Event Report: Destruction from Above: Contemporary Socioeconomic Legacies of the Tokyo Air Raids
On November 3rd from 3:00pm- 4:30pm (EST) Daniel M. Smith, the Gerald L. Curtis Visiting Professor of Modern Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy at Columbia University, delivered a presentation about his forthcoming publication “Destruction from Above: Contemporary Socioeconomic Legacies of the Tokyo Air Raids.”
Professor Smith’s presentation began with the central research question: does war enhance or impede the long-term community level development of social capital? Examining the historical record, Smith hypothesized that while mobilization and collective-action efforts in times of warfare may strengthen the social bonds of citizens, catastrophic destruction may erase these ties. Smith went on to discuss the makeup of Tokyo neighbourhoods before World War II by using the presence of authorized neighbourhood associations, or chōnaikai, as indicators demonstrating high levels of community engagement. Smith used aerial photographs taken after the firebombing of Tokyo during World War II to measure conditionally independent micro-variation in neighbourhood destruction and examined the association with the present-day strength of neighbourhood associations. Smith also discussed American military goals that aimed to “send Tokyo back into the stone age” through campaigns of indiscriminate bombing.
Smith discussed how his study indicated that the most heavily damaged areas of Tokyo, even decades after the war, were less likely to have a registered neighbourhood association, experience lower socioeconomic performance, and realize lower levels of educational attainment among other indicators examined. Despite the rebuilding of the city along with population recovery, the varying levels of disrupted social cohesion “impacts residential stability to this day.” Smith concluded by stating that his findings have implications for not only understanding the long-term effects of destructive events, but also for aiming to prevent social inequities from taking root in the aftermath of future wars.
Following the presentation, there was a lively question and answer period. Smith answered questions about topics such as threats to causal identification, the changing role of American military strategy in the firebombing campaign, and the use of time-constant geographical characteristics in regards to the study’s methodology.
We would like to thank Professor Daniel Smith for sharing his important research, as well as the audience that was in attendance for an engaged Q&A session.
