Media advisory: Scholar on modern Japan can comment on Obama's visit to Hiroshima

LAWRENCE —Barack Obama on Friday will be the first U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, the Japanese city destroyed by a U.S. atomic bomb in 1945 during World War II.

A University of Kansas researcher who studies modern Japan is available to discuss the significance of Obama's visit and how Hiroshima and World War II still influence life in Japan today.

Benjamin Uchiyama, assistant professor of history, researches history and memory of World War II in East Asia and modern social and cultural history of wartime Japan. He is currently working on a book project, "Carnival War: A Cultural History of Wartime Japan, 1937-1945," which explores the intersection of imperialism and mass culture through five media constructs during the Asia-Pacific War.

"National memories about the Second World War have become more rigid and politicized in recent years, "Uchiyama said. "But I think President Obama's visit to Hiroshima is an important signal to the Japanese people that these historical narratives can change in ways that cut through powerful nationalist forces."

He said recent examples of these changes involve Obama and the Japanese public sharing deep concerns about nuclear weapons proliferation, which has created a small political opening for a U.S. president to visit Hiroshima. Also, the recent example of the "comfort women" issue has expanded from Korean or Japanese historical debates into a rallying cry for various global movements to use international law to criminalize wartime sexual violence against women, Uchiyama said.

To arrange an interview with Uchiyama, contact George Diepenbrock at 785-864-8853 or gdiepenbrock@ku.edu.