View Full Version : Thank You from Japan
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http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=SS-sWdAQsYg&vq=medium
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Very moving! Japan really is a great nation, filled with great people who take great pride in their country. We should be proud to call them our friends.
Its really nice to see a story like this posted. :)
Good stuff. No thanks needed, we just did what was right.
Eurodriver
02-09-12, 13:48
I have absolutely no problem helping the Japanese.
...but Turkey and Pakistan can stay buried next time for all I care.
Finally, some foreign aid that doesn't piss me off.
Thanks chadbag for posting this.
SeriousStudent
02-09-12, 22:14
Arigato, Chad-san. Domo arigato.
I went to Japan a couple months after the earthquake, I got many thanks, especially the farther north I went, simply for being American.
I went to Japan a couple months after the earthquake, I got many thanks, especially the farther north I went, simply for being American.
We were there in September. Most of our 3 weeks we were in the Osaka area with day trips to Tokyo or further south. So we did not see any of the devastation or really meet the people who lived through it.
We stayed overnight one night with a friend who lives in Tokyo, whose husband works for a large cloud computing company and is in charge of the Asia operations. She told us their story of being in the earthquake etc but especially interesting was the response they got from the Japanese because they did not leave Tokyo afterwards. A lot of foreigners left for a while. The sheer number that bailed seems to have "offended" many Japanese. Our friend said they got lots of people coming up to them and thanking them for staying and not abandoning them. It was moving having her describe their experiences living through it. They are in Tokyo so only lived through the swaying buildings, electricity being out, and stuff like that. They did not live through the Tsunami. But to hear them describe it was interesting and moving none-the-less.
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The_War_Wagon
02-14-12, 07:31
To keep the thread going, this is from the Daily Mail UK today (2/14)
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/11/article-2099811-11AF09FF000005DC-472_966x719.jpg
Amazing transformation after a road is cleared of debris in Tagajo, Miyagi prefecture
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/11/article-0-11AF034F000005DC-981_964x1236.jpg
In March four people take to the area of Rikuzentakata, Iwate unsure where to begin after it was devastated by rubble but 11 months on the whole area has been cleared leaving just a cross roads in the centre
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/11/article-0-11AF068F000005DC-862_964x1167.jpg
Major project: A number of areas like this site Natori, near Sendai required large scale operations to clear them of the debris which seemed never ending
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/11/article-2099811-11AF0567000005DC-584_966x1230.jpg
A hill overlooking the city of Kesennuma and the same area on January 14 this year
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/11/article-0-11AF04AF000005DC-965_964x1337.jpg
Rubble: Collapsed buildings and rubble in Kesennuma in Miyagi had made this corner impossible to get through but the impressively swift clean up has left the same corner accessible to traffic
:eek: See even MORE pics & details here - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2099811/Eleven-months-tsunami-earthquake-ravaged-Japan-new-pictures-incredible-progress-multi-billion-pound-clear-up.html
Uplifting world news thread?
Thank you!
CarlosDJackal
02-14-12, 10:28
I applaud the Japanese for taking the time to acknowledge the world's contribution towards their disaster recovery.
Now if they were to make the same OFFICIAL acknowledgement of their role in World War II. Especially in the atrocities they committed against their Asian neighbors. Then maybe I might consider visiting Japan to visit their beautiful country.
Unfortunately, it is too late for my Father (may he RIP) who suffered under the Japanese during the Battle for Bataan, the Bataan Death March and during his time as a POW where they beat him and shoved bamboo slivers under his fingernails.
Sorry, but until then the whole Japanese archipelago can end up at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and I couldn't care less (NOTE: I am not wishing such ill will towards them or anyone else). JM2CW.
I applaud the Japanese for taking the time to acknowledge the world's contribution towards their disaster recovery.
Now if they were to make the same OFFICIAL acknowledgement of their role in World War II. Especially in the atrocities they committed against their Asian neighbors. Then maybe I might consider visiting Japan to visit their beautiful country.
Unfortunately, it is too late for my Father (may he RIP) who suffered under the Japanese during the Battle for Bataan, the Bataan Death March and during his time as a POW where they beat him and shoved bamboo slivers under his fingernails.
Sorry, but until then the whole Japanese archipelago can end up at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and I couldn't care less (NOTE: I am not wishing such ill will towards them or anyone else). JM2CW.
Your loss.
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Eurodriver
02-14-12, 11:43
Your loss.
