This module consists of a detailed examination of the critical period in Japanese history from the end of the Pacific War through the U.S. Occupation between 1945 and 1952 and recovery in the 1960s and beyond. The lectures and seminars examine the following topics:

• Japan’s Road to War
• The Japanese experience of war and defeat
• The A-bomb in history and memory
• The ‘Allied’ Occupation of Japan
• The changing Japanese family
• Japan’s economic recovery in the 1950s and 60s
• The environmental costs of rapid economic development
• The Asia-Pacific War in Japanese memory and popular culture