To me as a kid ( born '49 ) in the fifties, The War was ancient history. WWII comics and TV dramas were prominent through the mid sixties, though, and I'm sure the comics, at least, used the term "Jap", as a matter of historicity. Honestly, I don't think it was a term of hatred, as I heard it, but simply an historical artifact. By that time the Japanese were being recognized as an economic rival, and I listened to "The Lion Sleeps tonight" on my SONY miniaturized transistor radio ( These were known as "SONYs" ) and felt I was part of the future.
After the war.. after Japan surrendered, they were hated. “Japs” was used as a derogatory label. The war in Europe was looked at in a light we don’t see today. even in peace time. The biggest Hollywood actors volunteered for service during WWII. The country was not divided, The Japanese people hated us also... having the bombs dropped on them was something that had not happened before, and it was not a pretty site.
My husband had 2 Asian men at our house in late 1970 (job related) and he took them to a local basketball game. Some high school kids asked my son, what were those Japs doing at the game. That was not in fun or ignorance.. that is what they were still called by some.
But Japan was smart. They took education seriously and changed Japan’s products from being cheap, to good quality.. and invested their schooling/training in electronics.
Today you’d never guess they were once considered poor and not up to standard. A friend in NY married an Asian girl and their young son can speak several languages as well as being very bright in everything, They do better than our public schools in America.