How Much Millennials in Japan Know about World War II (interview)

Do you know in which year the world war ended Around 1963 Around 1920 1945 You know do you know how it started I don't really remember I don't know how it started do you It probably started with the procurement of supplies like resources and materials The start of the war was something like the Tripartite Pact Germany and Italy were at war and Japan joined the alliance which changed things that's how it was do you know how it ended The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Japan and that was it Who was the main person responsible for the war the person in charge of the military at that time I don't know Tojo Hideki It's Hideki What was the name of the surprise attack Japan launched on Hawaii I think it was the Pearl Harbor attack It's the Pearl Harbor attack Do you think many Japanese people know about it Today's young people don't really talk about it do they The attack on Pearl Harbor Americans know about it don't they When people ask how Japan is I think a lot of people know Maybe they know just the name I think you probably have a general idea of the circumstances and when they happened but I think you don't know the details At my level this is something younger kids probably don't understand at all Maybe people studying for exams know about it Was it world history People who are studying Japanese history for exams probably know this I'm affiliated so I haven't studied much but just skimming the textbook isn't enough for me to really grasp it If we don't provide an opportunity for people of the grandfather and grandmother generation to speak I think they don't know much about it in detail but this is just the history I didn't study much you know I guess that's why I don' t understand If you studied in college that's how it is I'm studying Germanic history so even though I'm putting the Daniel World War aside a bit I think I have some knowledge about it People who aren't interested probably aren't very interested You don't usually talk about the war between old Japan and America I suppose you teach based on facts but students who hear it from there might ask why this happened and how to prevent it from happening again It doesn't seem like it's leading us to think that deeply you know Maybe because it's from a Japanese perspective it's definitely not beneficial for Japan isn't it American perspective doesn't really convey much I think it's more that it's not clear so in the end it just becomes a straightforward factual statement I think it doesn't go very deep Maybe if the teacher themselves isn't that interested it would just end up being a quick and casual thing like just flipping through the textbook pages It doesn't feel like I have to memorize that much in my opinion In the middle of a class session I feel like I'm being taught things based on exam scores and points systems like exchange rates and what is bad or good I think it's better to provide a bit more guidance in education rather than just giving them everything but instead having them think for themselves about what went wrong I think it's better to do it otherwise the country will end up full of people like me so I think it's a good idea It's not that it's lacking maybe it's just not that way yet I think it's not good to make it so white In Germany you often read from the materials in class I think that's the kind of class where you question the materials but I think Japan is still more about just teaching and there are a lot of students who just receive the information Sometimes I think I'm not enough but even so I've lost many things by not having the ability to criticize and I'm sorry It's unclear whether an apology was made or not I don't think it can be said that an apology was fully given There's not much of an image of an apology There's an image of being forced I don't think it really looked like they voluntarily apologized from their own side but I think they have certainly apologized enough by looking at textbooks Are they already here It's because of that Japanese census The census at that time was indeed What caused the war So I don't think it's entirely bad There is a historical background to it After all I don't think it's bad that everyone fought the war to make the Great Japanese Empire a reality but now we are living based on the lessons of our past failures I don't think pre-war Japan was all bad at all I don't think there was a sense of responsibility from the people involved It would have been bad for the people of the country that was a nuisance Because people from the old generation did things like this It's something that should never happen again you know Everyone probably thinks that I don't think it's something that gives us a sense of being directly involved