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Japan's Grassroots Pacifism Volume 3 | Issue 2 | Article ID 2102 | Feb 15, 2005 The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Japan's Grassroots Pacifism Mari YAMAMOTO Japan's Grassroots Pacifism book traces the origins of pacifist thought that helped to mold popular attitudes throughout by Mari YAMAMOTO the postwar period. It?shows that the depth of feeling among Japanese about their war experience greatly influenced the nation's Remembering the war in the Japanese way diplomatic and other policies. But the qualities unique to Japan’s grassroots pacifism also Much English writing about pacifism and peace constrained the development of both peace movements has focused on the ideas and movements and peace thought in later years. In activities of Europeans and Americans. While this article, I examine the postwar Japanese attention has been paid to Mohandas Gandhi, peace movement/pacifist thought, both their peace movements in other parts of the world weaknesses and achievements, and suggest have been largely ignored. Like most Western possible ways to break the impasse of the peace activists, however, Gandhi was an current peace movement. exceptional figure in Indian society, far from the political mainstream. The idea of pacifism came to the fore in Japan much later than in Europe and developed under In contrast to most other societies, there has quite different circumstances. Martin Ceadel been a widely shared public consensus in Japan traces what he calls two strands of proto- throughout most of the post-war years that the pacifist thought, Christianity and Japanese government should abide by the Enlightenment rationalism, to eighteenth pacifistic guidelines decreed by itscentury Europe and argues that these fused in Constitution, which forbids Japan from waging Britain as rational Christianity and began to wars or maintaining armed forces. This charter evolve into liberalism. Since then, peace won approval ratings of 70-90 per cent in activities flourished in countries, mainly Britain public opinion polls taken from the 1960s and the United States, where Protestantism through the 1980s. These figures demonstrate and liberalism as well as a free enterprise that a wide sector of the general public in economy provided a favorable setting. The type Japan, although not engaging in any political of pacifist attitude nurtured in the two activities, shared pacifist views that arecountries, as Charles Chatfield argues, was minority opinions in the rest of the world. historically oriented to liberal values – the primacy of the individual, distrust of economic Few countries rival Japan in the extent and and political concentrations, the value of scope of grassroots peace movements. In voluntary association, and appeal to experience Grassroots Pacifism in Post-War Japan: The and reason. rebirth of a nation. I seek to explain why pacifist sentiment flourished and analyze the Political ideologies such as socialism and significance of the vigorous peace activities anarchism further enriched Western peace staged by ordinary Japanese in the first 15 thought in the late 19th century. From the years following the end of World War II. The inter-war period, more activists tried to justify 1 3 | 2 | 0 APJ | JF their pacifist stand not on the basis of religious time to programs on the war during the first faith but as a response to the human suffering two weeks of August, commemorating the caused by the war. While pacifist thought atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thrived in Europe and its extensions, it always and recalling Japan’s defeat in the war. The remained a minority perspective as nations Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), marched repeatedly to war. (Japan’s public network and most influential station) takes the lead in this. The reaction of the Japanese to defeat in World War II was similar to the despondency widely On Hiroshima Day on August 6, 2004, one NHK experienced by Europeans in the wake of World documentary chronicled the postwar War I. Although it took a toll mainly on the lives rehabilitation of the city using aerial and other of soldiers at the front and civilian casualties photos obtained from the U.S. National were far fewer than in World War II, the First Archives. Those pictures showed the city World War left many people wondering in the teeming with makeshift or newly built houses name of what honorable cause such carnage less than two years after the atomic bombing, had been carried out. Though somewhat similar attesting to the resilience of the people in the to the European experience in this respect, the wake of the devastation. kind of pacifism that became prevalent among Japanese after World War II also reflects On Nagasaki Day on August 9, NHK broadcast Japan’s political and historical traditions and a program about a 77-year-old woman, who values. was born deaf and witnessed the atomic bombing in Nagasaki. The woman goes on Japan’s nascent peace movement shortly after frequent speaking tours to recount the tragic the