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Are you serious? You honestly think that the US should apologize to North Korea for the Korean War? Have you ever read a single history book? Do you know anything about that war?
I think he want us to go to Kim Jong Il or whatever his name is and praise him for what a workers paradise he has converted North Korea into.
I am never suprised on what I read in this forum anymore.
I think you'll find the Japanese more honest and reflective about its past militarism than the United States is about its current and past military adventures.
I second the recommendation of the book Embracing Defeat by John Dower. It's essential reading for anyone looking to understand the development of post-war Japan and its outcome today, and it has many interesting parallels to the US's own military worship.
Should the Americans be responsible for Japan's lack of atonement for her wartime past?
America killed between 3-4 million Japanese during WW2. We leveled every major city, not to mention using the A-Bomb on them twice.
Beyond that, everyone responsible for the events which caused WW2 is long dead; the only remaining veterans today were very young grunts and conscripts at the time who had no say in Imperial Japan's policies and decisions.
I think you'll find the Japanese more honest and reflective about its past militarism than the United States is about its current and past military adventures.
Really? You think Japan has been honest and reflective about WW2? Really?!?
Read Iras Chang's "The Rape of Nanking", focus on the last paragraph "The Forgotten Holocaust: A Second Rape", then come back and comment and revise your statements as needed.
Really? You think Japan has been honest and reflective about WW2? Really?!?
Read Iras Chang's "The Rape of Nanking", focus on the last paragraph "The Forgotten Holocaust: A Second Rape", then come back and comment and revise your statements as needed.
Rereading my comment you'll see I said "more honest and reflective than the US". You don't find too much thought given to the human victims or damage wrought in Vietnam, Laos, or Cambodia when the US mourns the Vietnam War, do you? Not much criticism of US militarism and imperialism now, either, with every other commercial saying "for the troops" this and "support our warriors" that. Hell, even a newspaper article in my hometown paper about anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing brought out racist reader comments completely devoid of humanity or sympathy.
The Japanese response is less than perfect, less than complete, but it's clearly problematic when Americans tell Japanese how to interpret history.
Rereading my comment you'll see I said "more honest and reflective than the US". You don't find too much thought given to the human victims or damage wrought in Vietnam, Laos, or Cambodia when the US mourns the Vietnam War, do you? Not much criticism of US militarism and imperialism now, either, with every other commercial saying "for the troops" this and "support our warriors" that. Hell, even a newspaper article in my hometown paper about anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing brought out racist reader comments completely devoid of humanity or sympathy.
The Japanese response is less than perfect, less than complete, but it's clearly problematic when Americans tell Japanese how to interpret history.
As I said in a previous post in this thread (and I hate reruns, particularly in the same thread) - American's are almost self-obsessed about the sins (preceived or actual) of it's past, to such an extent that even the OP is blaming America for lack of Japan's atonement. Also, again as I said in a previous post in this thread - go to a Japanese based history forum and see how much Japanese war crimes from WW2 are being discussed.
But really the issue isn't Japan vs. US, but Japan vs. China regarding the sins of WW2. I just got back from 2 weeks in Shanghai/Suzhou, PRC (second trip of the year, and ironically my flight stopped at Narita this last trip). Tell them that the Japanese response is "less than perfect" and see what reaction you get.
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Should the Americans be responsible for Japan's lack of atonement for her wartime past?
