The goal of this article is to explain the construction process of collective memory in "Lieux de Mémoire" from a journalistic perspective. Mass media plays a key role in constructing and disseminating collective memory discourses to the public. However, a few studies have crosslinked journalism theory and collective memory theory leading to"a deep hole in memory scholarship" (Zelizer 2014：33). This article attempts to fill in part of that hole.
From a journalistic perspective, "Lieux de Mémoire," such as museums and historical sites, are considered as news sources. When journalists consider a place to be a news source, it is repeatedly covered and widely disseminated through newspaper articles and TV programs so that it gains extra recognition. By sharing information about that place within media organizations and making routine coverage, the collective memory constructed by that place gains a position of privilege.
On the contrary, "Lieux de Mémoire" accepts media logic to improve its recognition through the process of being reported on, also known as "Mediatization." Well-known theorists (Esser & Strömbäck 2014) use this term to analyze politicians and political institutions. This article extends it to the "Lieux de Mémoire" analysis. These two aspects ("News Source" and "Mediatization") can determine the dynamics and interactions between journalism and "Lieux de Mémoire."
Following the theoretical approach, the article practically analyzes the process of constructing the memory of Kamikaze, focused on the Chiran Peace Museum. This museum is one of the most famous World War II-related sites in Japan. Therefore, several journalists have visited these sites and produced news related to it every August to commemorate the end of WW2 in Japan.
Chiran Museum encompasses the will of many Kamikaze pilots, testimony records from relatives and residents in Chiran city, and explanations of Kamikaze-related historical events. Journalists are required to check the credibility of news sources, and this public facility has been shown to be reliable over time. Some of the Kamikaze pilots have no relation to Chiran (such as the portrait of a pilot who took off from another location); however, many visitors consider all of the pilots in this museum to be Chiran-related. Therefore, journalists usually visit the museum and write articles based on the Chiran Museum's explanations. The Chiran Museum has become the reference point for the collective memory of Kamikaze pilots. We assume that the Chiran Museum was discovered by one journalist (Takagi Toshiro) as a "Lieux de Mémoire" and has been turned into a well-known sacred place of Kamikaze by many more journalists. In addition, the Chiran Museum exhibits and collects materials in line with media logic. In other words, the Chiran Museum has become a product of "Mediatization."
This analysis showed that a part of the process of constructing collective memory can be clarified by referring to journalism, which has not received very much attention in "Lieux de Mémoire" studies to date.
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