Thursday, December 06, 2012

BBC book for observers of right shift in Japan

The resurgence of nostalgic and militarism-prone nationalism among Japan's politicians, both young and old,'has long been detected. Now, there is also the observation that nationalism has spilled over into a segment of the Japanese society. 'Lawrence Rees' 'Horror in the East ('London, BBC, 2001') should probably be reprinted to enable younger generation of observers and analysts 'to watch the development with a historical perspective as well as insights of deeper-thinking people. In the book,'Rees attempts to answer one of the "most dramatic and important" questions on Japan''s militarism from 1937 to 1945 : Why did imperial Japan's troops commit "such monstrous acts of violence" against Chinese civilians and also Allied countries' 'prisoners of war ? That imperial Japan was on the Allies''side during WW1 (1914'-'1918) renders the question Rees attempts to answer even more intriguing.