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I agree. Except for the fact that male Japanese teens/young adults dress like female American pop stars, they are probably the most respectable society on the planet.
thopkins22
02-14-12, 11:51
I have the feeling that we'd still be in committee after the S&R was done.
Eurodriver
02-14-12, 12:23
I have the feeling that we'd still be in committee after the S&R was done.
Huh? Americans are DA BEST!
http://i43.tinypic.com/kb203r.jpg
Dude New Orleans is still trashed because it's a giant leech. It contributes nothing. The Japs on the other hand contribute lots, like their freaky long lasting vehicles.
Dude New Orleans is still trashed because it's a giant leech. It contributes nothing. The Japs on the other hand contribute lots, like their freaky long lasting vehicles.
New Orleans was trashed BEFORE Katrina.
New Orleans was trashed BEFORE Katrina.
valid statement sir
Eurodriver
02-14-12, 17:06
Guess i should have added a 3rd pic to that.
March 1995 ;)
I did wonder where they are putting all the stuff ?
but reading this below ? got to say who wrote this would love to hear their great thoughts on reconstruction when most of the stuff to build most likely is gone or would now need to be brought in etc..
to me pretty insane how much clean up they have done even if it is in some huge piles of like stuff its a start and they have to start somewhere
reading the UK link someone posted this:
This article tells two stories: (1) all the debris has been cleared away and (2) exactly zero reconstruction has happened to date. The debris has all been piled up on the outskirts of towns, neatly sorted by type: wood, cars, tyres, metal etc. There is too much debris to put into landfills etc. (Ishinomaki, for example, has more debris than would be created in 100 years of normal activity) so, out of sight of your cameras but not hidden from local residents, there are massive debris piles that serve as a daily reminder of the tradgedy. There are also tens of thousands of people still living in temporary housing with no clear indication of when they might have a new home to go to. Clearing up the rubble over an 11 month period isn't really something to boast about - it was actually done much quicker than that but, the key issue, is that no reconstruction has yet happened.
Eurodriver
02-14-12, 22:25
I did wonder where they are putting all the stuff ?
but reading this below ? got to say who wrote this would love to hear their great thoughts on reconstruction when most of the stuff to build most likely is gone or would now need to be brought in etc..
to me pretty insane how much clean up they have done even if it is in some huge piles of like stuff its a start and they have to start somewhere
reading the UK link
This article tells two stories: (1) all the debris has been cleared away and (2) exactly zero reconstruction has happened to date. The debris has all been piled up on the outskirts of towns, neatly sorted by type: wood, cars, tyres, metal etc. There is too much debris to put into landfills etc. (Ishinomaki, for example, has more debris than would be created in 100 years of normal activity) so, out of sight of your cameras but not hidden from local residents, there are massive debris piles that serve as a daily reminder of the tradgedy. There are also tens of thousands of people still living in temporary housing with no clear indication of when they might have a new home to go to. Clearing up the rubble over an 11 month period isn't really something to boast about - it was actually done much quicker than that but, the key issue, is that no reconstruction has yet happened.
When they do reconstruct it will blow any US city out of the water.
Have you seen Nagasaki and Hiroshima?
...have you seen Detroit?
I did wonder where they are putting all the stuff ?
but reading this below ? got to say who wrote this would love to hear their great thoughts on reconstruction when most of the stuff to build most likely is gone or would now need to be brought in etc..
to me pretty insane how much clean up they have done even if it is in some huge piles of like stuff its a start and they have to start somewhere
reading the UK link
This article tells two stories: (1) all the debris has been cleared away and (2) exactly zero reconstruction has happened to date. The debris has all been piled up on the outskirts of towns, neatly sorted by type: wood, cars, tyres, metal etc. There is too much debris to put into landfills etc. (Ishinomaki, for example, has more debris than would be created in 100 years of normal activity) so, out of sight of your cameras but not hidden from local residents, there are massive debris piles that serve as a daily reminder of the tradgedy. There are also tens of thousands of people still living in temporary housing with no clear indication of when they might have a new home to go to. Clearing up the rubble over an 11 month period isn't really something to boast about - it was actually done much quicker than that but, the key issue, is that no reconstruction has yet happened.
Not exactly true. Some reconstruction has happened (roads etc). Some roads were done within about 1-2 weeks of the disaster. I have also read a story online a few weeks ago about one of the towns affected and what they had gotten accomplished.
However, no country is perfect and they have a huge undertaking in front of them. They make mistakes like the rest of us. But at least they give a sh*t...
