Date: 1945

Region: Asia

Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion

Medium: Print Journalism


Artist: Japanese writers

Confronting Bodies: The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP), the Detachment of Civil Censorship in occupied Japan.

Dates of Action: August 1945 through 1949

Location: Japan

Description of Artwork: Information that showed the social, infrastructural and medical aftermath of the atomic bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.

The Incident: The United States' occupation forces censored information that described the consequences of the atom bombs throughout the occupation of Japan, from 1945-1952. Domei, the central news agency supported by the U.S. occupiers, was suspended for suggesting that only "barbarians" would use such weapons.

Results of Incident: In April 1952, the first pictures of the bombs' aftermath were released in the magazine, Asashi Gurafu.

Source: Censorship, A World Encyclopedia, ed. D. Jones