This summer, as Japan marks 80 years since the end of World War II, the media has been filled with reports, feature stories and analyses revisiting the conflict’s devastation.

These include accounts of the Japanese military’s conduct on the battlefield and the memories of atomic bombing survivors.

These are histories that must be handed down to future generations. Yet for those of us in the press, there is another legacy we cannot overlook: the role journalism itself played in stoking wartime fervor.

In 1942, The Asahi Shimbun organized the art exhibition of the Greater East Asian War, mainly showcasing war-themed paintings by celebrated artists such as Tsuguharu Foujita (1886-1968) and Saburo Miyamoto........

© The Asahi Shimbun