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I agree. Except for the fact that male Japanese teens/young adults dress like female American pop stars, they are probably the most respectable society on the planet.
There is also an undercurrent of virulent narcissistic racism streaming just below the surface. Steered by the wrong people the Japanese are every bit as capable now of committing unfathomable acts of cruelty and inhumanity as they were in the 1930's. We beat most of the cultural defects out of the Germans, turning the most warlike and warrior-centric culture in European history into reflexively anti-war refuseniks. Thanks to MacArthur, we didn't destroy the evil that is at the core of Japanese society.
What happened to them last year is terrible. I would wish such a disaster on no person. I even donated money to the relief effort through the IRC. I do not, however, make the mistake of romanticizing a culture that made depraved inhumanity sport or a people that refuse to even admit their sins, much less atone for them.
Not exactly true. Some reconstruction has happened (roads etc). Some roads were done within about 1-2 weeks of the disaster. I have also read a story online a few weeks ago about one of the towns affected and what they had gotten accomplished.
However, no country is perfect and they have a huge undertaking in front of them. They make mistakes like the rest of us. But at least they give a sh*t...
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Yeah agree with ya :
Also that reply on the uk link seems a little snarky the pics speak for themselves and the fact of reconstruction to get roads open cleaning up to me is moving forward :)
I do not, however, make the mistake of romanticizing a culture that made depraved inhumanity sport or a people that refuse to even admit their sins, much less atone for them.
sounds like current Muslims ?
Japanese of pre WWII
Or maybe very early English ?
Really as long as the culture learns and moves forward
There is also an undercurrent of virulent narcissistic racism streaming just below the surface. Steered by the wrong people the Japanese are every bit as capable now of committing unfathomable acts of cruelty and inhumanity as they were in the 1930's. We beat most of the cultural defects out of the Germans, turning the most warlike and warrior-centric culture in European history into reflexively anti-war refuseniks. Thanks to MacArthur, we didn't destroy the evil that is at the core of Japanese society.
What happened to them last year is terrible. I would wish such a disaster on no person. I even donated money to the relief effort through the IRC. I do not, however, make the mistake of romanticizing a culture that made depraved inhumanity sport or a people that refuse to even admit their sins, much less atone for them.
There is a great deal of validity in what you say. But it hardly applies to them all. And while I wouldn't donate spit to those who engaged in the atrocities at Nanking, Bataan, Manchuria and far too many other instances to list I don't hold the current population accountable for those acts anymore than you and I are responsible for American slavery.
And just as there is a undercurrent of racism and hatred in this country "that could lead to slavery" it is hardly an indictment of the US any more than it is a valid wholesale criticism of Japan.
For the most part, with certain exceptions noted, the Germans and Japanese are a different people than 60 years ago. Just as young adults in the US are much different from their counterparts in their grandfathers time, only not necessarily for the better.
And it is also true that the Japanese were permitted, and did, sweep their responsibility mostly under the rug, it was US politics that shared much of the blame. But if we judge the people of Japan today as a whole, I have no problem with qualifying them as good people with a checkered past. And that is about as good as a culture can hope for these days.
There is a great deal of validity in what you say. But it hardly applies to them all. And while I wouldn't donate spit to those who engaged in the atrocities at Nanking, Bataan, Manchuria and far too many other instances to list I don't hold the current population accountable for those acts anymore than you and I are responsible for American slavery.
And just as there is a undercurrent of racism and hatred in this country "that could lead to slavery" it is hardly an indictment of the US any more than it is a valid wholesale criticism of Japan.
For the most part, with certain exceptions noted, the Germans and Japanese are a different people than 60 years ago. Just as young adults in the US are much different from their counterparts in their grandfathers time, only not necessarily for the better.
And it is also true that the Japanese were permitted, and did, sweep their responsibility mostly under the rug, it was US politics that shared much of the blame. But if we judge the people of Japan today as a whole, I have no problem with qualifying them as good people with a checkered past. And that is about as good as a culture can hope for these days.
Japan as a culture today is much more like Germany of today: very pacifist overall. While there are fringe elements in every culture, overall, Japan is not at all like pre WW2 Japan. I've been there 6 times, and 5 of those times I lived in Japanese homes (my wife's mom's appt), eaten on the economy at non tourist places, ridden LOTS of trains, and interacted with lots of Japanese. I am no expert, but I certainly can get a feel for the society.
