I view them through the lens of how they exist today, not decades before nearly everyone in the world was alive. I acknowledge their history but do not judge the current leaders or population by it.
Do you think that, given the opportunity, they would commit the same atrocities as their ancestors?
Can those traditionalist views be separated from those atrocities or do those views, given no restraint, inevitably lead to the atrocities? If they would, would that Japanese people allow them to stay in power if they undertook steps in that direction?
Important questions that would need answers before I would revert my opinion to one I might have held if alive 80 years ago.
Absolutely I think that they would commit the same atrocities if given the chance. Fortunately as you say their people hopefully don't agree.
That is what I was alluding to when I mentioned that they do not admit their wrongdoings even today. Disputes with e.g. South Korea prove that they still believe they own places they invaded during the war. Educating their citizens on the past and rebuilding trust with the countries who suffered under them would be signs they have changed as a government. Neither of those things take place.
Excuse me while my eyes roll a loop in their head.
Japan's only crime is speed-running the "major nation of Europe" experience.
Develop central government, industrialize, colonize, fight "real wars" with other "real nations", etc.
Europe is just as bad. They just spread it out over 400yr instead of 80yr so the history textbook gets a chapter of feel good stuff to isolate the genocidal religious wars from the hand cutting and the opium.
There's a joke about the difference in work ethics in there somewhere.
It might not seem like much compared to other world events, but it means everything to the people concerned. No real punishment to the perpetrators, and a very late, reluctant, and muted acknowledgement from the Japanese government.
Japan paid out $800M in compensation to the South Korean government in 1965. However, Korea was a military dictatorship at the time, so they used it for funding random projects instead of actually compensating the people who suffered.
Did Kubrick invent "me love you long time" or was it a thing in Vietnam?
Two atomic bombs dropped on civilians and their capital city burned down to hashes with hundreds of thousand of casualties in few hours doesn't sound as "No real punishment" to me...
West likes Japan enough to overlook that she has maritime disputes with everyone of her neighbours, including EEZ drama. Which is pretty incredible for 1) and island nation and b) a loser of WW2 that should have territory prescribed through treaty. Including Kurils which USSR annexed and "should" be entitled to as war spoils being a WW2 winner but US/USSR geopolitics got in the way. Also west now: would be good idea Japan remilitarizes despite all these disputes.
Yeah, even decades ago my history books in the US were pretty blunt about US' horrible mistakes. The lack of acknowledgement is disturbing. Not that teaching our children about our genocides, soldiers shooting college students, or propping up dictatorships to fight proxy wars seems to change our behavior, but being aware that we are jerks just seems aesthetically preferable to pretending we are perfect, it at least opens the door for growth.
