Early Schooling
Textbooks
American textbooks are significantly longer than Japanese textbooks. Out of all textbooks analyzed, pages concerning nuclear weapons in American textbooks totaled over 100 pages, whereas the pages collected in analyzed Japanese textbooks were just over 20 pages (see information about specific textbooks below).
American textbooks tend to use more description compared to Japanese textbooks that featured plain language discussing the war and the introduction of nuclear weapons. As such, American textbooks featured colorful language to describe and narrate events.
Example from American Pageant:
“Japan’s fanatics forgot that whoever stabs a king must stab to kill. A wounded but still potent American giant pulled itself out of the mud of Pearl Harbor, grimly determined to avenge the bloody treachery.”
Assuming students are even assigned the whole textbook in the United States (which is uncommon), the majority of students are likely not to read the whole textbook. This is important since students might not learn the finer points of nuclear policy after World War II, especially the future of arms control (e.g., Reagan SALT and SALT II accords). More research is necessary to determine how educators in the United States present nuclear weapons issues post the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
In both countries, public schools typically give very little attention to nuclear issues. Private schools in both countries can choose to focus more attention on this issue.
Japanese and American textbooks discuss completely different nuclear treaties and international conferences. Japanese textbooks discuss global peace and nuclear disarmament far more than American textbooks which focus on US-Soviet relations and their nuclear treaties. The majority of Japanese textbooks discussed the World conference against atomic and hydrogen bombs, Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and the Treaty On the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). None of these are mentioned in the American textbooks. American textbooks discuss SALT I/II, APM, and INF treaties. Only one Japanese textbook mentioned the INF treaty. American textbooks are the only ones that mention the Manhattan project and attempt to justify the bomb/the land invasion option.
Moreover, the Japanese death count varied widely, but the American textbooks were much much lower than the Japanese textbooks.
Japanese Textbooks: 210-340K
Only one out of the seven textbooks analyzed did not mention the death count. Only one textbook mentioned Hiroshima death toll statistics.
Range of Hiroshima death toll: 140-200K
Range of Nagasaki: 70-140K
American Textbooks: 100-260K
Though all textbooks mention a death count, Unfinished Nation says that 100K died in Nagasaki and at least 80K died in Hiroshima. This is unusual because the vast majority of official estimates found that significantly more people died in Hiroshima compared to Nagasaki and all other textbooks say more people died in Hiroshima compared to Nagasaki.
Range of Hiroshima death toll: 60-200K
Range of Nagasaki: 40-100K
Comparison to official estimates of death toll:
Bulletin of Atomic Scientists: 110-210K
A majority of American textbooks don’t mention the Soviet Union invading Japan and why that matters (broke the soviet-japan neutrality treaty)
American Textbook Narratives:
Untangling Facts
from Mythos
American textbooks contain mixed messages on the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some such as America Past and Present offer the common historical justification that the U.S. government dropped the bomb to save American soldiers from a land invasion. Some textbooks also limited the description of the human toll of the bombing to a death statistic. America Past and Present gives only 100k for Hiroshima and Nagasaki and doesn’t mention the long-term effects of the bombing nor does it discuss the hibakusha who died after the immediate bombing.
Other books present more nuanced descriptions that explain political complexities in the U.S. and Japan given the fog of war. Some include more detailed descriptions of what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki immediately after the bombing (detailed as in it acknowledges radiation poisoning). Only one, From America: Narrative History, discusses the on the ground experience of the bomb. It is the only textbook in either country to go in-depth.
Many Americans justify the bombing by saying that the bomb needed to be dropped to stop a land invasion that would kill tens to hundreds of thousands of soldiers’ lives. This is built on a long education that furthers this narrative.
All American textbooks mention that a land invasion was the alternative to a nuclear bomb, but only two textbooks specifically mentioned that there were other options (America Past and Present and A People And A Nation).
America Past and Present notes that diplomats suggested negotiating for peace.
A People and Nation discuss the possibility of detonating the bomb on an uninhabited Pacific island, blockading and bombing Japan conventionally, follow up on Tokyo peace feelers, or encourage Soviet entry into the Pacific.
A People and Nation and American Pageant are the only textbooks that acknowledge that Americans were aware that Japan was sending out peace feelers.
These alternatives, while unlikely under Truman and Stimson, are important to acknowledge because they point to alternative responses to Japan.
But only one textbook (Out of Many) points out that Truman’s claim that he saved half a million soldier’s lives isn’t backed by any evidence. Out of Many also mentions an intelligence document that said that even without the bomb, Japan would have capitulated once the Soviet Union entered the Pacific.
