The Pacific War 1931-1945

A portrayal of how and why Japan waged war from 1931-1945 and what life was like for the Japanese people in a society engaged in total war.

SABURŌ IENAGA was born in Nagoya in 1913. He taught at the Tokyo University of Education from 1949 to 1977, and was later named professor emeritus of that institution. He is the author of fifty books; his major works include The Pacific War, 1931-1945; The Development of the Logic of Negation in the History of Japanese Thought; Research on the Ueki Emori; Minobe Tatsukichi, His Life and Thought; and Tanabe Hajime, War and a Philosopher. In 1953, the Japanese Ministry of Education published a textbook by Ienaga, but censored what they said were factual errors and matters of opinion regarding Japanese war crimes. Ienaga undertook a series of lawsuits against the Ministry for violation of his freedom of speech, eventually winning. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 and 2001 by Noam Chomsky among others. He died in 2002.

Contents
 
Translator’s Note   vii
Preface to the English Edition   xi
Preface   xiii
 
PART 1: WHY WAS THE WAR NOT PREVENTED?   1
Chapter 1: Misconceptions about China and Korea   3
Chapter 2: Thought Control and Indoctrination   13
Chapter 3: The Military: Authoritarian and Irrational   33
 
PART 2: THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR AND THE RESULT   55
Chapter 4: The Beginning: Aggression in China   57
Chapter 5: The War in China: A Clash of Political Values   75
Chapter 6: The War at Home: Democracy Destroyed   97
Chapter 7: Japan Extends the War to the Pacific   129
Chapter 8: The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere: Liberation or Exploitation?   153
Chapter 9: The Horrors of War   181
Chapter 10: Dissent and Resistance: Change from Within   203
Chapter 11: Defeat   229
 
CONCLUSION   241
 
Note: Changing Japanese Views of the War   247
Notes   257
Index   305