Abstract
In Japan, "the dream" of the "peaceful uses" of atomic energy was already being discussed in newspapers and books published immediately after the defeat. Censorship by the occupation after the defeat was lifted, and the brutality by the atomic bomb came to be widely discussed and pictured. In the mid-1950s, the experience of Bikini incident also raised public opinion against atomic and hydrogen bombs. Self-awareness as the international opinion leader in prohibiting the use atomic and hydrogen bombs, along with the memories of being atom-bombed, was a distinct characteristic of Japan's new national identity. At the same time, "the dream" of the "peaceful uses" of atomic energy was also believed to build a "science-oriented nation" and to support economic development after the defeat of Japan. Press reports that praised the "peaceful uses" of atomic energy while calling for atomic and hydrogen bombs prohibition without raising essential questions regarding the defeat of the war and atomic energy were probably consistent with such a mentality of the defeated nation.