Source: American Pageant, pg. 792-793
American textbooks used:
American Pageant (15th Edition)
Unfinished Nation
America Past and Present (8th Edition)
Out of Many A History of the American People (Not pictured; no cover)
America’s History (8th Edition)
A People and A Nation (3rd Edition)
America: A Narrative History (9th Edition)
Note: These textbooks are hundreds of pages long and, assuming students are even assigned the whole textbook (which is uncommon in the United States), most students won’t read the entire book. Burchfield and Sappington (2000) found only about a third of students complete reading assignments. These textbooks were compiled by the American Textbook Council as the most widely-read AP level history textbooks in the country. Textbooks are usually chosen by the school district. There is no limited, nationwide list of official textbooks schools can use so there are actually dozens of options.
Source: A People & A Nation, top panel pg. 830; bottom panel pg. 795
But only one textbook (Out of Many) points out that Truman’s claim that he saved half a million soldier’s lives isn’t backed by any evidence. Out of Many also mentions an intelligence document that said that even without the bomb, Japan would have capitulated once the Soviet Union entered the Pacific. Three of seven textbooks mention the Soviet invasion. Out of Many is the only American textbook to explicitly state that it was likely that Japan would have surrendered upon Russia’s entry into the pacific. This is in sharp contrast to the 6/7 Japanese textbooks that mention the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and how that was one of the major reasons for Japanese surrender. This difference makes it seem as though (on the American side) Japan only surrendered because of the nuclear bomb. Unfinished Nation is the only book that does this without mentioning the Soviet invasion of Manchuria at all and concludes with saying that the nuclear bomb was the reason why the war ended.
Japanese textbooks were significantly shorter than American textbooks. The pages in these books that mentioned nuclear issues totalled about 23 pages. This means that there is less context but it’s more likely that students will read the whole book.
Most of these textbooks were approved by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) (meaning they are official textbooks that can be used in school). The textbooks selected were selected based on which publishers were the most popular in Japan (Yamakawa) and popular unofficial textbooks students use.
Japanese textbooks are typically dry and to the point. There is rarely any deviation in language. One exception is 新選 日本史B 文部科学省検定済教科書 [2 東書 日B 310] (Japanese History B) which states in a caption that “[Hiroshima and Nagasaki] lives were stolen”. This is an important point that a MEXT-approved emphasizes the stolen nature of these lives.
Surprisingly, only three out of seven Japanese textbooks mentioned radiation poisoning whereas six out of seven American textbooks mentioned radiation poisoning.
Five out of seven Japanese textbooks discuss the Soviet invasion of Manchuria.
新選 日本史B 文部科学省検定済教科書 [2 東書 日B 310] (Japanese History B) explains that “ Kantaro Suzuki's cabinet, which had expected the Soviet Union to mediate peace negotiations, turned a blind eye to the declaration. The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, hoping to end the war quickly and gain an advantage in an anticipated post-war conflict with the Soviet Union. On August 8th, the Soviet Union declared war, violating the Japan-Soviet Neutrality Treaty, and began invading Manchuria, Korea, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands.”
Japanese Textbooks Used:
新選 日本史B 文部科学省検定済教科書 [2 東書 日B 310]
English: Newly selected Japanese History B Textbook approved by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology [2 Tosho Nihon B 310]
詳説日本史B 81 山川 日B301 文部科学省検定済教科書 高等学校 地理歴史科用 (81山川日B301)
English: Detailed Japanese History B 81 Yamakawa Nihon B301 Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology approved textbook for high school geography and history department (81 Yamakawa Nihon B301)
新しい社会歴史 [令和3年度] (中学校社会科用 文部科学省検定済教科書)
English: New Social History [2021] (Textbook approved by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology for junior high school social studies)
詳説世界史B 改訂版 [世B310] 文部科学省検定済教科書 【81山川/世B310】
English: Detailed World History B Revised Edition [World B310] Textbook approved by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology [81 Yamakawa/World B310]
詳説日本史研究
English: Detailed Japanese history research
新もういちど読む山川日本史
English: Yamakawa Japanese History to read again
一度読んだら絶対に忘れない日本史の教科書 公立高校教師YouTuberが書いた
English: A Japanese history textbook you'll never forget once you read it, written by a YouTuber who teaches at a public high school
Source: 新もういちど読む山川日本史 (Yamakawa Japanese History to Read Again)
Japanese Textbook Narratives: Untangling American Influence from National Trauma and Memory
None of these textbooks described the formation of the Manhattan Project nor did they discuss the land invasion argument used in American texts. However, all of these textbooks discuss the American Occupation of Japan.
