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No one in Asia will get over it. Here are other examples in the world where history is used for political expediency purposes: Spain with Gibraltar, Argentina with the Falkland Islands, Cuba with Guantánamo Bay, etc. Those are the ones that immediately come to mind. I doubt the governments in either of these countries actually give a crap, but they are major political boosters when a government is floundering in the polls. 99% of people don't care and they are back burner issues.
Well, might I add that I would feel differently if the Japanese as a nation had more courage to do what the Germans did as far as contrition for the war in concern. But the japanese are not Germans, and there lies the problem.
I suppose the issue wont be resolved anytime soon. And as China grows stronger, japan cling ever more desperately to the US for fear of Chinese reprisals. It's a sad way to live for japan. It will always be a little pawn of the US. I guess this arrangement serves American interests too.
Well, might I add that I would feel differently if the Japanese as a nation had more courage to do what the Germans did as far as contrition for the war in concern. But the japanese are not Germans, and there lies the problem.
I suppose the issue wont be resolved anytime soon. And as China grows stronger, japan cling ever more desperately to the US for fear of Chinese reprisals. It's a sad way to live for japan. It will always be a little pawn of the US. I guess this arrangement serves American interests too.
I don't know about that. Japan has been gradually growing and strengthening its military, and the US is actually an obstacle to them doing that. If the US just walked away from the situation, they would arm up right quick.
I don't know about that. Japan has been gradually growing and strengthening its military, and the US is actually an obstacle to them doing that. If the US just walked away from the situation, they would arm up right quick.
Right. The US doesn't want t leave. By being an ally to japan and stationing troops on Okinawa, the US is actually either "protecting" or "watching over" japan. Take your pick. Plenty of japanese nationalists are demanding that japan break free of the American "protective yoke" and for japan to become a "normal" country (ie re-arm). Might I add that japan already has plenty of US hardware, but much of the really important technologies it cannot make, due to the US oversight. So the US is actually there to keep japan confined in some ways. I don't think the US really trust japan.
If you look at history, aside from a very brief and limited war in Korea, China has never really posed a major threat to the US. Japan on the other hand, has demonstrated plenty of ambition to achieve great power status, and it had no qualms about using any methods, including sneak attacks, to achieve its goal. If I were a US policy maker, I would have far more misgivings about japan's ambition than China's need for a "backyard" like the SCS or the ECS.
China is like a big grass eating water buffalo. It grows strong and lumbers along and looks for new grazing ground. So long as you treat it with respect and allow it room to graze, it will never attack you. Japan is a meat eating leopard. It might purr for you now and then because you are a strong master, but it can lash out and turn you into lunch when you're weak or not paying attention. That's essentially the difference between the two nations.
Koreans will still dislike Japan even if this issue is finally "resolved".
Almost every Korean dislike the Japanese government for a large number of reasons.
That issue was only part of the friction between Korea and Japan. At its root is the bigotry as the reason the Japanese behaved that way in the first place--which has not changed within the Japanese.
Right. The US doesn't want t leave. By being an ally to japan and stationing troops on Okinawa, the US is actually either "protecting" or "watching over" japan. Take your pick. Plenty of japanese nationalists are demanding that japan break free of the American "protective yoke" and for japan to become a "normal" country (ie re-arm). Might I add that japan already has plenty of US hardware, but much of the really important technologies it cannot make, due to the US oversight. So the US is actually there to keep japan confined in some ways. I don't think the US really trust japan.
If you look at history, aside from a very brief and limited war in Korea, China has never really posed a major threat to the US. Japan on the other hand, has demonstrated plenty of ambition to achieve great power status, and it had no qualms about using any methods, including sneak attacks, to achieve its goal. If I were a US policy maker, I would have far more misgivings about japan's ambition than China's need for a "backyard" like the SCS or the ECS.
China is like a big grass eating water buffalo. It grows strong and lumbers along and looks for new grazing ground. So long as you treat it with respect and allow it room to graze, it will never attack you. Japan is a meat eating leopard. It might purr for you now and then because you are a strong master, but it can lash out and turn you into lunch when you're weak or not paying attention. That's essentially the difference between the two nations.
The eyes and the stare of that cat look just like a samurai's eyes when he is about to behead someone, or commit seppuku....creepy.
Quite frankly, given China's recent suffering at the hands of foreign aggression and specifically japanese aggression (like the fate of the gazelle), I am not surprised by China's feeling toward japan, nor by China's need for a strong defense and control of both the ECS and the SCS as security buffers against future aggression. Chinese nukes are also totally understandable.
Not just that, but the idea that Japan can "buy off" its crimes against humanity is outright ridiculous. For the Koreans, who are a proud people, to accept this "deal" is a real humiliation. How much hush money should you get if you were raped? That's essentially the question here, and the Japanese are paying hush money to the korean rape victims.....pretty disgusting. $8 million is a pretty stingy figure too.
China is very smart. There is absolutely no monetary value that can be placed on Japan's war crimes against China. No amount of "regret" will do either. But the value of using Japanese war crimes as historical lessons to unify the Chinese people and to guarantee almost 100% public support for any sort of Chinese action against japan on any issue is priceless. Japan will carry this weight forever.
To me, this begs the question: what could Japan do to atone for its crimes during World War II that would be acceptable in the eyes of China and Korea? How "sincere" must the apology be? (And yes, I do think that Japan needs to offer an apology as sincere as the deepest of human contrition can make it; I'm not at all concerned about their fears of "losing face" or whatever it is that has held them back from being more forthright.) How much compensation is enough?
Seriously, I'd like to know: what can Japan do to gain forgiveness -- if anything?
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