WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE?

5 QUESTIONS

- Why did Japan Plunge into the quagmire of the Sino-Japanese War?

- Why did Japan wage war with the U.S. in spite of a lack of resources?

- What caused the Japanese military to employ "kamikaze" attacks?

- Was it possible to prevent the devastation of the atomic bombs?

- Were there problems with the Tokyo Tribunal?

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" I believe it is our obligation as Japan's most influential newspaper to tell our millions of readers who was responsible for starting the Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War. We found not only high ranking government leaders, but also generals and admirals should shoulder the blame. Field officers often were more influential than even the Emperor, war ministers, generals and admirals in making decisions to go to and escalate the wars and were responsible for many atrocities. We hope our findings serve as a cue for peoples elsewhere to examine and explore what kinds of miscalculation or blind belief could trigger wars in the future."

-Tsuneo Watanabe, Editor-in-Chief, The Yomiuri Shimbun

"Some critics claim that Japan has not confronted its past as has Germany. Japan's Yomiuri newspaper has undertaken a bold project, the first of its kind in the Japanese intellectual community since the end of World War II. Yomiuri seriously probes the outbreak and prolongation of the wars of the Showa Era and examines the responsibility of many Japanese political leaders and high-ranking military officers, including some not tried in the Tokyo Tribunal, such as Prince Konoe. Yomiuri's scrutiny is pioneering, comprehensive and courageous."

-James E. Auer, Director, Center for U.S.-Japan Studies and Cooperation,

Vanderbilt University

About The Yomiuri Shimbun

Founded in Tokyo on November 2, 1874, The Yomiuri Shimbun is the world's largest daily newspaper. As of July 2006, its morning circulation reached 10,028,538 across Japan. With its worldwide news network, its timely and accurate news coverage, the paper is among the most respected media organs in the nation. In addition to its morning editions, it began publishing evening editions in 1931; established Japan's first professional baseball club, now known as the Yomiuri Giants, in 1934; launched an English-language newspaper, now known as The Daily Yomiuri, in 1955, and established the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. On Top of its extensive domestic news coverage network, it has 34 overseas bureaus in Bangkok, Beijing, Berlin, Cairo, Jerusalem, London, Moscow, New Delhi, Paris, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, Taipei, Tehran and Washington among others. For more information, visit http://www.yomiuri.co.jp

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"As a matter of conscience and integrity, the Yomiuri Shimbun has elected to publish the findings of their War Responsibility Reexamination Committee. The Committee undertook to determine where the responsibility lay for the aggression against Manchuria in 1931, for Pearl Harbor and the Pacific War that ended in Japan's defeat in 1945 and decimated a generation of Japan's brightest and best. The Yomiuri Shimbun hopes this study will help restore good relations with Japan's neighbors and prevent a similar occurrence elsewhere ever again."

-Henry A. Kissinger,
former U.S. Secretary of State, author of Diplomacy

"From Marco Polo Bridge to Pearl Harbor: Who Was Responsible?' adds a new dimension to our understanding of one of the most controversial issues in Asia today."

-Alvin Toffler,
futurist, author of Future Shock and co-author with
Heidi Toffler of Revolutionary Wealth

"I am very pleased that the Yomiuri Shimbun has undertaken an article series and book on the historical responsibility for the 'Showa War.' While I do not necessarily agree with all of the judgments and points of emphasis in them, I believe that it is extremely important for Japan to engage in a serious national debate on the origins, meaning, and responsibility for the war. The Yomiuri Shimbun has done an important service by initiating what I hope will be a prolonged, open, and frank discussion of this important topic."

-Francis Fukuyama,
author of The End of History and the Last Man, Director,
International Development Program, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University

"Many Japanese apparently prefer not to know what happened during the 'Showa War,' when the military forces of their country behaved in a manner that seems almost incomprehensible today. As a result, the matter of individual responsibility has hitherto been little discussed. This book earns our gratitude by squarely and honestly attempting to identify those guilty of decisions that brought death to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, in Asia and on the islands of the Pacific. Each major decision (or lack of decision) that contributed to the slaughter of a terrible war is chronicled along with the names of the perpetrators. This book deserves the attention especially of those who never knew or have forgotten the horrors of the long years of war."

-Donald Keene
author of Emperor of Japan: Meiji and his World, 1852-1912
professor emeritus at Columbia University

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