Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire

Author: (British) Badi / Xu Lina / Yue Yuqing
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-05-01
Features: This book uses concise language and newly released rare color photographs to vividly and incisely recreate the rise and fall of the Japanese Empire: from its emergence onto the historical stage in 1854, its invasion of China, the sudden attack on the United States in 1941, to its complete defeat in 1945. The photographs include kamikaze pilots, Emperor Hirohito's visit to Britain, the Pearl Harbor attack, Japanese suicide bombers, troops praying for victory, Allied prisoners of war forced into hard labor, and many more images of Japanese military operations, aircraft, and tanks. The book narrates the historical background and process of Japan's war from different perspectives. This helps to understand why Japan launched the war and why the Japanese resisted to the bitter end. The book also reveals why the Japanese government has been reluctant to acknowledge its war crimes during World War II and why it conceals the facts of aggression in textbooks. On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the victory in the anti-fascist war, we use this book to reflect on the profound disaster brought to the Chinese people and humanity by Japanese imperialism, serving as a warning against the recurrence of such war tragedies. The powerful images collected in this book vividly demonstrate the rise and fall of the Japanese Empire: from the expansion in the 19th century, the invasion of China, the rise of militarism in the 1930s, early successes, to the complete defeat in 1945. Many letters and diaries of Japanese officials and civilians, along with incisive narratives, present us with a rare story: What drove Japan to wage war? Why did Japanese soldiers refuse to surrender in many brutal battles? How were anti-militarist movements within Japan suppressed? How did Japan move toward defeat and ultimately surrender? This book tells the story of those who launched the war. The storytellers are the witnesses of this war—guilty and innocent, the architects of the crime and their followers, the victims and the conquerors.