Politics of the war and public history: Japan's own museum controversy

Abstract

As might be expected, the Japanese press has closely followed the controversy over plans to display the Enola Gay as part of an exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. When the museum curtailed its original plan to explore the effects of the atomic bombing on the ground, the Japanese media was quick to report the reactions of various public figures. Prime Minister Murayama Tomiichi, for example, expressed his regret at the change, which he deplored as an affront to the feelings of the Japanese people.