These days a simple but potent Japanese word is appearing in the media with inordinate frequency. It is hannichi, which means "anti-Japanese." An incident last month brought to mind an earlier era, when the word hannichi was also in common currency. Some words skip decades, returning to haunt the national consciousness.
Last month's incident involved a prestigious research body, the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), and a leading daily newspaper, the Sankei Shinbun. But before going into details, let's jump back, for a moment, to that earlier era.
The period in question covers the first two decades of the Showa Era, which began in 1926. Japan set upon a disastrous course that led to horrendous atrocities committed in Asia and the Pacific and untold destruction of the Japanese homeland. The horror emerged only after the fact. During that era, particularly in the 1930s, Japanese people were full of pride in their country: The vast majority gloried in the "spiritual health" and growing power of the nation.