Origin
These interdisciplinary symposiums on the long-term effects of Japan’s traumatic experience of the Second World War began as a Study Group initiated in 2019, by two psychiatrists, Dr Eugen Koh, an ethnic Chinese-Australian psychiatrist and psychotherapist, with a special interest in trauma, and Dr Tadashi Takeshima, Chairman of the Japan Liaison Committee for Mental Health. They had discussed the War and its impact regularly over the 10 years that they worked together in various mental health projects in Japan. In May 2019, a small workshop on Traumatised Community and Mental Health -Trauma caused by the Second World War, was held in Osaka, and a follow-up workshop took place in Tokyo in September that year. Plans for another workshop in June 2020 was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.
In 2021, Eri Nakamura (historian, Hiroshima University) , Kenta Awazu (sociologist, Institute of Grief Care, Sophia University), Shigeyuki Mori (psychologist & psychoanalyst, Konan University) who took part in the first two workshops, and later, Kenji Kawano (Social psychologist, Ritsumeikan University) joined Eugen Koh and Tadashi Takeshima in forming a committee to organise the first series of interdisciplinary symposiums to explore the long term effects of Japan’s World War 2 trauma. Carrie Cheng, who works under Dr. Koh in Melbourne and is an Australian psychiatrist fluent in Japanese (University of Melbourne), has also joined the team. Furthermore, Kuniko Muramoto (Ritsumeikan University) and Takemasa Matsunaga (Osaka University) joined in 2023, followed by Luli van der Does (Hiroshima University) and Yuuka Ooka (Mukogawa Women’s University) in 2024.
These five symposiums include 1) Japan’s experience of the War; 2) Japan’s Response to the War; 3) Trauma and Positionality: Japan as Victim and Perpetrator of the War; 4) What are the long term effects of the War? 5) Understanding the Whole Picture. These symposiums successfully explored many issues about before, during and after the War and set the foundation for future symposiums to address its specific long-term effects that remained today. The outcomes of the symposia have been published in both Japanese and English.
The aim of these, and future, symposiums is to increase well-being and harmony in Japan, and peace with its neighbours. This work will take many years to accomplish its aim. These symposiums do not assume any political position. Participants are encouraged to help maintain a safe supportive space for respectful discussion and dialogue.
Commitee Member
Eugen Koh
St. Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne/Senior Fellow, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne
Tadashi Takeshima
Chairman of the Japan Liaison Committee for Mental Health/Director of Kawasaki City Inclusive Rehabilitation Center
Shigeyuki Mori
Professor, Faculty of Letters, Konan University
Kuniko Muramoto
Professor, Graduate School of Human Science, Ritsumeikan University
Kenji Kawano
Professor, College of Comprehensive Psychology, Ritsumeikan University
Kenta Awazu
Visiting Research Fellow, Institute of Grief Care, Sophia University
Luli van der Does
Associate Professor, The Center for Peace, Graduate Schoo of Humanities and Social Sciences, Horoshima University
Yuuka Ooka
Associate Professor, Depertment of Psychology and Social Welfare
Eri Nakamura
Associate Professor, Department of Humanities, Sophia University
Carrie Cheng
Royal Australian and New Zealand Psychiatry Trainee
Takemasa Matsunaga
Doctoral Candidate, Graduate School of Humanities, Osaka University