Six out of seven textbooks discuss various nuclear disarmament movements that sprang up as a result of nuclear weapons. They mention the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the TPNW, the World Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs. One textbook (詳説世界史B 改訂版 [世B310] 文部科学省検定済教科書 (81山川/世B310) (Word History B Yamakawa) discusses a movement in Pugwash, Canada urged by scientists such as Einstein. Many of these link the hydrogen protests to American hydrogen bomb tests that caused fishermen on the Daigo Fukuryū Maru (a Japanese boat) to suffer from fevers, nausea, and blisters. One of the fishermen died as a result, sparking international protest. 2 American textbooks discuss the significance of this event (Out of Many and A People and Nation).
Sources: Bottom - From 新選 日本史B 文部科学省検定済教科書 [2 東書 日B 310] (pg. 232) ; Top -From 新しい社会歴史 [令和3年度] (中学校社会科用 文部科学省検定済教科書) (Social History) (Pg. 259)
After World War II, the U.S. occupation of Japan significantly changed the Japanese educational system. In a report written in 1945 by an American-sponsored education mission described the Japan’s educational system as insufficient: “although Japanese people are loyal to the state and are good family members, when they are among the crowd and away from home, they lack a sense of public morality, have a weak sense of responsibility and are not trained appropriately to keep rules and to collaborate with others. That is because individuality is not well developed. Therefore, “The new education of Japan must fully develop each person’s individuality” (“Peace Education”). In the immediate aftermath, much of the information about nuclear weapons and what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was censored.
Three out of seven Japanese textbooks mention Japan working with Moscow to discuss peace. For instance, from 新もういちど読む山川日本史 (Yamakawa Japanese History to Read Again) : “However, the Japanese government, which had hoped for peace to be achieved through the mediation of the Soviet Union, initially took an attitude of killing the Potsdam Declaration.”
Some scholars argue that this led to an Americanization of Japanese education (Crawford, 2003). This resulted in some Japanese textbooks to have a more critical lens of the Soviet Union, perhaps as a result of American influence on the country. Today, Japanese textbooks are largely uniform in how they discuss nuclear weapons and the devastation it wrought in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the decades immediately following the bombing, A-bomb education in Nagasaki was initially not supported by the city board of education. Thus, nuclear education was started informally by teachers who experienced the bombing. The city board criticized these efforts, describing it as, “ biased outside the scope of the course of study” (Ishikawa, 2020). In 1978, in response to a conservative lawmaker’s request, the city board of education stated that “education about peace should not be based on the atomic bombing” (Ishikawa, 2020).
Tsuyoshi Yamakawa, a hibakusha and former teacher, said that it was probably because politicians wanted to suppress anti-nuclear thoughts that lead to anti-US policy. The city had a reversal in 1995 when Mayor Ichicho Ito started holding an annual lecture about his experiences with the bombing and wrote and published the first 平和長崎 (Heiwa Nagasaki or Peace Nagasaki textbook). Nagasaki uses textbooks specifically designed to discuss nuclear weapons in their schools (Ishikawa, 2020). Recent reforms have included discussing the lives of foreigners imprisoned in the city. Every May to July, all students attending public elementary and junior high schools listen to lectures about the experiences of hibakusha.
In comparison, peace education in Hiroshima has dealt with less resistance. Every year, Hiroshima has newly hired teachers from kindergarten to high school undergo peace education training where they hear from a hibakusha and visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (“Teachers from Hiroshima trained in Peace Education”, 2023). In 2013, Hiroshima began a peace curriculum for all elementary, junior high, and high schools (“What was the Problem with Barefoot Gen?”, 2023).
Part of the curriculum included excerpts of Barefoot Gen, a historical manga that is loosely based on the experiences of its hibakusha author Keiji Nazakawa. This manga has sold over 10 million copies and the Japanese government distributed English copies of this manga at a meeting regarding the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).
In 2023, the Hiroshima city board decided to remove Barefoot Gen from its curriculum on the grounds that some actions such as Gen stealing a carp may “cause misunderstanding” (The government allegedly did not want theft to be justified, and to reveal the serious plight and shame children were subjected to after the attacks. Barefoot Gen was replaced by the story of a woman who lost her family to the bomb and her daughter telling her story (“Barefoot Gen Canceled”, 2023). Modern focus on Japanese textbooks usually focuses on the uneven discussion of the enslavement of Korean women with some critics saying that Japan seeks to portray themselves as a victim due to nuclear weapons while ignoring their activities in Korea and China.
Still shot from Barefoot Gen Source: Streamline Pictures