What was life like for foreigners living in Japan during WWII?

It was really a living hell. Starting in the 1930s, neighbourhood groups were organized at the behest of the military that actively harried individuals who showed the slightest trace of Western culture. read more

During WWII, ethnic Koreans in the Korean peninsula had Japanese citizenship (more like forced to have Japanese citizenship). Without being a criminal, there was no imprisonment or forced labor for you (Koreans who remained in Japan after 1945 may claim otherwise, but it was wage work). read more

Most Americans fled Japan even before hostilities began. Many missionaries who had been stationed in Japan were moved to the Philippines, Singapore, etc, only to be captured and interned by the Japanese in the places where they had taken refuge. read more

Yamashita believes that his study of wartime life fills a critical void in American knowledge and understanding of the war. In the 1990s, he realized that what was missing from the English-language scholarship on modern Japan were the voices of ordinary Japanese during World War II. read more