Here in the States, this has in fact been under review continuously since 1945. Perhaps this is news to the average Japanese, just like the Bataan Death March and the Rape of Nanking.
Former President George W. Bush said during an ABC interview aired in December that the "biggest regret" of his presidency was the absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, for which the U.S. waged the war. His statement virtually acknowledges it was a war without a cause.
Strawman, but we shall proceed:
It's too late for regrets, but what about Japan? The Japanese government did support the U.S.-led war on Iraq, but it has now fallen silent as if the war is someone else's affair. Are we simply going to evade the issue by saying it was a decision by former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi?
If we are to maintain such an ambiguous attitude, we might as well accept the rise of people in the future who would say it was right for Japan to support the Iraq War. It is extremely important to determine how we perceive history.
You could start by telling your school kids the simple truth about World War 2 and the avanlanche of barbarism the Japanese militarists unleashed on the people of east Asia.
Turning to President Barack Obama, I admire him for aiming to abolish nuclear weapons as the ultimate global goal, and I expect a lot from him. Because of this respect, I want him to change the U.S. belief that justifies the atomic bombings of Japan, which has been upheld by successive U.S. presidents.
Barack can spout all the lefty talking points he likes, but he has no control over "American belief."
Atomic bombs are not conventional weapons. Radioactive substances that penetrate into human bodies harm tissue cells. Damaged cells keep making damaged copies. Atomic bombs bring fear to numerous generations to follow.
Bayonets and swords that penetrate into human calls also harm tissue cells, lots of them. Just ask the folk in Nanking.
Atomic bombs are diabolic weapons that should never have been used. I will keep saying this even after I go to the next world. Because they should not be used, they obviously should not be possessed in the first place.
See if you can persuade your friends in Tehran and Beijing, then we'll talk.
If President Obama is to make a step forward over a mere "change" in the presidency, and is willing to push for nuclear abolition, he should first review the justification of the atomic bombings. (By Chikahiro Hiroiwa, Expert Senior Writer, Mainichi Shimbun)
In the best Rantburg tradition, what is a serious subject like this without a little joke?
A tenth grade history teacher is frustrated with her apathetic class. She decides to turn it into a game.
"Ok, class, I am going to give you a quote from history; you give me a name and a year for it. Ok? Ready?" The class stares blankly at her.
"First one is 'Give me liberty or give me death!'"
All the kids sit there glassy-eyed except this little Japanese boy sitting right at the front of the class. He raises his hand and snaps, "Patrick Henry, 1771!."
"Good, excellent," says the teacher. "The next one is 'I have not yet begun to fight.' Who said that and when did he say it?"
Again, the American kids are clueless, but the Japanese youngster pipes right up, "John Paul Jones, 1778!"
This goes on for a while and the exasperated teacher gives up, but not without a lecture, "You know, I'm ashamed of you young people who were born here. We have this young man from Japan, I happen to know he's only lived here six months, and he literally knows more about your history than all of you put together!"
She turns to write something on the board and someone at the back of the room grumbles, "Just fuck them Japanese anyway!"
Enraged, the teacher spins around and demands, "Who said that? WHO SAID THAT!?"
An American kid calmly raises his hand and says, "Harry Truman, 1945." |