Japan - WTF?

[bobman0330]

Recently, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe asserted that there was no historical proof that the "comfort women," i.e., the women who served in Japanese military brothels during WWII, were coerced into being there. This has caused a scandal because there is a great deal of proof, including testimony from many of the women and soldiers, and government documents, all of which conclusively demonstrates that tens of thousands of women were kidnapped and serially raped.

Nor is this the first time Japanese officials have done similar things. The former PM regularly visited the Yasukuni shrine, which honors over a thousand war criminals. IIRC, there was also a controversy over the way Japanese textbooks described some of the events of WWII.

My question is why are Japanese officials behaving like this, and why is it tolerated? Aside from being morally repugnant, white-washing Japan's past really darkens the country's reputation amongst its Asian neighbors, particularly China and Korea (its number 2 and 3 trading partners). It seems especially futile when the general truth has been pretty well established by historians. Is this part of a revolt by a younger generation against the guilt of the past? Pure bull-headed chauvinism? Something else entirely?

[IQ89]

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My question is why are Japanese officials behaving like this

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I guess because of guilt, shame, humiliation, machismo, etc..


No Apology To American Indians

American Internment Camps

[jman220]

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American Internment Camps


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America has apologized for this, and a sitting U.S. president has apologized for this, and reparations have been granted for this. I"m not saying it wasn't an incredibly dark and stupid part of our history, but its not the same as Japan, which is not apologizing for its war crimes.

[AngusThermopyle]

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No Apology To American Indians

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Abe's stance would be similar to claiming that there was no evidence of coercion in the relocation of the Cherokee to the Oklahoma Territory.

[LinusKS]

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My question is why are Japanese officials behaving like this, and why is it tolerated?

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For the same reason Americans claim that nuking Hiroshima "saved lives."

[AlexM]

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No Apology To American Indians

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No one really denies what happened though. A better U.S. example would be the War Between the States. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Boris]

Who effing cares? Bad things happen in wars. Why dig up the past? Do you really think acknowledging "war crimes" will heal anyone?

[bobman0330]

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Who effing cares? Bad things happen in wars. Why dig up the past? Do you really think acknowledging "war crimes" will heal anyone?

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This is sort of my point, though. If the gov't of Japan was just refusing to engage in any discussion of the past, that would be sensible, if nothing else. But deliberately doing pointless and inflammatory things when it's such a sensitive topic in the region seems crazy.

[Phil153]

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Who effing cares? Bad things happen in wars. Why dig up the past? Do you really think acknowledging "war crimes" will heal anyone?


I'm not sure you understand the extent to which these things went on. The Japanese were brutal and evil, far beyond what they needed to be, and most of the younger Japanese generation don't know. Some of these people are around today as fathers, grandfathers, teachers, businessmen.

There was shock and surprise in the country some years back when "Blood Oath" was shown, a realistic and less than graphic depiction of Japanese atrocities during the war. Many young people could not believe their own country did such a thing, because they are taught a different version of history in their schools and museums. Many believe America was largely to blame for the war, and that the atomic bomb was the reason the US won. These people need to be violently disabused of this notion so they see the sickness that exists in their own society, their racism and their rituals.

American leaders made an unforgivable mistake not requiring a guilt clause in the surrender treaty. They had close to absolute power over the Japanese and should have crushed them when they had the chance.

Anyway, I suggest you read the articles below. The Japanese were as evil as the Nazis and committed atrocities on the same scale - genocide in the millions, brutal human experiments, rape camps..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_war_crimes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_731


******Edit:/Jman220Post Edited by Jman220. Calling an entire race "evil" or "the enemy" will not be tolerated. Warning Issued.

[fmxda]

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LOL @ the guy who mentioned the Japanese internment. These were fanatical, loyal members of an enemy race who held regular emperor worshipping ceremonies and had little integration with US culture. They were stationed next to important US bases and could have been a threat. The world wasn't racially integrated like it is today. And these people were treated very humanely.

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LOL @ you and your view of Japanese internment