A native of China, Professor Yang graduated from Nanjing University and received his Ph.D. from Harvard University. His research interests include the Japanese empire, World War II, as well as memory and reconciliation. His book, Technology of Empire: Telecommunications and Japanese Expansion in Asia, 1883-1945, was published in 2011. His co-edited works include Communication under the Sea (2006) and Toward a History Beyond Borders: Contentious Issues in Sino-Japanese Relations (2012). In 2015 he was interviewed in the Shanghai Media Group’s documentary on World War II, Another Battleground.