Research On Japanese War Victimization Consciousness(1945-2015)

The Japanese consciousness of war victimization affects their attitude towards war responsibility,and the Japanese understanding of war history is an important factor affecting the trend of China Japan relations today.For more than 70 years since the end of the Second World War,the Japanese have been thinking about the issue of war responsibility from the standpoint of the victims,which is contrary to the historical facts of the Japanese as the perpetrators of the war of aggression,and also has a great dislocation with the war memories of the people of other war affected countries.At the same time,the issue of historical recognition has become a major obstacle in Sino Japanese relations.On the one hand,Japanese consciousness of war victimization is influenced by such objective factors as atomic bomb explosion and war experience.On the other hand,Japanese consciousness of war victimization can also be artificially shaped and constructed.Driven by the manipulation of Japanese political power and various factors after the war,Japanese consciousness of war victimization has risen to Japanese national consciousness and collective consciousness.This thesis examines the Japanese consciousness of war victimization in relation to Japan’s domestic politics and international situation at that time,discusses the evolution trend of the Japanese consciousness of war victimization,and analyzes various factors that affect the Japanese people’s consciousness of war victimization in different historical periods,which is of great significance to correctly understand the plight of Japanese consciousness of war victimization after the war.This thesis consists of introduction,four chapters of the text and concluding remarks.The introduction part mainly explains the basis of the topic selection,the significance of the topic selection,the research summary at home and abroad,the innovation points of the research,and the relevant concepts,which paves the way for the description of the text part.The first chapter discusses the generation stage of Japanese war "victimization" consciousness(1945-1951).At this stage,the Mikado’s "Rescript of the End of War" buried the foreshadowing of the Japanese consciousness of "victimization" in the war.The Japanese government’s "100 million total repentance" theory reversed the direction of Japanese thinking about war responsibility.The United States occupying forces put forward the "war responsibility concept of the director" to investigate the leaders of the Japanese military headquarters.Japanese nationals who suffered war damage and post-war economic difficulties were under the influence of the "war responsibility concept of the director",There is a general sense of "victimization" of the war deceived by the leaders,who consciously or unconsciously neglect their responsibility to participate in or assist in the war of aggression.In addition,the adjustment and transformation of the United States occupation policy against Japan has seriously affected the liquidation of the war crimes against Japan,which has put the issue of Japan’s war responsibility on hold for a long time,and weakened the consciousness of introspection and victimization of the entire Japanese nation.The second chapter describes the development stage of Japanese war "victimization" consciousness(1951-1991).At this stage,the post-war peace movement centered on Hiroshima developed rapidly,which virtually promoted the spread of the awareness of "victimization" of the atomic bomb;The cultural trauma and "victimization" consciousness inherited from their parents can be spread through family intimacy,affecting the moral evaluation of the war by generations after the war;The Japanese government also transmitted the war sufferings through the official memorial ceremony in an attempt to establish a national bond based on "victimization emotion".At the same time,the San Francisco Treaty adopted a lenient approach to Japan’s compensation policy,enabling Japan to once again escape the war responsibility and the accountability for compensation.After the signing of the San Francisco Treaty,the Japanese conservative government pursued the dual standards of internal and external differences on the issue of war responsibility in order to seek the status of a political power commensurate with its economic power.Under the double standards implemented by the Japanese government,the Japanese people pay more attention to their economic status and improve their living standards,and gradually forget their responsibility of "inflicting harm" to participate in and assist in the war of aggression.The third chapter describes the strengthening stage of Japanese war "victimization" consciousness(1991-2015).After the end of the cold war,Japan’s conservative forces rose.They used their power over national education,mass media,public opinion guidance and other aspects to strengthen the awareness of "victimization" of the war and cover up the responsibility of the war of aggression.Driven and strengthened by the right-wing conservative forces,the Japanese consciousness of "victimization" of war has risen to national consciousness and collective consciousness,while the consciousness of "victimization" of war has been constantly forgotten and died out over time under the impact of the Japanese conservative forces.The fourth chapter objectively evaluates the negative impact of Japanese war "victimization" consciousness.First,the Japanese consciousness of "victimization" in the war covered up the historical truth of the Japanese as the perpetrators of the war of aggression,resulting in the wrong historical understanding of the Japanese.Second,the Japanese war "victimization" consciousness is not conducive to the exchange and understanding between the people of China and Japan,and is not conducive to the peaceful and friendly development of Sino-Japanese relations.Third,the lack of awareness of the "victimization" of the Japanese war and the lack of awareness of the sufferings of the people of the invaded countries is the main obstacle to the development of relations between Japan and neighboring countries.In the concluding remarks section,a general summary of the entire text was provided,and personal opinions were elaborated on how the Japanese can establish a correct view of war history and form a comprehensive and correct understanding of war in the future.