By Guan Zhaoyu
As Japan commemorated the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, absurd claims such as "Japan was never hit by atomic bombs" and "nuclear radiation caused no harm" suddenly proliferated across Japanese social media, drawing widespread public attention.
Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) conducted a fact-check and issued a warning, noting that some related videos had garnered more than 300,000 views. Videos created using generative artificial intelligence (AI) that clearly contradict the actual circumstances of the atomic bombings were also circulating online.
On August 6 and 9, 1945, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were struck by atomic bombs respectively, a fact long established by an extensive body of historical archives, physical remains, and survivor testimonies. An issue that should never have been controversial as a matter of basic common sense is now, 81 years later, being repackaged as a "controversy." It is a striking example of the "boomerang" effect of historical revisionism, ultimately backfiring on Japan itself.
The emergence of this "boomerang" stems first and foremost from a long-standing pattern of selective historical memory in Japan. Since the end of World War II, a historical narrative highlighting Japan's "history of victimhood" while downplaying its "history as an aggressor" has persisted in the country. This incomplete historical memory repeatedly recounts the suffering of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and emphasizes the pain endured by the Japanese people during the war, while deliberately downplaying why Japanese militarism launched the war and the immense suffering it inflicted on China and other Asian countries. When history is selectively fragmented over a prolonged period, later generations can easily lose the ability to understand the full chain of cause and effect behind the war.
Second, right-wing forces in Japan have long promoted historical revisionism, effectively opening a Pandora's box in which "facts can be reinterpreted". On issues such as the Nanjing Massacre, "comfort women", and forced labor, some Japanese right-wing forces have for years manufactured so-called "historical controversies" by quibbling over numbers, substituting one concept for another, and magnifying details. Over time, this can foster an extremely dangerous pattern of thinking: any historical fact that does not conform to one's own position can be questioned or even rejected. Today, the testimonies of other Asian victims can be disregarded; tomorrow, the testimonies of Japan's atomic bomb victims can likewise be called into question.
Lastly, social media and generative AI are giving historical disinformation new "megaphones". In the past, distorting history required publishing books, fabricating materials, and constructing complex narratives. Today, an edited video clip, a few AI-generated images, and a sensationalized headline can reach an audience far larger than serious historical research ever could. If a society lacks even the most basic education in historical facts and media literacy, the more absurd and contrary to common sense a piece of content is, the more likely it is to spread rapidly through algorithms that favor high-engagement content.
This online farce directly erodes Japanese society's ability to understand the history of the war. If even basic facts repeatedly substantiated by extensive archives, physical remains, and eyewitness accounts can be arbitrarily repackaged as conspiracy theories, what is undermined is not merely a particular conclusion, but society's very ability to distinguish fact from falsehood.
A deeper and more alarming impact is the erosion of the historical foundation underpinning Japan's post-war pacifism. The catastrophic memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki should serve to remind Japanese society to cherish peace and oppose war, while also providing an important warning against the resurgence of militarism. However, if even the memory of the wartime devastation Japan itself suffered begins to be eroded by disinformation, what will ultimately be hollowed out is the social consensus that "Japan must never go to war again".
This impact extends beyond Japan's borders. To this day, East Asia continues to feel the real-world effects of unresolved issues left over from World War II, and perceptions of history directly affect political mutual trust between countries and public sentiment. Japan demands that the international community respect the memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki while at the same time tolerating rhetoric that denies or whitewashes its history of aggression. Such double standards make it difficult for Japan to truly earn the trust of its Asian neighbors.
History is not a script that can be edited or selectively rewritten to suit immediate political needs. Once the weapon of historical distortion is forged, there is no containing its potential to backfire on those who created it. Absurd claims such as "Japan was never hit by atomic bombs" provide a revealing mirror. What Japan truly needs to see is not just how absurd online rumors can be, but, more importantly, how dangerous historical revisionism itself is.
(The author is an expert on East Asian affairs at China Youth University of Political Studies)
Editor's Note: Originally published on china.com.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.