BarkellWH -> RE: Late night shop drawings (Feb. 25 2015 6:29:24)
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quote:
I am not sure quite what you are getting at about Japan. They were an aggressive, dominant, militaristic culture that aped Western technology and structure in order to avoid being swallowed up by a far more aggressive civilization--and lost. It seems to me they could only apologize once their own values had been completely eradicated and replaced by those the victors consider suitable. It's probably rather hard for them to understand why those who fought the enemy with the ultimate intensity are labeled criminals, when it is only natural to regard one's country's defenders as heroes. Perhaps it still doesn't fully comprehend why the superpower on the other side of the Pacific saw fit to nuke two of its cities, firebomb the rest, and then demand apologies. Miguel, Japan began "aping" (as you put it) Western technology and structure during the Meiji Restoration beginning in 1868. It was an internally-driven dynamic designed to turn Japan into a power. At the time, and as it continued its industrial and military buildup during the first half of the 20th century, there was no "far more aggressive civilization" attempting to "swallow up" Japan. In fact, it was Japan that was militarily defeating, and in some cases "swallowing up," other countries long before WWII began: China in the Sino-Japanese War in 1894, Russia in the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-05, by 1910 Japan had conquered and made colonies of Korea and Formosa (Taiwan), in 1931 Manchuria, and in 1937 Japan invaded China proper. Do you actually believe that China, Korea, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and others who suffered under the brutality of Japanese aggression and occupation (the Rape of Nanking being just one of the more egregious examples) should not expect a full apology by Japan because the aggression and atrocities committed were simply a reflection of Japanese "values"? Remember, those countries suffered far more from Japanese aggression and occupation than did the United States, the attack on Pearl Harbor notwithstanding. As for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that has been well-covered in another thread on the Foro. I will only say that there is a big difference between using maximum force against an aggressor to end a conflict and the use of force by the aggressor in beginning it. You state that you are not sure "what I am getting at about Japan," and you do seem to have missed the main point of my post. It concerned why there are still "unresolved consequences of WWII" in Asia, far more than in Europe. I offered the possible reason being that Germany has more than apologized for its aggression and atrocities committed during the war. It has offered restitution and completely revamped its educational system to teach subsequent generations what happened and its part in those events. As a result, Germany has been fully integrated into Europe. Japan, on the other hand, has actually done very little in those areas, with weak apologies and a tendency to make excuses for its actions leading up to and during the war. In fact, there is a faction in Japan that continually pressures the government not to apologize and make restitution, claiming Japan was the "victim." That attitude does not sit well with other Asians who were victims of Japanese aggression and occupation. It is no surprise that Japan has not become fully integrated into Asia in the way that Germany has in Europe. Bill
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