HOUSTON – (Aug. 10, 2020) – Aug. 14 marks the 75th anniversary of the announcement of Japan's surrender to the Allies in World War II, effectively ending the deadliest conflict in history.
Sayuri Guthrie Shimizu, professor of history and the Dunlevie Family Chair in History at Rice University, is available to comment on the significance of the anniversary, United States-Japanese relations since the war and origins of the U.S.'s permanent military presence in postwar Asia.
"V-J Day 75 years ago marked the starting point of permanent U.S. presence in East Asia and the lead-up to the two wars the U.S. fought in Asia after World War II," she said.
Guthrie Shimizu is a historian who specializes in U.S. relations with the wider world, with a particular emphasis on U.S.-East Asian relations since the mid-19th century. Her research interests include the history of U.S.-Japanese relations, comparative colonialism, the trans-Pacific world, sports in international relations and global governance. Her current book project examines the rise and transformation of management regimes of international ocean resources (particularly fisheries) in the North Pacific in the first half of the 20th century.
Other books by Guthrie Shimizu include “Transpacific Field of Dreams: How Baseball Linked the United States and Japan in Peace and War” (2012) and “Creating People of Plenty: The United States and Japan’s Economic Alternatives, 1950-1960” (2001).
To schedule an interview with Guthrie Shimizu, contact Jeff Falk, director of national media relations at Rice, at 713-348-6775 or jfalk@rice.edu.
-30-
This news release can be found online at news.rice.edu.
Follow Rice News and Media Relations on Twitter @RiceUNews.
Related materials:
Sayuri Guthrie Shimizu bio: https://history.rice.edu/faculty/sayuri-guthrie-shimizu
Photo link: https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/news-network.rice.edu/dist/c/2/files/2015/08/0805_VJDAY.jpg
Photo credit: thinkstockphotos.com/Rice University
Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,962 undergraduates and 3,027 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 4 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.