Monday, October 17, 2005
KOIZUMI TO REST OF ASIA: GET STUFFED
Koizumi again visits Yasukuni, memorial to 2.5 million war dead and and 14 convicted Class A war criminals; former members of the Greater East Asia Coprosperity Sphere are understandably miffed.
I thought Koizumi was seeking Japanese membership on the UN Security Council. If so, insulting China is not a good idea, apart from other historical and diplomatic considerations...
Later, but integral: Japan-China Friction to Keep Shaking Asia
Even later (some things never die): Bad Memory in Japan, A Very Lonely Japan
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2 comments:
hi Robert. the yasukuni shrine gets a lot of blog and other media coverage. I appreciate the fact that the shrine is in memorial to war criminals as well as just regular guys doing what they were told. why is it that this gets so much attention but yet nothing changes. I thought big junichi was a man with refreshing views and forward thinking ideas?
if it were simply war dead there then would that be okay? - a bit like blair visiting the cenitaph in london.
Maybe if those war criminals weren't memorialized there; England didn't invade Europe and commit horrendous atrocities, then deny them (e.g., Nanjing Massacre, Unit 731) and relentlessly refuse compensation (e.g., comfort women, labor slaves). Like the holocaust under the Nazis, such things are never forgotten, and Yasukuni has come to symbolize them. Japan should find another, more worldly peaceful and apologetic way to memorialize all who gave their lives with honor.
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