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Iguchi, Takeo. Demystifying Pearl Harbor: A New Perspective from Japan. Translated by David Noble. Tokyo: I-House, 2010. 343pp. $60
This carefully researched book painstakingly corrects the diplomatic history surrounding Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. The author is a retired Japanese ambassador who was the young son of the Japanese counselor in Washington, D.C., on 7 December 1941. Unlike too many Japanese writers, Iguchi is no apologist for the sneak attack. Rather he objectively analyzes recently released empirical evidence that reveals the individuals truly responsible for delaying lawful notice to the United States about the coming attack. The fault did not rest with the embassy staff, as portrayed to the Tokyo war crimes tribunal, but with a conspiracy to...