'The man who refused to die'

[Machiavelli25]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today...00/8534377.stm

Interesting story, and I'd love to read that book. Incase you can't access the link, its about a Scottish Japanese prisoner camp survivor, who claims the world is still ignorant of just how hellish things were, and the camps are misrepresented in certain movies etc. His own story is pretty amazing, he ended up being a mile away from Nagasaki when the bomb hit. Other parts include spending five days stuck on a barge, hallucinating from dehydration before being rescued by a Japanese whaler.

[removeduser_4536284751384]

"Young Germans know of their nation's dreadful crimes. But young Japanese are taught nothing of their nation's guilt."

is it just me or is this one of the stupidest things ever written?

[Koelkastmagneet]

"Young Germans know of their nation's dreadful crimes. But young Japanese are taught nothing of their nation's guilt."

is it just me or is this one of the stupidest things ever written?

Why? From my understanding the Japanese have trouble accepting the responsibility for their war crimes.

[removeduser_4536284751384]

Why? From my understanding the Japanese have trouble accepting the responsibility for their war crimes.

how can they accept responsibility if they weren't even alive when it happened?

Germans going to school do not accept responsibility for the actions of someone who wasn't even from their country years before they were born. They are just taught how awful it is, that it should never happen again etc.

Literally only a nationalist like Hitler could claim everyone from a country is reponsible for the actions of everyone else from that country (And hitler was austrian) all through historu.

[antaeus]

how can they accept responsibility if they weren't even alive when it happened?

Germans going to school do not accept responsibility for the actions of someone who wasn't even from their country years before they were born. They are just taught how awful it is, that it should never happen again etc.

Literally only a nationalist like Hitler could claim everyone from a country is reponsible for the actions of everyone else from that country (And hitler was austrian) all through historu.

that depends... if a country commits crimes and they dont believe they were wrong... then there's a problem with their cultural outlook. if a country does not educate it's young about what they did in the past, and don't address the aspects of their culture that enabled them to happen... then they are doomed to do it again.

post samurai japanese warrior culture had a significant disdain for both civilians and enemy prisoners. this was not something that was ordered from above - as was the case with nazi germany... but was a part of the ethos of the japanese soldier... this enabled war crimes by people at every level of the japanese military. the same history of honour and disdain for captives led to the mass suicides of both japanese soldiers and civilians because they expected to be treated as they treated their own captives...

if japan refuses to confront this element of their culture... then it will happen again and again. at the moment we dont see it in their soldiers because they are not fighting wars and probably wont for some time... but certainly its visible in their politics and economics/business relationships - so while the same attitudes are in japanese society, and there's a refusal to confront them - there's always the possibility for it to reoccur...

[bushbush]

how can they accept responsibility if they weren't even alive when it happened?

problem is they dont' even think japan in ww2 did much wrong. They are taught with distorted textbooks and their right-wing leaders always deny or whitewash war crimes. In fact, their leaders frequently visit a shrine that pay tributes to convicted war criminals highlight the lack of understanding on this.

can you imagine the german prime minister visits a shrine with Hitler in it?

[hellheaven1987]

problem is they dont' even think japan in ww2 did much wrong. They are taught with distorted textbooks and their right-wing leaders always deny or whitewash war crimes. In fact, their leaders frequently visit a shrine that pay tributes to convicted war criminals highlight the lack of understanding on this.

Well, paying tributes to shrine is, if Japanese want to argue, a strickly religious business, regardless what is worshipping inside. I am more concerning about lacking of information, or even worse, change of historical facts in Japanese textbook, since it is an act of dishonest and disrepect to history.

can you imagine the german prime minister visits a shrine with Hitler in it?

We don't even sure Hitler was dead or not.

[removeduser_4536284751384]

problem is they dont' even think japan in ww2 did much wrong. They are taught with distorted textbooks and their right-wing leaders always deny or whitewash war crimes. In fact, their leaders frequently visit a shrine that pay tributes to convicted war criminals highlight the lack of understanding on this.

can you imagine the german prime minister visits a shrine with Hitler in it?

yes the should be taught how awful it is, and what atrocious crimes were commited, but under no circumstances should people who weren't even alive then be forced to acccept responsibility

[Machiavelli25]

how can they accept responsibility if they weren't even alive when it happened?

Germans going to school do not accept responsibility for the actions of someone who wasn't even from their country years before they were born. They are just taught how awful it is, that it should never happen again etc.

Literally only a nationalist like Hitler could claim everyone from a country is reponsible for the actions of everyone else from that country (And hitler was austrian) all through historu.

The thing is, that quote comes from a guy who managed to survive their camps.

The problem is the Japanese never accepted any responsibility for their atrocious treatment of prisoners.

[Mangalore]

how can they accept responsibility if they weren't even alive when it happened?
...

The article says nothing about young Germans taking responsibility but that germany overall atoned and that the younger generations are keenly aware of why the second world war was not one of Germany's finest hour but a nasty mess and it was germany's fault. You seem to start your argument on a misread paragraph.

[wilpuri]

Why? From my understanding the Japanese have trouble accepting the responsibility for their war crimes.

It is my understanding that the vast majority of the Japanese alive today are not responsible for war crimes.

[Koelkastmagneet]

It is my understanding that the vast majority of the Japanese alive today are not responsible for war crimes.

I formulated that sentence wrongly, you get the point.

[Chukada1]

It is my understanding that the vast majority of the Japanese alive today are not responsible for war crimes.

It is my understanding that the right wing party still has relevence today in Japanese Society.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politic...emism_in_Japan

That would be like if this party was still a power in Germany today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Party

So which country has atonned?

[Dodge]

"Young Germans know of their nation's dreadful crimes. But young Japanese are taught nothing of their nation's guilt."

is it just me or is this one of the stupidest things ever written?

No, but your post is.

[FreeRadical]

No, but your post is.

Agreed,the Japanese treated their Pows atrociously.Out of an estimated 140,000 white prisoners a third of them died with the rest severely malnourished and barely living.I don't even know if they kept many Asian prisoners in WW2,but their crimes against them were as vile,and atrocious as you can get with the rape,and massacre of innocent civilians in Nanjing being 295,000-340,000. They have been giving weak apologies for their crimes since the 50's,with most them being political concessions.

[konny]

"Young Germans know of their nation's dreadful crimes. But young Japanese are taught nothing of their nation's guilt."

is it just me or is this one of the stupidest things ever written?

Yep, in particular written by British, who loved to leave a path of death and destruction over the entire Earth for centuries; but after finally being thrown out everywhere suddenly come up with the idea they had a God given right to judge on past crimes of other nations (in particular Germany).

[Markas]

Yep, in particular written by British, who loved to leave a path of death and destruction over the entire Earth for centuries; but after finally being thrown out everywhere suddenly come up with the idea they had a God given right to judge on past crimes of other nations (in particular Germany).

Like when? when did we claim that?

[konny]

Like when? when did we claim that?

25th Feburary 2010, 8:12 GMT, for example.

[Markas]

25th Feburary 2010, 8:12 GMT, for example.

Again, where did we (or Alistair Urquhart for that matter) claim to have a god-given right to judge other nations?

[Dr. Oza]

they shud be taught

as soon as the french students are taught every detail about the campaigns in africa and algeria


and the brits are taught about the massacares in papua new guinea of native and many other such incidents