seems like a lot is missing from this article especially the part about the atom bomb here's a few reviews from amazon com a fiercely nationalistic book every american should read august this book was a million seller in japan and was translated into english in the author was a promininet japanese politician the book is dated and history has not always borne out the author's views nonetheless anyone attempting to understand modern japan should read it some of the passages will be very surprising and disturbing author ishihara avoids the conventionally polite japanese protocol and forcefully states that japan is the equal of the united states that japan should have its own defense forces and strong ones that japanese computer technology is second to none and should be used as a negotiating tool and japan will be the most influential power in dealing with asian nations ishihara berates america for racism and contends that the atomic bomb was not used on germany because germans were white and japanese were yellow he asserts that nations colonized by japan have been far more successful following liberation than those colonized by the united states the book exemplifies the growing trend toward national pride in japan and also forcefully addresses the feeling by many japanese that their nation is misunderstood plainly the sentiments in the book foretell a troubled period in japanese american relations and remind us that the japanese have not forgotten hiroshima any more than america has forgotten pearl harbor ishihara's call for a constructive dialogue between the two nations is well taken otherwise the future looks cloudy at best very highly recommended even if slightly dated emblematic parochialism and obscure nationalist rage september i read this book in the cia translated version as a senate aide concerned about the rise of japan which included as co author one of the leaders of sony morita while interesting for scholars as i glanced thru this version which is watered down but still white hot with anger i was struck at how far off base the predictions of the man seem today afterall when it was written japan was at the crest of the bubble economy it appeared as if japanese computer chips and its electronic industries would confer great power on the country they could refuse to sell components that went into us missiles and the us was in a now unimaginable phase of self doubt as such the way things have turned out after nearly years of stagnation and the rise of high tech manufacturer competitors elsewhere reveal the author to have been so badly mistaken regarding the trajectory that japan would take as to be laughable in a deeper sense it points to the fact that ishihara did not understand the economic forces at work at the time and so was full of utterly baseless nationalistic bravado japan's economic rise was based upon the post war reconstruction boom then a relatively protected economy that allowed huge undustrial combines to band together as cartels gouging their won consumers to sell at low prices abroad to gain marketshare and crush competitiors and lastly to a number of significant management innovations tqm just in time manufacturing etc that are reflected in the fact that they make excellent cars however it was basically a follower economy making products that have become commoditized by cheaper manufacturers elsewhere in asia just as its innovations became widely emulated and corrupted by the money generated in real estate speculation that eventually collapsed in a deflationary spiral meanwhile its political reforms have been weak at best and senselessly nationalistic at worst ishihara understood none of this and casts no light on any of it of value instead he drags out pre wwii arguments about the innate superiority of the japanese character and similar rather ugly arguments he is also appalingly loose with the facts for example he claims that the us bombed japan but not germany with the atom bomb for racist reasons japanese were yellow germans were not but if you know a minimum of history which isihara apparently doesn't you would realise that at the time of the german defeat april the bomb was not yet completed it was first test detonated the following july the book is full of this kind of sloppiness what he does succeed at however is expressing the resentment that parochial japanese nationalists felt at the time in retrospect his arrogance appears as breathtaking as it is ignorant but his anger and resentment and what they reflect of japanese attitudes is very real indeed seen this way the book is one long crypto racist rant japan has a long way to g