The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-09-13
erpreting
The War
BY JAMES D. WHITE

BY JAMES ID. WHITE
ASSOCIATED Press Staff Writer)
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 12-Will
Tojo's attempted suicide really
teach the Japanese anything about
the criminal futility of aggression?
Does it show them now theil
militarists really look?
It may do that for few Jap
anese who already know and don't
need telling. But for the vast ma
jority of japanese it's probable
that the little war lord merely
added one more theatrical gesture
10 consolidate the great japanese
fairy tale. Here it Isl
"Once upon a time the Gods
created Japan, and the Japanese,
firmly united under their Emperor.
may make mistakes but can do
no wrong"
Part of this fairy tale is the
artificial military tradition of hara
kiri. The unsuccessful militris1
bumps himself off because he has
blundered in furthering the in
terests of the Empire. Not be-
cause he regrets committing
crimes against humanity.
The fairy tale is strong. Jap.
anese disapproved openly of TOTO
because he waited as long as he
did to commit suicide. Presum.
ably their disapproval is lessened
now that he has satisfied Jap
anese ideas of what's right by
pointing an automatic at his
tummy and pulling the trigger.
They show no concern for the
mass murder, raping, drugging
and decentralization of Asia for
which this man stood.
In western countries suicide is
most commonly an escape from a
life which has become unbear.
sble. The Japanese have labored
nightly to depict suicide as noble
and above self.
If we think the Japanese COM
NIT suicide for different reasons
than we do, we may be falling fo-
their fairy tale.
Life in Japan is cheap. Death
is not feared as it is with us. And
life is more crowded with possible
catastrophe than we know it.. Life
is a career of avoiding catas.
tropics, among them acceptance
of responsibility. We have no
means of gauging how powerful
this urge to avoid responsibility
can become in mans mind.
The Japanese militarist who
bumps himself off always says
he does SO nj order to take re-
sponsibility for his failures. But
does he? Wouldn't it be more
painful for him to live-even brief
ly-with the chaos he has wrought?
TOTO himself said that as forme.
chief of government he could not
face trial as war criminal. That
was what an Associated Press in
terpreter caught as he mumbled
to the crowd around his PROSTATE
form. But note that Domei. the
official Japanese news agency
which General Macarthur is re-
ported to have "clamped down
upon," omits this. damning ad.
mission. Instead it carefully
paints TOTO as assuming full re.
sponsibility fo- what has hap
pened and winding up with the
automatic Bangai' for the EN-.
peror. Thus is the fairy tale
the noble abnegation of all JAP
anese for, their Emperor and race
maintained intact. Mo- word
reaches the Japanese people, ap.
parently, that, TOTO admitted he
couldn't bear to stick around ano
face the music.
The highest value of a trial
for TOTO and other war criminals
will be in direct proportion to the
extent it shows the Japanese PEG.
pie the. sordid tceachery which has
dominated the doings of their
leaders, how their conquests led
the nation to depravity instead OF
glory.
There are simple, honest people
in Japan fully capable of realiz-
ing that, but that capacity is
drugged with ignorance and lies
and must be rescued and exploit.
ed. -
For the Japanese undoubtedly
welcome Tojo's attempted flight
from reality because it takes that
much blame off their own snoul.
ders, they hope.
They do not thing of it as an
escape, but as the right thing to
do.
They still believe the fairy tale.
Hrl- = IL