The Prime Minister’s apology had no official meaning. Good for him to offer anything at all, but I believe the victims were looking for official recognition of the crimes done to them. In this regard, Japan lags far behind Germany. Japan also glosses over it worst atrocities in its own history books, so kids growing up there today honestly have no idea what really went on. We expect that kind of revisionist history from communists and authoritarian regimes, but from Japan? Surely they can do better than that! Also Japan was not decimated by the atomic bomb, either literally or figuratively. You’re right of course that they were “forced” to build a new government. Poor them! Those lousy Americans forced them to have democracy, taxation with representation, equal rights for women, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, etc. Damn those Yanks! 
Maoman, this description of Japan, while common, is only half right. The vast majority of Japanese are aware of their imperialistic history. In fact, the many members of Japan’s radical teacher’s union teach about this history even if it is not in official Ministry of Education textbooks. I know you are Canadian, so some of my critique of this problem may not be relevant to you, but this position is hypocritical. Huge numbers of Americans are ignorant of even basic facts of their own history, much less world history. And in Taiwan, I have met graduates of the former vocational school system who could not accurately tell me who had won the First World War. Even after almost 2 decades of democracy, Taiwan schools continue to teach ‘national geography’ and demand such knowledge on important examinations.
While it is true that Japan could and should do much more to raise awareness of this aspect of their history, and Germany can be held as a model of how this could be done, criticisms of Japan often understate the difficulty of doing so.
What difficulties are you referring to. Japanese citizens won’t overthrow the government if it officiail admits to their WWII actions.
It would also smooth over relations with SK, Taiwan, HK, Philippines, and PRC.
Seems like a win-win situation to me.
I think all our govts should do more to make up for the crimes of their predecessors, including of course my homeland, Ol’ Blighty. We have much more to apologize for than Japan, but most Brits, thanks to our own history books, will tell you that we were always on the side of ‘right’ or ‘good’.
It’s an international problem, one that is not exclusive to Japan, and I can understand why foreign govts are reluctant to apologize and compensate for their heinous policies of old when countries such as the United States and the UK have not done so for theirs.
[quote=“Stray Dog”]
It’s an international problem, one that is not exclusive to Japan, and I can understand why foreign govts are reluctant to apologize and compensate for their heinous policies of old when countries such as the United States and the UK have not done so for theirs.[/quote]
cough SLAVERY cough
If you’re going to bomb the hell out of someone’s country because of the actions of their government, at least you could say “I’m sorry” to the people of that country after you win.
Um, so you’re saying that every country in history needs to apologize for slavery before Japan has to apologize for its crimes? Sweet! Let’s start with Egypt. Those Pyramids weren’t built on contract labor.
Um, so you’re saying that every country in history needs to apologize for slavery before Japan has to apologize for its crimes? Sweet! Let’s start with Egypt. Those Pyramids weren’t built on contract labor.[/quote]
They were patriots. 
Actually, many scholars question the popular assumption that the pyramids were built with slave labor (and it is just an assumption). There appears to be decent evidence to the contrary. 
Um, so you’re saying that every country in history needs to apologize for slavery before Japan has to apologize for its crimes? Sweet! Let’s start with Egypt. Those Pyramids weren’t built on contract labor.[/quote]I think he’s just pointing out to some of the US’s old crimes. Don’t mind him, he’s just another mindless US-basher. 
bobepine
[quote=“ScottSommers”]Maoman, this description of Japan, while common, is only half right. The vast majority of Japanese are aware of the facts of history related to their imperialistic history. In fact, the many members of Japan’s radical teacher’s union teacher about this history even if it is not in official Ministry of Education textbooks. I know you are Canadian, so some of my critique of this problem may not be relevant to you, but this position is hypocritical. Huge numbers of Americans are ignorant of even basic facts of their own history, much less world history. And in Taiwan, I have met graduates of the former vocational school system who could not accurately tell me who had won the First World War. Even after almost 2 decades of democracy, Taiwan schools continue to teach ‘national geography’ and demand such knowledge on important examinations.
While it is true that Japan could and should do much more to raise awareness of this aspect of their history, and Germany can be held as a model of how this could be done, criticisms of Japan often understate the difficulty of doing so.[/quote]
Good points, Ssommers, and true.