Militaristic and "virulent narcissistic racism" it is not. And I very seriously doubt that "steered by the wrong people the Japanese are every bit as capable now of committing unfathomable acts of cruelty and inhumanity as they were in the 1930s." I don't see that at all when I am there. You don't see any sorts of hints at all, and in fact see the opposite (all sorts of pacifist demonstrations and thinking accepted as "common sense").
And lest you think my eyes are blinded by the fact that my wife is from Japan: I saw the same thing on my first trip there, which I took alone and which was before I was married to my wife. And my wife, while having been born and raised in Japan, going to Japanese schools, etc., she is ethnically Korean and had a Korean passport until she became a US Citizen. While it is a lot less true today, 30-40 years ago there was more discrimination against non Japanese asians living in Japan. Today, while there is probably some remnants of it, most of that is no longer the case from what I have seen and experienced and heard about. When my wife was a kid, there was more of that (akin to the US and white/black relations -- 40 years ago you saw a lot more than you do now).
Militaristic and "virulent narcissistic racism" it is not.
I was simply acknowledging a cultural racism that is still very prevalent. I'm not trying to equate it with anything violent like KKK racism, but below the polite surface there is still an element of assumed superiority.
For example most Japanese believe themselves to be superior, or if you prefer "more cultured" than the Chinese despite the fact that their entire culture comes from China originally one way or another.
The Germany example is a good one, for like Germany they are nothing like their grandparents and have taken strides to be as unlike them as possible. But their culture, the same as in Germany, still retains and harbors certain elements that contributed to the problems that let to WWII and the related atrocities.
Now this obviously does not apply to every German and Japanese, or even most of them. But it still exists in the big picture if you take them as a whole. And all I am doing is recognizing what Redmanfms is referring to as I've seen it more than a few times.
But like I've said before, when you take the entire package, they are probably some of the better people on the planet. I'd sure hate to have a culture contest where the average American 20 something is pitted against the average Japanese 20 something in a contest of values.
I was actually mostly agreeing with you and quoted redmanfs to disagree with him.
Sorry for the confusion
I was simply acknowledging a cultural racism that is still very prevalent. I'm not trying to equate it with anything violent like KKK racism, but below the polite surface there is still an element of assumed superiority.
For example most Japanese believe themselves to be superior, or if you prefer "more cultured" than the Chinese despite the fact that their entire culture comes from China originally one way or another.
The Germany example is a good one, for like Germany they are nothing like their grandparents and have taken strides to be as unlike them as possible. But their culture, the same as in Germany, still retains and harbors certain elements that contributed to the problems that let to WWII and the related atrocities.
Now this obviously does not apply to every German and Japanese, or even most of them. But it still exists in the big picture if you take them as a whole. And all I am doing is recognizing what Redmanfms is referring to as I've seen it more than a few times.
But like I've said before, when you take the entire package, they are probably some of the better people on the planet. I'd sure hate to have a culture contest where the average American 20 something is pitted against the average Japanese 20 something in a contest of values.
To clarify I did not write the bottom part it was on the uk site ?
Not exactly true. Some reconstruction has happened (roads etc). Some roads were done within about 1-2 weeks of the disaster. I have also read a story online a few weeks ago about one of the towns affected and what they had gotten accomplished.
However, no country is perfect and they have a huge undertaking in front of them. They make mistakes like the rest of us. But at least they give a sh*t...
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I was actually mostly agreeing with you and quoted redmanfs to disagree with him.
Sorry for the confusion
Ahhh gotcha. I thought you believed I held similar beliefs as Redmanfms and I was just trying to clarify my views.
Ahhh gotcha. I thought you believed I held similar beliefs as Redmanfms and I was just trying to clarify my views.
Sorry, my bad. I was not clear in how I formatted/quoted.
CarlosDJackal
02-16-12, 14:08
There is also an undercurrent of virulent narcissistic racism streaming just below the surface. Steered by the wrong people the Japanese are every bit as capable now of committing unfathomable acts of cruelty and inhumanity as they were in the 1930's. We beat most of the cultural defects out of the Germans, turning the most warlike and warrior-centric culture in European history into reflexively anti-war refuseniks. Thanks to MacArthur, we didn't destroy the evil that is at the core of Japanese society.
What happened to them last year is terrible. I would wish such a disaster on no person. I even donated money to the relief effort through the IRC. I do not, however, make the mistake of romanticizing a culture that made depraved inhumanity sport or a people that refuse to even admit their sins, much less atone for them.
