CODE IN TOKYO

There Is One Set of Facts, But Countless Truths

I was watching a history-related video on YouTube.

The person speaking was a scholar who actually studies history, so at least compared with the questionable history videos I often watch just to pass the time, this one seemed more reliable.

The topic turned to the Japanese military during World War II, and then to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

There was one interesting point in the discussion.

Apparently, the former Japanese military studied past military history and used it as a reference when planning operations. That much sounds normal. The problem was the content of the “military history” they were using as reference material.

Some old records of battles in Japan were written much later, during periods such as the Edo era, as stories rather than strictly factual accounts. In other words, some of the material included episodes whose historical accuracy was questionable.

They studied historical surprise attacks and then considered operations such as the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The scholar joked that, in modern terms, it would be like reading a historical manga such as Kingdom and using it to plan a military operation.

If you imagine a military planning meeting where people are referring to Kingdom, it is easy to think, “Well, no wonder Japan lost the war.”

Of course, that is only half serious. It was not the main point of the program, just a short aside.

The View Changes From the American Side

When you look at the attack on Pearl Harbor from the American side, however, the evaluation changes again.

Naturally, in the United States, it is strongly remembered as a treacherous surprise attack. But as a military operation, it was sophisticated. The attack itself caused serious damage and made an immediate American counterattack difficult.

I believe it was in a commentary by General Norman Schwarzkopf, who commanded forces during the Gulf War, that I once heard an assessment along these lines: if the United States had made peace at that point, then strategically speaking, Japan would have won.

Of course, in reality, the United States did not make peace.

If we look only at the final outcome, Japan was eventually defeated by an overwhelming difference in national power.

But the Japanese-side view that the attack on Pearl Harbor was a reckless operation and the view that, militarily, it was a highly effective surprise attack are both describing the same event.

It is not that one of them is completely false.

They are simply looking from different positions.

One Fact, Many Truths

There is only one set of facts.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese military attacked Pearl Harbor.

That does not change.

But the story becomes completely different depending on whether we see it as a treacherous surprise attack, a bold military operation, or an operation that ultimately contributed to failure in the wider war.

People can look at the same thing and reach completely opposite evaluations.

There is one set of facts, but countless truths.

That is why history is interesting. And it is probably why the most dangerous thing is to watch one YouTube video and think, “Now I know the truth.”

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