This is a study of Japanese affairs, highlighting the resemblences between wartime, postwar and contemporary Japan. The author argues persuasively that the origins of many of the institutions responsible for Japan's dominant position in today's global economy, derive from the rapid military industrialization of the 1930s, and not from the post-war occupation period, as is often assumed. The opening essay, The Useful War sets the tone for the volume by showing how much of Japan's post-war political and economic structure was pre-figured in the country's wartime organization. Dower goes beyond the stereotypes of Japan as a nation of fanatical warriors and economic miracle workers, to examine the tensions within Japanese society that have shaped its outlook toward the rest of Asia and the West. The essays also discuss the methods Japan and the West used to demonize each other during the war, which still influence their relations today.