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Summary:

"Most Americans regard the postwar Occupation of Japan as a prime example of American magnanimity. They are blithely unaware of the prevailing Japanese myth that upon entering Japan, U.S. servicemen "engaged in an orgy of looting, sexual violence, and drunken brawling" and that during the first ten days of the Occupation there were 1,336 reported cases of rape in Kanagawa Prefecture alone. The myth goes further with claims that U.S. military officers demanded the Japanese government set up brothels for use by American troops and that when embarrassed officials in Washington, D.C., forced Occupation officials to close the brothels, the servicemembers went on a rampage, resulting in (according to official records) reported rapes of Japanese women skyrocketing from an average of 40 to 330 cases a day. The truth is that none of this happened. Nevertheless, large numbers of Japanese still believe these allegations. As the passions of war have faded, the currency of such stories has only grown, and they are now regarded by many as fact. This false narrative of mass sexual violence and the organized exploitation of Japanese women by American military forces is also widely accepted among historians of World War II and its aftermath. Brian P. Walsh, a Princeton-educated scholar, thoroughly debunks this false narrative in a brave and compelling book that reflects his in-depth research into both American and Japanese primary sources. Historian Ed Drea has praised Walsh's work on this topic as a "masterful refutation of perceived wisdom. It is original historical research and writing at its best and is a significant contribution to the study of sexual violence in a military context and to the U.S. occupation of Japan." Walsh sets the records straight, by showing that MacArthur's General Headquarters established women's rights on a more secure foundation than anywhere else in East Asia, provided a far safer physical environment than most other occupations, and all but eliminated endemic sexually transmitted diseases. These diseases ruined millions of lives, prematurely ending as many as five thousand per year, including those of more than a thousand children. The "Rape" of Japan is a long-overdue refutation and exposure of a relentless propaganda campaign that has persisted for more than seven decades. "-- [Provided by publisher]
"The book is a revisionist work that refutes and debunks narratives of the Allied Occupation of Japan (1945-1952) that have become dominant in the last few decades. These narratives posit that tens or even hundreds of thousands of Japanese women were victims of sexual violence at the hands of Allied personnel and that tens of thousands more were victims of sexual exploitation and human trafficking connived at or even organized by Occupation authorities. My book will convincingly demonstrate that tales of wide-spread mass sexual violence toward Japanese women during the Occupation are untenable"-- [Provided by publisher]

Table of Contents:

• GI behavior during the occupation of Japan and in comparative perspective
• "This degrading slavery" : GHQ and prostitution
• PHW's war on venereal disease
• "Hot and forcing violation" : war, rape, and the human psyche
• "The absurdity of history" : the American occupation as a denial of traditional Japanese masculinity
• Panpan literature : punishment, pornography, propaganda, and the foundations of a legend
• A new generation of mythmakers
• Conclusion: "The genius of an enraged people".

Author/Creator:

Walsh, Brian P. , author

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

Item content: English

Main Work:

The "rape" of Japan: the myth of mass sexual violence during the Allied occupation [by Walsh, B.P.]

Other Related Resources:

Print version: "rape" of Japan [by Walsh, B.P.] (Annapolis, MD : Naval Institute Press, [2024] — ISBN 9781682479308; LCCN 2023054956)

Subjects:

United States Army — General Headquarters

Soldiers — Sexual behavior — United States

Sex crimes — Japan — History — 20th century

Rape — Japan — Public opinion

United States — Foreign relations — Japan

Japan — Foreign relations — United States

Japan — History — Allied occupation, 1945-1952 — Historiography

General Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on July 08, 2024).

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Call Numbers:

DS889.16 .W35 2024eb

ISBNs:

9781682479315 (electronic book)
1682479315 (electronic book)
9781682479308 (hardcover) [Invalid]

Library of Congress Control Numbers:

2023054957

OCLC Numbers:

1428215426

Other Control Numbers:

EBC7304384 (source: MiAaPQ)
[Unknown Type]: ybp306409905