A Place for Apology: War, Guilt, and U.S.-Japan Relations

In A Place for Apology, author Shu Kishida examines America's foreign policy strategies with Japan. The author contemplates whether or not Japan is America's satellite nation, a question on the mind of many Japanese. Professor Kishida contends that the problematic pattern of American denial and repression of guilt led to an unsuccessful American occupation of Japan after World War II and the disastrous effect of the Tokyo War Tribunal on the Japanese psyche. Japan, as the author sees, suffers from a self-deluded "inner-outer split," which has invited American mistrust. A more balanced relationship is needed to fill the perception gaps between the two nations and resolve longstanding diplomatic tensions. This book, translated by Yukiko Tanaka, offers several intriguing new views for those who contemplate the American-Japanese historical quagmire. In addition, it sheds light on the complexities of the U.S. occupation of Iraq.