Japanese Representation in Philippine Media

Abstract

The Japanese are often depicted in as one of the countries worst villains in Filipino history textbooks despite the fact that they were in the Philippines for only 3 years, while Spanish colonial rule lasted almost 400 years, and the Americans, 40 years.

However, when we look beyond formal education, at images of the occupation period in movies, memoirs, television shows, and other forms of popular media, different views of the Japanese often emerge. Instead of demonizing them, a number of accounts seek to distinguish “good” and “kind” Japanese from their “brutal” or “evil” compatriots. Popular Filipino accounts of the war thus convey complex and often contradictory images of Japan.

This chapter aims to present how the Japanese were represented in the Philippine children’s literature in the present, when relations with Japan have gradually softened. The findings of this investigation illustrate the evolution of Filipino images of the Japanese and the factors affecting these representations.