Science, society, and the Japanese atomic-bomb project during world war two

Abstract

On January 7, 1978, the front page of The New York Times carried a headline reading “Japanese Data Show Tokyo Tried To Make World War II A-Bomb.” This is history as news—but history of a politically consequential sort nonetheless, although it can be used in different ways. It is of interest to students of science, technology, and the state who are concerned with arms control and anti-nuclear proliferation, for example. At the same time, it can be grist for the mill of anti-Japanese sentiment, which is grinding with increasing momentum now, for economic reasons, in the United States.