This completely individual and very interesting account of the uses of propaganda in Japan concludes with the observation that it would be historically naive to pretend that Japan had changed overnight after its defeat in World War II. After all, Japan has had a very long history of socially mobilizing its people.
"Propaganda helped unite Japan in its bid to modernize in the prewar era, and the importance of such activity did not fade after the surrender. Japan lost the war, but through determination and careful application of propaganda it did not lose the nation."
Propaganda itself is interpreted differently in Japan and in the West. Even now the common term "senden" has connotations different from "publicity," which is often thought its English equivalent. Abroad, "publicity" is not generally thought well of and "propaganda" has become a dirty word. In Japan, however, as the author tells us, few Japanese viewed propaganda as a necessary evil; instead, it is defined as "a desirable tool for keeping society unified and on the track toward modernization."