Amen!! I am appalled about how much people will defend this culture of inhumanity. What's worse is they just flat out refuse to even acknowledge and apologize for their country's role in the atrocities (much like the Germans have).
The Battle of Bataan (http://www.battleofbataan.com/story.html)
Rape of Nanking (http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/nanking.htm)
Unit 731 (http://www.ww2pacific.com/unit731.html)
On May 5, 1945, an American B-29 bomber was knocked down over southern Japan. Eight American airmen prisoners were made available for medical experiments at Kyushu Imperial University. The eight were dissected organ by organ while they were still alive.
This is the only site where Americans were incontrovertibly used in dissections and the only known site where experiments were done in Japan. Kyushu University, Fukuoka, is midway between Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Amen!! I am appalled about how much people will defend this culture of inhumanity. What's worse is they just flat out refuse to even acknowledge and apologize for their country's role in the atrocities (much like the Germans have).
The Battle of Bataan (http://www.battleofbataan.com/story.html)
Rape of Nanking (http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/nanking.htm)
Unit 731 (http://www.ww2pacific.com/unit731.html)
Ignorance is alive and well here on M4C.
I take it you've never been to Japan.
Amen!! I am appalled about how much people will defend this culture of inhumanity. What's worse is they just flat out refuse to even acknowledge and apologize for their country's role in the atrocities (much like the Germans have).
The Battle of Bataan (http://www.battleofbataan.com/story.html)
Rape of Nanking (http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/nanking.htm)
Unit 731 (http://www.ww2pacific.com/unit731.html)
I don't think anyone is defending the atrocities of Imperial Japan, they are in fact among the most brutal actions of WWII. They actually performed vivisections on children in Manchuria, I don't know how you can get much worse than that.
All we are saying is we recognize that the Japanese of today are NOT the same people of their grandparents generation.
And while they haven't been forced to come to terms with that past, the US is partly to blame. We really didn't subject Japan to a Nuremberg because we really didn't get the "unconditional surrender" we claimed we did. At best engaging in complete falsehoods such as the Emperor having no knowledge of Japanese war crimes saved US lives by sparing us the need to invade and destroy the country. But sadly we did much, much worse.
Nobody at Unit 731 was prosecuted, despite some of the worst atrocities committed against civilians in the entire war, because we traded immunity for everyone involved in exchange for their data and results from their biological experiments. And not only did the US not punish war criminals, we rewarded many of them with government positions after the war. This included a Japanese officer who had an American POWs liver removed and cooked for his dinner.
This is why most people have never heard of Unit 731 but everyone has heard of Auschwitz. But with a guy like MacArthur running the show over there, I guess I shouldn't be surprised by our shameful post war dealings with Japan. And it makes me wonder how much Truman knew, I have difficulty believing anyone who was willing to use the bomb would then sweep this stuff under the rug. But I guess anything is possible.
Ignorance is alive and well here on M4C.
I take it you've never been to Japan.
It's a fair point. To the best of my knowledge the Japanese have not apologized for things like Nanking, Bataan and Unit 731 and they still venerate many war dead who engaged in those atrocities.
CarlosDJackal
02-16-12, 16:00
Ignorance is alive and well here on M4C.
I take it you've never been to Japan.
Until the Japanese as a society acknowledge their role in such incidents as the Rape of Nanking, The Bataan Death march, Unit 731 and the cannibalisms on Chichi Jima; I never will. Nor will I send a cent to their aid in times of disaster. If I could avoid buying anything Japanese related, I would.
Germany started the healing when they did not put up excuses about what the Nazis did during WWII. In fact, they have made every effort to keep those actions at the forefront of their society so as not to risk repeating them.
I have no hate for the individual Japanese. I have absolute disdain over how their current government have not only hidden the truth of their atrocities from the current generation; they have taken to teaching altered history in the process. If they are an honorable society, they will stand up and acknowledge what these pieces-of-dawg-craps have done during those dark years.
Only then will I believe that they are truly sorry for what their so-called soldiers have done (I don't really put them in the same venerated level as all the other country's Soldiers). The Japanese owe the United States a lot. If it were not for our financial and manpower support, they would have become a third world nation after WWII.
But yet they crap on the graves of our Veterans who not only died on foreign soil fighting their expansionist plans; but were also tortured and killed in Japanese soil. Some of whom were forced to work in mines and factories that were too dangerous for their own people.
