August 15th marks 80 years since Japan's unconditional surrender, highlighting ongoing debates about World War II narratives known as 'history wars.' Domestic discussions in Japan feature rising far-right groups minimizing Imperial Japan's wartime brutality. China, North and South Korea recall their suffering under Japanese occupation, impacting international relations. Hiromichi Moteki, of the Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact, advocates for recognizing Japan’s war dead while facing historical denialism and revisionism. Organizations like Moteki's actively promote a sanitized version of history to global audiences.
"There are very few people alive today who experienced the war in any of these countries, but I do not think they will ever stop talking about it because it is an effective tool with which to bash Japan," said Hiromichi Moteki, chairman of the Tokyo-based Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact, which promotes an alternative narrative of Japan's actions during World War II.
"They want to claim the moral high ground over Japan, but all we want to do is have the right to remember and honor our war dead and teach our younger generations the history of the nation," he told DW.
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