By Mark Schreiber
Contributing writer
Aug 8, 2025
August in Japan is a month of remembrance, with ubiquitous references in print media and on television to World War II and its aftermath.
For many, remembrance begins and ends with the moment of silence observed nationwide at 12 p.m. each Aug. 15 — which this year will mark the 80th anniversary of then-Emperor Hirohito’s radio broadcast that brought the conflict to an end. Others will pay a visit to shrines or the cemeteries enshrining lives lost of family members and strangers alike. Precious few, however, will take a longer time to dwell on the realities of war, the circumstances of Japan’s involvement in the conflict and the consequences that, for some, continue to reverberate today.
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