Conclusion: Capitalism and atmosphere

In this concluding chapter, Yoshimoto first reexamines the foundational significance of the idea of “postwar” (sengo) in official discourse and popular images of modern Japanese history. After discussing how the postwar regime and the system of permanent defeat are contested by the political right and left, respectively, Yoshimoto focuses on similarities between these diametrically opposite political positions with respect to their views on Japanese history since 1945. Yoshimoto then argues that the idea of postwar creates a critical impasse by delimiting the range of historical imagination and, more importantly, obscuring the pervasive effect of capitalism and neoliberal rationality.