From: yunson@lpf.umd.edu (Yunson Du)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: An open letter to the Emperor Akihito of Japa
Date: 21 Aug 92 18:00:42 GMT
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park

Mr. Dave McLane wrote in reply to my posting:

>> You said you talked with
>>a lot of Japanese and they think the war is justified
>>and they keep silient just to be polite. 

>Yes, I said that I have talk to be people here who think that 
>(I don't think that way, but they do). 

In your another post, you seemed to give some examples of
these people (correct me if I am wrong):

>One would think so. While I'm old enough (57) I wasn't there so I
>don't have anything to say about Nanking. However, I'm fortunate
>enough to know some Japanese nationals who remember the war and it's
>been interesting and enligthening talking with them. One was in the
>army in (what was then) Burma; another remembers being trained to
>resist rape with wooden sticks when she was a high school girl; two
>more lived in Manchu (one was born there and came to Japan for the
>first time after the war); another remembers begging for chewing gum
>in the bombed out streets of Osaka; another remembers running down
>the street behind her mother who had her baby sister on her back
>watching to make sure her sister's hair didn't catch on fire during
>the fire bombing of Tokyo; and so on. 

Japanese people did suffer a lot during and after that war. However,
that can not justify the war. Japanese people should complain about 
their government. Japanese government should apology to all -- not 
only chinese people. They should not play any more cover-up, which 
misleads these suffering people. See, they must do something; 
otherwise, people even think that war is JUSTIFIED! Don't you think 
so? The very first step is to apologize. And the most important thing 
is to organize some research groups and do some real research to tell
the whole truth. If you really think the war is not justified
and you also see the problem that the in many Japanese's heart the 
war is justified, then you should really see the need that the
government still need to do something even though 50 years have
passed. 

Also, in the European theatre of WW2, the two sides started to
bomb the civilian area after some mistakes. First, one German
pilot mistook some civilian area as his target and released the
bombs. The England sought revenge and bombed Rohr industrial region.
However, Japan bombed civilian regions of China right after the
war started. Beijing, Shanghai, and then ChongQing. It is said
that the industrial district (Zhabei district, where half million
of people lived there) of Shanghai is completely bombed to ashes. 
If allied bombed Japan, blames should first go to Japan's goverment. 
They first started this cruel strategy. If you visit ChongQing today,
you can still see the remnants. Few poeple even mention this.
They only talked about bombing of Toyko. You see, how the
Japan's media covers this up.

(I should say that, besides rape of Nanking, bombing of Shanghai
and 831 branch, there are many, many more tragedies. Some of them
are more inhuman.)

>If I remember right my point was the who owes who an apology depends
>on how far back you go. After all, according to what I have read,
>American Indians came over the Bering Staits from Asia, so if there
>were any people living in what is now called N. America they owe
>them an apology. Get the idea? 

>I believe I said that there is no common agreement on exactly what
>'justice' is. If you have some evidence which supports the idea that
>there is, would you please post it? 

Sometimes, it is hard to see the justice, but not always. For example,
murder of Jews in WW2 is injustice (at least to 99.99% people).
So, do not generalize the relativism of the justice to conclude that
Japan's government do not need to apology since relative to them
the war is justified. 

>As for your claim that I support of the "notorious idea: it is
>alright for stronger to attack the weaker," this is simply not so.
>I'm beginning to suspect that you haven't read what I actually said,
>but are just jumping to your own preconceived ideas. 

Anybody believe that war is justified must have assumed that "it is
alright for the stronger to attack the weaker". If it is actually
only what your Japanese friends thought, I take my words back
and apology for my misunderstanding.

>However, I will say that it is a fact of life that the stronger
>attack the weaker as we are witnessing now in Sarajevo, and as we

That is one of the sad side of human life.

>>The only way to avoid the future war
>is that: let us talk, we are all human being, we all
>>respect each other and we all do not want war. 

>Yes, that's what were here for, in this newsgroup, right?

Right, however, this newsgroup is relatively too small. We should 
have more participation. That is why we call for a public apology.
In the next century, both japan and china will play a larger
international roles. Especially in the East Asian region. Conflicts
may develop once again if without appropriate measures. It is
high time to do something! 

>>The Japanese you talked to are either not typical, 
>>or Japanese government has done such excellent cover-up 
>>that Japanese people are not aware of the fact that millions
>>of innocent Chinese people have died in that terrible war.

>I don't know if they are typical or not. I never claimed they
>were one way or the other. 

If you didn't think they are typical, why mention them? I am not
ready to buy your these words. 

>Dave

>--
>Dave McLane 
>JUNET: davidg@aegis.or.jp (ONLY within Japan: post otherwise)
>Nagaokakyoshi, Kyoto Japan Tel: +81-75-951-1168 Fax: +81-75-957-1087

I did not think you are 57 years old! (no flame, just express my
suprise)

Yunson Du
University of Maryland
College Park, MD




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