Medium Post #4 (Week 5)

Considering the intense racial animosity that Dower outlines in his introduction to War Without Mercy, why do you think the Japanese and US governments were so quick to see each other as allies? Do you believe that the transition was as quick for ordinary people? Think about how this question (including a version of this question that is put forth in Kurosawa’s No Regrets for Our Youth) risks effacing the scrutiny of Japanese colonial rule and imperialist aggression in Asia.

It truly is a spectacle that Japan and the United States came to be allies so quick after everything that had occurred in World War II. There was a large racial hate for Japanese Pearl Harbor. That and the fact that Japan was now an enemy of the US lead to the creation of Japanese interment camps during the war, putting all those with Japanese heritage, including citizens, inside. That and Japan’s strong sense of nationalism and fighting for their country and emperor would, on paper, make it seem like they would never be allies. “Racial pride” was a huge contributor to this as well (Dower 4). However, through all this racial, Japan and the United States became allies as it was beneficial. The United States got to claim their title as a superpower with the complete surrender of Japan. Although Japan was forced to democratize, it was an opportunity for a new era of Japan to arise. They got to maintain their emperor as a figure head of the government and ditch the old imperialist rule.

I do not believe that the transition was as quick for ordinary people. Racial hate is not something that can be erased with the snap of a finger. It must have been shocking and nearly inconceivable for the Japanese people that they surrender and were quick to see the people who bombed them as allies. Waking up the next day to find our your enemies are now your friends can be shocking and confusing. No Regrets for Our Youth illustrated the switch from imperialism to a democratic Japan.