Could you imagine if German media does the same thing for Nazi leaders?

The interplay between wartime and postwar Japanese perceptions of the Emperor and his role is highly, highly complex; People have written volumes and volumes about it. For that reason, I think it's an oversimplification to liken it to Germans glorifying Hitler.

 

It was General MacArthur, and that is definitely not the only reason though it was true that the Emperor was a key in rebuilding Japan. It is highly debatable how much influence the Emperor had over Tojo and the Imperial War Council - he was basically a kid when all of this happened, a very weak, shy figurehead (who, in a bit of a contradiction, was thought of as a god by the public).

It would have been very difficult for the US to indict him and prove a case even if there was somebody willing to testify against him - which there wasn't. No Japanese would ever do such a thing.

 

That's what I think about the people who gave the orders for the massacre at Tiananmen Square.

 

My understanding is that Truman wanted to try Hirohito but MacArthur felt that the psychology of the Japanese people and the Shinto religion's diefication of the emperor was such that it would have been counterproductive to the reconstruction effort, almost like killing a diety.

 

in the big scheme of things japan emerged as a global economic superpower.

and relatively peaceful. we can't say the same about many of its neighbors.

 

That's the problem though, I don't know if you could find a German figure that was in an analogous position to that of the Japanese Emperor.

 

True, you have a point there.

 

Keep in mind I've never been to these places so I'm working from the basis of college lectures and additional reading - so I'm not any expert.

There are two factors which make the situation worse than it would be elsewhere.

The Shinto Faith compels people to venerate Hirohito, and I think this is difficult to allow for this if you aren't Shinto. Additionally, the Chinese cultural emphasis on aplology makes an apology more important perhaps more important for the Chinese people than non-Chinese people realize.

Additionally, Japan is probably the most xenophobic country in the world so outside ideas have difficulty penetrating some strata of society, and the nature of Maoist and to a lesser extent post-Maoist Chinese media centralisations make it difficult for moderating non-orthadox views to spread. Indeed, I still often hear the idea expressed from China that national unity - including of thought - is the most important thing for China.

 

they should be.
but the difference is that government wasn't toppled and those people remain in power to date whereas Japan lost the war and that Emperor was at the mercy of America.
Moreover Tiananmen Square pales in comparison to the atrocities Japan committed WWII. If Emperor was fully responsible for the war, he should get death sentence ten times over.

 

I don't think you can compare tianamen and world war II Japan. In tienamen squrea, it was a mostly student led demonstration. College students do that. (think the anti war protest now). Except in the U.S. most people that protest goes the the correct channels and agrees to protest in a place and time that would not inconvinienc others. If they don't agree to this, they can still be arrested. Think about the guy that stand in front of the tank, while it is a nice visual image that showed the courage of the people at that time, it also show that the Chinese gov't did not want to end this protest violently other wise the tank would've mowed him over.

It was sad that there was death at the time, but when you have protest of that size in front of a federal building, there are going to be risks involved. Think Kent State times 10.



At the same time, Japanese's attack in WWII was violent, malicious and still in the minds of most people in Asia. The gruesome tales are constantly refreshed in peoples minds. That's why in another thread I think Hayestreet totally underestimate how much under lying tension there are in that region if Japan ever talks about nuclearizing.

 

jAPAN WAS able to invade China was because the Chinese were still clinging to the old ways. China refused to advance militarily and that is why 400,000 Japanese troops were able to brutalize a country of over a billion people

Today however is a much different story. China learned from its mistake and has become a military superpower.

In 1939 the people of Hong KOng were still carrying on their daily routine even though they knew that Japanese troops were just miles from the shoreline and ready to invade the city. The Hong Kong people thought the British were gonna protect them, within a few days the British tucked tale and ran.

Leaving the people to years of unspeakable brutality

 

I could spend a long time taking apart this post, but I'll leave it to anyone else who has the energy. I'll just say, no offense, that I could drive my Honda van through the holes in it. J DIDDY, that was a gross oversimplification of the facts, in my opinion.



Keep D&D Civil!!

 

Nicely writeen.

During WW2, Paris declared itself an open city when Hitler was advancing. For the most part, it was left unscathed.

Nanking also declared itself an open city, and you know the rest.

 

I'm putting this out there just so everybody is clear of the full story.

In their invasion of China, Japan used chemical and biological weapons extensively, often using them not when necessary, but rather as a "field test" on civilian populations. 11 cities were subject to biological weapons attacks.

There was a specific group called Unit 731 that directed the process. Google them for more info.

Later, when they were forced to retreat from many of these places, the Japanese left behind a number of biological & chemical "booby traps" which persist to this day.

They also used the same tactics in Taiwan.

In case that doesn't strike home for Americans, they also developed an ingenuous method for biological weapons assaults on the US that would have been deployed within a year or so, had the war continued. The project would've used the bombs developed in China on west cost US cities like LA and SF.

The bombs them self were interesting, viewed with a detached perspective. The bombs were made of normal ceramic pottery They would drop to a certan point, open a parachute to slow down and then explode. Inside, were untold numbers of plague infested fleas that would bite animals & people and start the infection.

IIRC, the only reason the attack was not completed was that they were still working on their submersible aircraft carrier. I kid you not.