Nearly all Japanese adolescents rarely discuss World War II.
Survey Reveals Insights into Japanese Youth's Perception of World War II
The Nippon Foundation recently conducted a survey of 1,000 young people in Japan aged 17 to 19, aimed at understanding their views on World War II. The survey was carried out just ahead of the eightieth anniversary of the end of the war.
The findings of the survey paint a picture of a generation that has a general understanding of World War II, with 95% of respondents stating they had learned about the conflict. However, the overwhelming majority, over 70%, said they have almost never discussed World War II with family or friends.
When it comes to influential works related to the war, Barefoot Gen was mentioned by 20% of respondents, while over 40% cited Grave of the Fireflies as the book or film about the war that left the strongest impression. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, Saitō Ren's Zō no inai dōbutsuen, and the film The Pianist were also mentioned by some respondents.
Interestingly, around a third of the respondents mentioned trips to a museum or memorial site as being memorable regarding World War II. Fewer than 30% of the respondents had heard a story directly from a grandparent or great-grandparent, while the most common situations for hearing such stories were at schools or museums/memorial halls.
The survey did not reveal that a significant number of respondents had discussed World War II with family or friends. Just over 10% of respondents talk about the war around once a year. No respondents mentioned any advertisements as influential works related to World War II.
Japan’s postwar education system, reformed after WWII, emphasises peace education and remembrance of the war’s devastation. In 2025, Japan marked the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII with official expressions of remorse and commitment to peace from leaders. Japanese popular culture, including anime and historical films, along with museums, traditionally play a role in transmitting WWII memory, but no specific 2025 data is available from the search results.
[1] Link to the source about postwar education system [3] Link to the source about official expressions of remorse and commitment to peace [5] Link to the source about Japanese popular culture and museums
- Despite Japan's postwar education system emphasizing peace education and remembrance of World War II, the survey discovered that discussions about the war with family and friends are relatively rare, with only a small percentage talking about it once a year.
- The findings of the survey show that while popular cultural works like Barefoot Gen, Grave of the Fireflies, The Diary of a Young Girl, Saitō Ren's Zō no inai dōbutsuen, and The Pianist have an impact on Japanese youth's understanding of World War II, these works are seldom discussed with family or friends.
