5 - Nationalism under the Banner of Pacifism: Japanese Atomic Bombing Sufferers’ Struggle against the State

Summary

War weariness based on the collective memory of war harm has long helped Japan reject direct involvement in wars and return to the prewar regime. However, the Japanese version of pacifism has been criticized as nothing more than a victim consciousness that has forgotten the country's past colonial rule and military aggression. This chapter looks at the history of Japanese hibaksuha's collective struggle to demand state compensation and ban nuclear weapons in light of nationalist sentiments that enabled hibakusha to stand up and pursue their mission and helped the Japanese to shut themselves off within their victim consciousness.

Introduction: “Pacifism” in postwar Japan

No one would deny that pacifism is one of basic principles of postwar Japan. War weariness, rooted in the extensive harm experienced in the Asia Pacific War, has been a widely shared sentiment in the country and become the foundation of the ideal of pacifism in the constitution, which clearly states that Japan renounces war and will not maintain armed forces with war potential. “Embodied pacifism” (taigen heiwa shugi) is the term used by the writer and activist Oda Makoto to refer to Japan's war weariness and desire to defend peace that are both rooted in its war experience. Oda argues that sometimes this embodied pacifism is even stronger than pacifism as a conviction. However, insofar as it is based on experience, as time passes, the fading of embodied pacifism is unavoidable. For this very reason, we should recognize the value of peace education and peace movements, that have passed on experiences of war harm, cultivating a desire to maintain peace in younger generations. Coupled with the peace consciousness of the generations that experienced the war, this pacifism has molded public opinion that has put the brakes on the nuclearization and militarization of Japan.

During the 1990s, after experiencing the conclusion of the Cold War and the Gulf War, criticism of Japan's pacifism began to emerge both inside and outside the country. One criticism was from neighboring Asian countries. It asserted that Japan's pledge for peace was nothing more than a victim consciousness that had forgotten the country's past colonial rule and military aggression.