Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Bikini: Teaching U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy in Japan

One of the greatest challenges facing the American historian in Japan is how to present the U.S. decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in particular, and American nuclear weapons policy generally. At Temple University Japan (TUJ) in Tokyo, I have had the opportunity to grapple with this sensitive issue in several different classes. This paper will compare and contrast the methods and sources used and student composition from the 1993-1996 period with the 2005-2007 era. This presentation will focus on three crucial events: the August 6 and 9, 1945, atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the March 1, 1954, “Bravo” hydrogen bomb test in the Pacific.

To successfully teach this topic required learning what most Japanese students knew and did not know about the Bomb. Demonstrating knowledge of Japanese perspectives on the Bomb was crucial to winning student confidence. In class we also used primary sources to examine U.S. decisionmaking regarding the Bomb, and analyzed popular songs to assess the Bomb’s impact on American culture—both subjects not well known in Japan. This approach complicated the common perception that all Americans supported the decision to use nuclear weapons. Moreover, these techniques allowed me to emphasize the fundamental principle that studying history reveals that there is more than one way to interpret the past. Visits to museums containing material artifacts from the early nuclear age confronts students with the stark consequences of U.S. nuclear weapons testing.

In some ways teaching this topic has become easier as many more primary sources are available online. Yet, it has also become more difficult as the percentage of non-Japanese students attending TUJ has significantly increased, challenging the professor to address a more diverse student body.