I'll say it again; I do not wish any ill will on anyone. But if another Tsunami were to hit Japan and they end up at the bottom of the ocean - I will not feel any remorse remorse nor would I lift a finger to help them UNLESS THEY ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR ROLES IN ALL THOSE WELL-DOCUMENTED ATROCITIES FROM WWII.
SCREW JAPAN AND IT'S WARPED CODE OF BUSHIDO (which they bastardized to fit their intent in the first place)!! JM2CW.
SCREW JAPAN AND IT'S WARPED CODE OF BUSHIDO (which they bastardized to fit their intent in the first place)!! JM2CW.
Just a couple things...
The actual code of Bushido would have never tolerated much of what Imperial Japan did. The entire social dynamic was changed with Meiji so you probably couldn't apply Bushido even if the Japanese soldier really tried. Many of the benevolent ideals were stripped away and the Japanese soldier no longer had the individual authority to act in accordance to anything contrary to orders. They key difference is an honorable Samurai would have killed himself or revolted against an evil authority whereas the Japanese soldier simply "followed orders" or looked the other way. You of course alluded to this distorted version so you obviously are aware of it. That said, the actions that were excused during WWII for the sake of a perverted version of Bushido were abominable.
Second, I don't think it is proper to hold the victims of natural disasters accountable for the actions or inaction of their government. You and I would hate to be held accountable for the actions of Bill Clinton or Obama. You can choose not to help as a form of protest, but you should recognize the current population is hardly responsible. I also somewhat suspect that most of them would act appropriately if they knew. I have friends who grew up in Hawaii and it isn't uncommon for Japanese tourists to learn the true details of Pearl Harbor for the first time and become completely horrified. They were never forced to march through their concentration camps, most have no idea.
List of war apology statements issued by Japan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_war_apology_statements_issued_by_Japan
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"Let him who is without sin, cast the first stone." paraphrased from John 8:7
Where are the condemnations for the atrocities this nation has perpetrated on others? Put your money where your mouth is.
Slavery? What about the forced slavery of blacks taken to this country. Let's here real apologies for each individual incident and real atonement.
Native North Americans? We still stick them on reservations. The US government perpetrated great atrocities against the "native" population. Let's here real apologies for each individual incident and real atonement.
As SteyrAUG said, the people of Japan today are not any more responsible for wartime atrocities committed by Japanese military and their leaders than you and I or anyone living today is responsible for slavery and atrocities against indians.
As I said, Ignorance is rampant, even here on M4C.
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Until the Japanese as a society acknowledge their role in such incidents as the Rape of Nanking, The Bataan Death march, Unit 731 and the cannibalisms on Chichi Jima; I never will. Nor will I send a cent to their aid in times of disaster. If I could avoid buying anything Japanese related, I would.
Germany started the healing when they did not put up excuses about what the Nazis did during WWII. In fact, they have made every effort to keep those actions at the forefront of their society so as not to risk repeating them.
I have no hate for the individual Japanese. I have absolute disdain over how their current government have not only hidden the truth of their atrocities from the current generation; they have taken to teaching altered history in the process. If they are an honorable society, they will stand up and acknowledge what these pieces-of-dawg-craps have done during those dark years.
Only then will I believe that they are truly sorry for what their so-called soldiers have done (I don't really put them in the same venerated level as all the other country's Soldiers). The Japanese owe the United States a lot. If it were not for our financial and manpower support, they would have become a third world nation after WWII.
But yet they crap on the graves of our Veterans who not only died on foreign soil fighting their expansionist plans; but were also tortured and killed in Japanese soil. Some of whom were forced to work in mines and factories that were too dangerous for their own people.
I'll say it again; I do not wish any ill will on anyone. But if another Tsunami were to hit Japan and they end up at the bottom of the ocean - I will not feel any remorse remorse nor would I lift a finger to help them UNLESS THEY ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR ROLES IN ALL THOSE WELL-DOCUMENTED ATROCITIES FROM WWII.
SCREW JAPAN AND IT'S WARPED CODE OF BUSHIDO (which they bastardized to fit their intent in the first place)!! JM2CW.
don't wallow in your ignorance. educate yourself.
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Eurodriver
02-16-12, 20:42
Japanese women are so gorgeous.
Who cares what they do? :D
List of war apology statements issued by Japan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_war_apology_statements_issued_by_Japan
And in all those apologies there is no specific mention of Nanking or Unit 731 and it wasn't until 2009 that they specifically mentioned the Bataan Death March, it's better than no apology but still long overdue.
