WWII Japanese troops' PTSD revealed for 1st time at museum
The materials and items are a result of Japan's first national survey into the trauma experienced by Japanese soldiers. The exhibition opened on July 23 at the Shokei-Kan, a historical materials hall for wounded and sick retired soldiers.
Although the show is temporary to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, it is scheduled to become a permanent exhibit starting in February next year.
The existence of soldiers suffering from psychological conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was concealed during the war and remained hidden even in the years following the conflict.
However, families of former soldiers are increasingly giving testimonies about the effects of war trauma in recent years. This has attracted attention not only to the soldiers' personal suffering but also to the harm inflicted on their families, such as abuse by veterans struggling with unresolved mental scars.
In response to the testimonies of the soldiers' families, the government conducted research during the last fiscal year by collecting and analyzing medical records and personal accounts preserved in former military hospitals and other institutions.
The exhibition, titled 'soldiers with emotional wounds,' features stories of veterans who directed violence against family members even after the end of the war.
Akio Kuroi, representative of an association for families of Japanese soldiers with PTSD, which has long been offering testimonies, visited the exhibit on July 24.
He welcomed the new awareness, saying, 'The government has finally taken the first step.'
'There are still many former soldiers who have not been officially recognized as war-injured by the government,' Kuroi said. 'Their families continue suffering even now. A full-scale investigation must be carried out under the government's responsibility to uncover the reality.'
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