Out of respect for the Japanese, why would they acknowledge one of it's poorest national errors in 1000 years? Untold dead, a nation destroyed and generation lost. It would be a very sad and somber memory. To me, it's just remarkable how Japan has re-emerged with its dignity and respect now as one of the worlds great economies.
It's because the Japanese people are not the Japanese government (of the past). It's a great demonstration of how a dictator ship is a form of rule that ultimately fails, whether it takes 10, 100, or 3,000 years, eventually someone decides for everyone in a way that is detrimental. I've lived in 10 countries, worked in more than 40, visited more than 70 and have been on every continent on the planet including Antarctica. When I say Japan is the best place on the planet, that doesn't come lightly, and I've now lived here starting my 17th year. We are not our past. It's all about what we do with the future.
WWI and WWII are really the same war, with a 20 year pause between (for those who may not be aware of the history). The tragedy really comes from promises the US made to both Italy and Japan to end WWI, whereby they were supposed to gain from the settlement of the Great War. But when the talks came, they were essentially relegated. The original issues of WWI were never really settled, and as Germany rose in strength and brutality, it came again time to chose sides. Both Italy and Japan had been on the Allies side in WWI but switched sides in WWII with the notion that 'what did they gain from the empty promises of the first war'?
That's the readers digest condensed version. There is nothing simple about war, or drawing lines. Right and wrong rarely has a clear form, though in WWII ultimately it did have. But as an ex-US serviceman myself, I can say there are no winners. Just some who lose more than others.
Take today to think about that, and not just focus on one event. The big picture is far more stark.
Comments
It's a great demonstration of how a dictator ship is a form of rule that ultimately fails, whether it takes 10, 100, or 3,000 years, eventually someone decides for everyone in a way that is detrimental.
I've lived in 10 countries, worked in more than 40, visited more than 70 and have been on every continent on the planet including Antarctica. When I say Japan is the best place on the planet, that doesn't come lightly, and I've now lived here starting my 17th year.
We are not our past. It's all about what we do with the future.
That's the readers digest condensed version. There is nothing simple about war, or drawing lines. Right and wrong rarely has a clear form, though in WWII ultimately it did have. But as an ex-US serviceman myself, I can say there are no winners. Just some who lose more than others.
Take today to think about that, and not just focus on one event. The big picture is far more stark.