At school, they order the Daily Yomiuri for me to read (the English newspaper in Japan). I usually read articles that catch my interest and one today was "Japanese Soldiers shown in a new light". I remember learning about the brutal massacre, of Chinese civilians by Japanese soldiers, when I went to China on interim with St. Olaf. I was horrified by the atrocities of war and to what extent normal everyday people would go to when given a gun and an order.
The article says..."China remains irate that Japanese politicians have neither apologized for nor admitted the scope of the killings, while Japanese historians have erased the episode from their nation's textbooks."
Wow. Decades later Japan has not been able to apologize, let alone admit what happened, happened. Apologies never totally heal wounds, but at least they can be a start. And from the side of the oppressor it is a small step they can make for all the horrors they caused the people of Nanjing and all the after effects the victims have had to deal with. I remember watching a video on youtube about a Japanese soldier from Unit 731 who individually went to Nanjing to make his apology for all the horrible things he did (even if his country didn't back him up). It was very powerful.
And how amazing is it that certain people have enough power to erase history?! It blows my mind. Politicians have power but textbook writers might have more power over the long term. Education is so important, and in this case (whole sections of history being erased from textbooks), education is used as a weapon to guard against the truth.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china-nanjing21-2009may21,0,6528458.story
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