On the 80th summer since the war, a book has been released to serve as a clue for the younger generation to learn about war and think about peace. From the invasion by Russia to ongoing conflicts, it explains things gently using manga and illustrations, and a reprint was decided even before its release.
“We Don’t Know War: What You Can Do to Eliminate Injustice Around the World – Handy Edition” (Gakken) was supervised by a military commentator well-versed in Russian and Ukrainian affairs, who is also an associate professor at the Center for Advanced Science and Technology Research, and was released on July 10.
Originally published last year for school libraries, it was released as a handy edition (¥1,760 including tax) following responses from teachers and others. It explains themes such as “Why do wars happen?” and “Is it okay to forgive countries that started wars?” in simple language.
The project was proposed by a 32-year-old employee at the company. The trigger was a sense of crisis felt in February 2023, one year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as people’s interest in Japan was waning. There was also a realization that the imagination toward people in war zones and the “sense of war” felt when watching news reports greatly differs between their generation and the grandparents’ generation who experienced war.
The Challenge of “Conveying What’s Wrong, Directly”
In creating the book, war…
