flashleg8 wrote:Enjoyed your post, just wanted to question one thing, if the Japanese people look back on the Pacific War with shame - why is the Japanese government so reluctant to apologize for their brutal treatment of POWs taken during this time? They have had many opportunities to publicly address this issue but have consistently refused to do so - are they in denial?
... That one is tough to explain. In its simplest terms, admission would necessitate the taking of responsibility. The Japanese (the government at least) wants to avoid this at all costs. And yes, there is a great deal of denial here. It's very much all wrapped up in Asian cultural values, and sadly, I don't really comprehend much of this way of thought.
... The Japanese ARE in massive denial, though, yes. The details most know of their own history are quite vague, as these are much smoothed-over if not completely ignored in school history classes (especially what went on in China). It's so hard to explain... it's akin to just happily keeping your mind off of the thing while doing other stuff - on a mass, nationwide scale. Anything that brings militarism or those ugly parts of history into the limelight is quickly smashed, with the tacit approval of a grateful population. It's a sad situation... Japan is, in a way, eagerly waiting for the last of its Pacific War veterans to die off from old age.
... I remember vividly, a man, a senior, who came to our town to give a speech. It was aimed at senior citizens and had mostly to do with "living life to the fullest"... or some such. Anyway, he went off on this huge tangent about his days in the army during the war, and his capture in SE Asia. While he was going on and on about this, I watched in amazement as a lot of people started to visibly squirm, and murmur... and then about 10 or 12 men just got up and left, extremely angry. (I worked at this venue). My boss told me those guys were all vets, pissed at the speaker for bringing the subject up. "They just want to forget", my boss said.
... Specifically concerning POWs, the concept of giving up was foreign to the Japanese during that time, and they could not comprehend a man so low as to surrender, or allow himself to be captured. Seriously (so I am told). This was one reason the US and the Brits suffered huge casualties against the Japanese on the islands of the Pacific. The "little bastards" (as my uncle would've said) just kept fighting, beyond any hope of victory. Until the last years of the war, there were almost NO Japanese POWs. They won, or they died. ... this doesn't really explain their brutality... but suffice it to say that captured Allied soldiers weren't really considered human. And... Japan has a long history of brutality to its prisoners - using them for sword practice and the like (even during WWII).
... They just want to forget this stuff.
...
