japan.