Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus

ICYMI: Re-upping our special collection on the 100th Anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake, which occurred on September 1st, 1923: apjjf.org/2023/8/toc

Kawanishi Hideya argues that the symbolic emperor serves as a custodian of Japan's remembrance of WWII, standing in marked contrast to conservative security policies while reviving public awareness and transmitting wartime memory to future generations. apjjf.org/2025/8/kawanis…

Xi Min Ling shows how Japan’s recent improving image among the Singaporean public regarding World War II "comes at a time when ordinary citizens are starting to play a larger role in steering the nation’s public history." apjjf.org/2025/8/ling

As we remember the 80th Anniversary of the End of World War II, see our special collection of "Critical Reflections" from a number of prominent scholars of East Asian studies. Look for a second batch of essays appears soon! apjjf.org/80th-anniversa…

Dive into contemporary Japan's world of performance, projection, & provocation with this special collection from Asia-Pacific Journal. Check it out: cup.org/4efwmRW #ContemporaryJapan #RelationalCreativity #AsiaPacificJournal #OpenAccess @apjjf

Fourteen years on from the Northeastern Japan Triple Disaster, see how scholars at @TohokuUniPR & the @NDLJP_en in Japan are collaborating with Reischauer Institute @Harvard to document & research the disaster & its aftermaths in the Japan Disaster Archive.apjjf.org/jda

On September 1, 1923, a powerful earthquake struck the Kantō Plain, toppling buildings and triggering firestorms throughout Tokyo and Yokohama. View our latest Special Issue on the long shadow the disaster cast over Japan in subsequent years. apjjf.org/2023/8/ToC.html

More than 25 years after my first visit, I've recently published an article on the long history of the Yushukan military museum at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. The article is open access with a large number of illustrations. 1/4 apjjf.org/2024/7/benesch

Together with Elizabeth Davis, @JunkoKitanaka, and @JimRaymo, I published a reflection on Hayakawa Chie’s dystopian film, Plan 75, in @apjjf. The film imagines a future in which the government offers citizens over age 75 the option to be euthanized. apjjf.org/2024/6/borovoy…

David McNeill and Nao Kato ask what role the media plays in public opinion toward the other in Japan-China relations. apjjf.org/2024/5/mcneill

This dialogue between Kevin Blackburn, Katharine McGregor, and Sachiyo Tsukamoto introduces the authors' recent books and highlights new research on Comfort Women from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Japan. apjjf.org/2024/5/blackbu…

Jessica Jordan questions U.S. military understanding and practice when it comes to bases in Guam and Okinawa, arguing that changing the way recent history is represented at U.S.-controlled public sites could catalyze meaningful change in local relations. apjjf.org/2024/5/jordan

Emily Cole shares a US military photographer’s private photos from the postwar Occupation of Japan, shedding light on the narratives they expose, and documenting not just the physical damage wrought by U.S. bombing raids but the human suffering as well. apjjf.org/2024/5/cole

Do words matter? Can they change the way we think and act? Ulv Hanssen warns they do, with the example of the history of the use (and non-use) of the term "hypothetical enemy" in Japan from the prewar period through today. apjjf.org/2024/4/hanssen

How do Indonesian Muslim professionals navigate the corporate workplace in Japan? Through in-depth interviews, Firman Budianto uncovers some of their motivations, challenges, and strategies living and working in a non-Muslim society. apjjf.org/2024/4/budianto