Most of the apologies are general in nature regarding the "suffering inflicted on Asian nations" and the specific apologies are mostly related to Korea and specifically the comfort women program. While the apologies were likely well intended such general apologies become offensive when key events are not specifically mentioned. It would be like Germany apologizing for the "hardships of war" without mentioning the concentration camps.
But I do not hold the people of Japan specifically responsible for these things, in fact our nation shares some culpability. As noted on the wiki link you posted...
According to historian Herbert Bix in Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, "MacArthur's truly extraordinary measures to save Hirohito from trial as a war criminal had a lasting and profoundly distorting impact on Japanese understanding of the lost war."[3] Among the consequences of MacArthur's decision-making are continuing controversies surrounding the issues of apology.
Toward the end of the Occupation of Japan, Emperor Hirohito let it be known to SCAP that he was prepared to apologize formally to Gen. MacArthur for Japan's actions during World War II—including an apology for the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.[5]
Patrick Lennox Tierney was an eye-witness on the day the Emperor came to SCAP headquarters to present this apology. When the emperor arrived, MacArthur refused to admit him or acknowledge him. When this happened, Tierney was in his office on the fifth floor of the Dai-Ichi Insurance Building in Tokyo. This was the same floor where MacArthur's suite was situated.[5]
The pivotal moment passed. Many years later, Tierney made an effort to explain his understanding of the significance of what he had personally witnessed: "Apology is a very important thing in Japan."[5] Issues which might have been addressed were allowed to remain open, and unanticipated consequences have unfolded across the decades since then.[6]
Japanese women are so gorgeous.
Who cares what they do? :D
Miri Hanai could probably get me to apologize for making Japan attack Pearl Harbor.
CarlosDJackal
02-17-12, 13:00
don't wallow in your ignorance. educate yourself.
Oh I have. I have seen firsthand the effects of their treatment towards "their Asian neighbors" during the war and long after. I have seen how rude they are towards those they consider lesser beings because they conquered them during WWII.
I have talked to the women who were forced into Prostitution as "Comfort Women" and to those whose babies were ripped from their arms and forced to watch as they were used for bayonet and Katana practice. Why don't you talk to the Parents who watched their children murdered before their eyes in retaliation for every Japanese soldier who was killed by guerrillas during the occupation. They would round up the first 10 civilians (regardless of age or gender) they came across and publicly execute them - sometimes they would rape the women first.
Just over 4-years ago while I was visiting Asia, I was tempted to bitch slap two Japanese teenagers because of their rude behaviors towards fellow Asians. It's easy to say how kind they are when you're not in the same demographic group as those they like to push around to this day and age.
It's easy to think just how great they are as people when they're not yelling at you in their own language - these little bitches did not even have the gall to swear at people in a language everyone can understand. And it's easy to say "forgive them" when it wasn't anyone you know who suffered through the torment these assholes inflicted again under the guise of some cultural belief that allows them to mistreat you because you are not one of them.
Why don't you educate yourself and actually talk to the few Veterans from WWII that are still alive today and ask them just what they went through. Don't talk to the ones who never had to deal with them personally. Talk to the ones who did and you'll see that they are not even fit to be called human beings.
Go visit the Fortress Island of Corregidor and see if you can make it through the Japanese version of the tour without wanting to kill each and every pos jap on that island. Money talks and they pay for an altered history version of what happened. Yeah, they've changed alright. :rolleyes:
Eurodriver
02-17-12, 13:24
Just over 4-years ago while I was visiting Asia, I was tempted to bitch slap two Japanese teenagers because of their rude behaviors towards fellow Asians. It's easy to say how kind they are when you're not in the same demographic group as those they like to push around to this day and age.
Really?
How old are you? Have you been out of the loop so long that you've forgotten how American teenagers act?
You should see the way Americans (of any age) treat the snow birds that come down here to FL for the winter. You've got Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Massachussetts plates? Better drive appropriately! And GOD HELP YOU if your plate says Quebec.
Oh I have. I have seen firsthand the effects of their treatment towards "their Asian neighbors" during the war and long after. I have seen how rude they are towards those they consider lesser beings because they conquered them during WWII.
I have talked to the women who were forced into Prostitution as "Comfort Women" and to those whose babies were ripped from their arms and forced to watch as they were used for bayonet and Katana practice. Why don't you talk to the Parents who watched their children murdered before their eyes in retaliation for every Japanese soldier who was killed by guerrillas during the occupation. They would round up the first 10 civilians (regardless of age or gender) they came across and publicly execute them - sometimes they would rape the women first.