war drew inspiration from the literary aftermath of the bombing through the use of accounts of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima sign language. The focus of her silent narrative and Nagasaki by such writers as Ota Yoko and is the images of bodies disfigured beyond Nagai Takashi. The power of their writings was recognition and dying victims crying for help. doubtless intensified by the fact that tens of This program was followed on August 13 by millions of Japanese in other cities had also another documentary about Japanese soldiers, experienced the flames of war and the deaths who were ordered to fight an un-winnable of family and neighbors in the firebombing of battle in China and who died after suffering 64 Japanese cities, that Japan lost three million great hardship as mere cannon fodder. lives in the war, and the nation was left in ruins. Collections of writings by young soldiers Another documentary aired the same day was who were university students posthumously dedicated to the Japanese civilians and soldiers published after the war, like “Kike Wadatsumi who traveled at sea during the war and whose no Koe (Listen to the Voices of the Sea),” also boats, were attacked and sunk. The remains of gave a powerful impetus to Japan’s peace many were never found so their boats became movement, driven by grief over the loss of their coffins. The documentary focused on one loved ones and survivor’s guilt. A flood of man who makes model ships that he presents literary and media accounts of the war that as gifts to console the bereaved families. focused on popular suffering did much to shape the outlook on war and peace issuesOn 14 August, another documentary played a throughout the postwar era. phonograph record made by a Japanese company in Manchukuo, which brought alive The tradition lives on in Japan’s mass media. the voices of ordinary Japanese, who lived Every year Japanese TV devotes significant air there during the war. The program also told of 2 3 | 2 | 0 APJ | JF the tragic fate of Chinese conscripted laborers, heroic narrative of perseverance and self- who were forced to work at Japanese-operated sacrifice producing a positive outcome. In the mines. The record played a farewell statement new millennium, however, such views clash of one young Korean, who volunteered to fly a with those of Japanese neonationalists who suicide mission as a kamikaze pilot. His father proclaim the “positive” aspect of Japan’s war had been opposed against his son fighting in and press for a more aggressive Japanese Japan’s war but the young man flew to certain foreign policy as seen, for example, in the death in the abortive hope that the Japanese dispatch of Self-Defense Forces to Iraq in 2004. government would pay his poor family generous compensation if he died in the war. Defeat as a Force for Reform and Redemption The documentary broadcast on the day of Japan’s surrender on August 15 was about the The grassroots peace thought that informed the wartime indoctrination of Japanesepeace movement, however, did not draw its schoolchildren who had been prepared by their inspiration entirely from the tragic narrative of teachers to attack the invaders who were personal suffering during the war. Equally expected in the coming months. The program important, as John Dower argues in his prize- showed children working in munitionswinning book, Embracing Defeat, the factories. The children, now pensioners,shattering experience of defeat and the generally expressed chagrin about how easily subsequent period of material privation and they had been mesmerized by wartimedemoralization became “the touchstone years propaganda. for thinking about national identity and personal values.” Each of these programs offered fresh insights into the war by looking at it from theMany non-Japanese, above all the victims of perspective of ordinary Japanese, emphasizing Japanese militarism and colonialism in Korea, the psychic and existential landscape of the China and other Asian nations, but also many wartime generation and the sufferingAmericans and Europeans, believe that most experienced by Japanese as well as by Chinese, Japanese have failed to recognize, still less Koreans and other victims of Japan's fifteen come to terms with, their country’s war crimes. year war. Throughout the postwar years, most I believe that the Japanese attitude in this Japanese TV programs commemorating the regard is more complex. war’s end have similarly focused on the human tragedy of war. As detailed in Eiji Oguma’s important book Minshu to Aikoku (Democracy and Patriotism), August 15 is known as “shusen kinenbi”, the the nation’s defeat in World War II prompted anniversary of the end of the war. It is a solemn many intellectuals to seriously question and somber occasion when many Japanese whether the failure to prevent Japan from question whether there was any positive starting the war and the fact that the vast meaning to their loved ones’ deaths and the majority of Japanese never seriously resisted nation's suffering.
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