War Criminal in Reluctant Manchukuo Complex: The Japanese Civil Servants in Manchuria

This article aims to shed new light on how former Japanese civil servants reflected on their experiences in Manchuria after their return to Japan following their incarceration as 'war criminals' by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It explores how they transitioned from their initial idealistic perceptions of Manchukuo to more critical reflections on their own roles as a result of the process of 'thought reform' they underwent at China's war criminal management centers (WCMC), before eventually returning to partially positive affirmation of their contributions in Manchukuo upon returning to Japan. This process of transformation in their understanding of their wartime memories highlights the tensions they navigated in their dual role as both state-builders from a foreign power and defenders of the civil administration against the ambitions of the Japanese Kwantung Army. Furthermore, their lack of frontline participation in the war also shaped their post-war reflections on their careers in Manchukuo. Collectively, these phenomena point to a distinctive 'Manchuria complex' among Manchukuo's Japanese civil servants, arising from a liminal self-positioning—othered against the Kwantung Army in the prewar years and, upon repatriation, against fellow members of Chūkiren (中帰連)