Our Tokyo bureau chief, Barry Hillenbrand, has come to think of the Japanese as remarkably focused on the present and the future, in contrast to Americans' fascination with their history. So it struck him as unusual when the mayor of Hiroshima, in a speech last August on the anniversary of the atomic devastation of his city, apologized for Japan's aggression during World War II. The mayor's openness prompted Barry to take a closer look at Japan's attitudes toward the war and the West.
Hillenbrand requested an interview with former Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa to discuss his wartime experiences, and they made...
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