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Delaying Repatriation: Japanese Technicians In Early Post War China, Rowena G. Ward

Faculty of Arts - Papers (Archive)

Research on the Japanese living in Manchukuo in August 1945 has generally fostered the assumption that all Japanese there wanted to return to Japan as soon as possible. Yet, some made the conscious and voluntary decision to stay, at least for the short to medium term. Among those who chose to delay repatriation were a number of technicians employed by Mantetsu’s (South Manchurian Railroad Company) Ch¯uo Shikenjo. This paper looks at the political and personal realities faced by these technicians when making their decisions as whether to stay or leave in terms of the concepts of voluntary and involuntary repatriation. …