Dude, the war ended 67 years ago. The people living in Japan today, with a few exceptions, were not involved with the war. They were either kids or not born yet.
I get it you don't like how Japan behaved during WW2. Neither do I. It was despicable.
Go read up on how the US treated their black slaves. Or how the "red man" suffered under the US government. It is just as tear jerking to hear about. And the US has not really apologized (in the same way you demand Japan do) for that either. Yet you willingly live here and accept that. IIRC you come from another country originally and naturalized here. Is that correct? Why? With the history this country has of abuse of native peoples and black slavery how could you even think of coming here?
The people in Japan today are not the same people who perpetrated those atrocities. And the vast majority of the people there, like almost all of them, recoil in horror at such things.
While I don't speak Japanese, my wife does, and she tells me what people say behind our backs. And she is Korean-blood, born and raised in Japan. She knows how other Asians are treated in Japan. (And it has nothing to do with the fact that Japan "conquered" them in past history.]
Just over 4-years ago while I was visiting Asia, I was tempted to bitch slap two Japanese teenagers because of their rude behaviors towards fellow Asians. It's easy to say how kind they are when you're not in the same demographic group as those they like to push around to this day and age.
And that was the exception, and not the rule. Just like you can find white or black or hispanic teenagers in US cities saying rude things behind others backs.
Like I said, my wife is KOREAN BLOOD born and raised in Japan and grew up under what you are claiming to describe. She of anyone should know about it. While there was (and to a limited extent still is) discrimination, it is no different than what happens in the US between racial and ethnic groups. And is fading year by year as the young people don't really give a flip if you are Japanese, Korean, etc. The same way the same attitudes are changing in the US as generations get older.
I have observed how my MIL is treated by Japanese [and she is obviously Korean]. How my SILs are treated. They are treated the same as a Japanese.
I have been in Japan a total of 6 times, each time 2-3.5 weeks at a time. Not living in tourist hotels and eating at tourist restaurants. Living amongst the people.
The people and their culture today do not condone that sort of thing and are no more likely to engage in that sort of behavior today on an institutional basis as you or I are or any American. (And look at Iraq and Afghanistan to see how individual American military can behave just as badly -- which is in no way a condemnation of the US or its military)
It's easy to think just how great they are as people when they're not yelling at you in their own language - these little bitches did not even have the gall to swear at people in a language everyone can understand. And it's easy to say "forgive them" when it wasn't anyone you know who suffered through the torment these assholes inflicted again under the guise of some cultural belief that allows them to mistreat you because you are not one of them.
The *ssholes who inflicted the atrocities are long gone and dead. They are not the ones who you claim were swearing at someone behind their back. Get it? The teenagers you are complaining about, rude as they are, were not the ones who perpetrated the atrocities.
The Japanese people today are not the same people as the ones who perpetrated the atrocities. Even those starting to retire now in Japan were born in the last year of the war or after the war. The ones in their 70s were little kids in the war. There are a few veterans in Japan still and they are dying off fast (and the majority of them probably did not participate in or condone atrocities)
Why don't you educate yourself and actually talk to the few Veterans from WWII that are still alive today and ask them just what they went through. Don't talk to the ones who never had to deal with them personally. Talk to the ones who did and you'll see that they are not even fit to be called human beings.
I've talked to Pacific WW2 veterans including ones who were POW. I've also talked to Vietnam veterans (not so long ago) who suffered in Vietnam. Even most of them don't hold this animosity you hold towards the Japanese, who were not even the ones responsible back then (due to time passing).
And once again, no one denies the atrocities that occurred during WW2 committed by Japanese military and leaders. Those are not the people of Japan today.
Go visit the Fortress Island of Corregidor and see if you can make it through the Japanese version of the tour without wanting to kill each and every pos jap on that island. Money talks and they pay for an altered history version of what happened. Yeah, they've changed alright. :rolleyes:
Please go back into your time warped hole. The rest of the world has moved on.
There are small numbers of people in Japan who want to deny things. They are a very small minority and most Japanese are embarrassed by them. The same way we have KKK and white supremacist type people or black panther or other extremist type people in the US. That does not equate to a whole culture that supports that.
Just the opposite. The Japanese are very much like the Germans today -- very pacifist. This is due to their experience during the 1920-1945 with autocrats and dictators and militaristic leadership.
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