Maoman, one thing that is hardly ever mentioned in the media stories is that Japan has apologized about as much as they are ever going to apologize, at least in this generation of leaders, because according to various treaties at the end of the war, Japan is not financially liable for the comfort women issues, so it’s all a financial deal now. They can not admit any more than they have, in terms of apology and payments, because if they did it would open a host of lawsuits that would never be able to pay for.
So it’s all about money. The papers never say that. Ask any Japanese.
Of course, the Japanese leaders should apologize more, like the Germans did, but SSommers makes some important points.
The only thing i have to add to this is that it’s all about money now, and that is why the Japanese set up a private nonprofit firm to offer payments to the comfort women survivors, and many rejected it because for their own political reasons they want the money to come from the Japanese government itself, but that will NEVER happen.
It’s all about “interests”, and unfortunately it all revolves around $$$$$$$.
Most ordinary Japanese know what happened then, and feel very sorry and sad about it. THEY KNOW. But they do not control their government, it is NOT EVEN A DEMOCRACY, LDP thugs have run it for 50 years and 100 rich families control the entire country.
Thank you Cola, for pointing the often missed key ingredient of this problem. A little off topic, but equally misunderstood, is the issue of Yasukuni Shrine. Visits by Japanese politicians to Yasukuni often raise international protests because the shrine contains the remains of several convicted war criminals from WWII. This is true, and I personally am not entirely comfortable with the idea of politicians visiting the shrine. On the other hand, Yasukuni is the national resting place for the remains of all Japanese war dead. The remains of 2.5 million soldiers are entombed there, including dead from domestic conflicts such as the Satsuma Rebellion , the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, the First World War, and the Manchurian Incident.
Wikepedia provides an interesting list of the wars that contributed to the souls entombed in the shrine and how many deaths each contributed. It also gives a great description of the history of shrine’s controversy.
Has Japan ever officially apologized to each and every country it invaded? Or just some? None at all?
I’m not familiar with all the aspects of this debate, but whenever I read bits and pieces about this, I always get the impression Japan hasn’t come out and given full, unrestricted apologies to the nations and peoples it devasted. Even if most Japanese people are aware of their imperial past, it seems to me that excluding it from their textbooks is wrong. I’m American, and when I grew up I learned all about the horrors of slavery, just like every other American schoolchild. I’ve read that Germans grow up learning about the horrors of the Nazi regime. It seems improper that Japanese schoolchildren don’t learn about their dark past in school.
I don’t think any one is claiming that Japan is a model of war reparations. I’m sure we can suggest all kinds of ways they can do a better job than they already have of appeasing the victims of their war aggression. The main points that Cola and I are trying to make is that many of the common beliefs about Japan, the Japanese people and their relationship to the war are completely false. Despite this, they are continually cited as reasons for why there is something not quite right going on in the place.
While you may be informed about the horrors of American imperialism, the reality of American awareness is quite different. Honestly, many Americans can
France is on a map?!
Is was announced in yesterdays Marianas Variety (Saipan) that the Japanese are wanting to build a large memorial to Japanese WWII dead at Banzai Cliff. No plans to build a memorial to the Chamorro people the japanese used as slave labor to build defenses and then massacred.
[quote=“ScottSommers”]While you may be informed about the horrors of American imperialism, the reality of American awareness is quite different. Honestly, many Americans can
[quote=“Comrade Stalin”]
Tens of thousands of Americans managed b [/b]to find Omaha Beach in Normandy. In case you don’t know, that’s in France.]
Maybe thanks to the brits ? 
[quote=“SHARLEE”][quote=“Comrade Stalin”]
Tens of thousands of Americans managed b [/b]to find Omaha Beach in Normandy. In case you don’t know, that’s in France.[/quote]
Maybe thanks to the brits ? [/quote]
Well…the UK does make for a good pit stop before going on to the continent.
I’m a little confused by the meaning of CS’s remarks. I have no doubt there are some Japanese who believe all kinds of things about the War, just as there are Germans who continue to believe that the Holocaust never happened. It would be ridiculous to argue that Americans are generally well-informed about the rest of the world. It may make Americans as a group feel warm and fuzzy about themselves to believe this, but it is simply nonsense. And certainly, typical Americans are no more informed about their imperialistic history than typical Japanese.
Please tell us about America’s empire.