WSU’s Noriko Kawamura appears on ‘World War II with Tom Hanks’

The final two episodes of a History Channel World War II series that includes insights from a recently-retired Washington State University professor will be airing next week.

Noriko Kawamura, an emeritus professor with the Department of History, was interviewed for the documentary "World War II with Tom Hanks", which looks back on the 20^th centuries most devastating conflict.

Segments of interviews Kawamura filmed with the show's producers were included in several of the show's episodes:

• Episode 4 - Pearl Harbor
• Episode 14 - Long Road to Tokyo
• Episode 15 - Home Front
• Episode 17 - No Surrender
• Episode 19 - Endgame

Kawamura research focus is on the history of war, peace, and diplomacy in the Pacific World. She's written several books on the topic, including 2015's "Emperor Hirohito and the Pacific War," published by University of Washington Press. She's also contributed to several other documentaries, including Netflix's "World War II in Color", "24 Hours That Changed the World, which aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, the French documentary "la verité minute par minute,"

The first 18 episodes of the series are now available for streaming via the History Channel website. A trailer for the documentary series is below: