Matt Gurney: Japan bravely apologizes for tiny, tiny percentage of its crimes

Photographer unknown. Source Wikipedia.

A Japanese soldier prepares to decapitate a Chinese resident of Nanking in December, 1937. Assuming it ever happened, that is.

The Associated Press reports that six Americans, held prisoner and used as slave labour by Japan during the Second World War, have received apologies from the Japanese government. The men, travelling in Tokyo, were received by the Japanese Foreign Minister, who told them, “I offer my deep, heartfelt apology for the inhuman treatment you suffered.”

Well, okay, then. Six down, countless thousands to go.At this rate Japan should have cleared up its WW2 apologies just in time for WW12.

It’s commendable that Japan apologized to these veterans, who were among 78,000 American and Filipino troops captured when Japan conquered the latter’s home islands. But this rare exception just proves Japan’s despicable rule, whereby they steadfastly refuse to acknowledge that while lacking the Nazi’s mechanical precision, the Empire of Japan was no less guilty of vicious human rights abuses.

The Rape of Nanking, for example. After Japanese forces captured this Chinese city in 1937, the occupying troops, with the full knowledge of their officers (who joined right in) set out on a weeks-long orgy of rape and murder. Hundreds of thousands were butchered for sport. Perhaps as many as 80,000 females, ranging from young girls to old ladies, were gang raped, often to be killed soon after. No apology was made until 1995, and many politicians — mainstream ones, even members of the government — continue to act like it never happened, calling it a Chinese hoax. This isn’t a conspiracy theory. They truly believe it never happened.

They’re a little more cynical when it comes to the so-called “comfort women”, primarily Chinese and Korean women forced to serve in a military brothel. Perhaps brothel is too genteel a description, come to think of it. Rape camp might be a better term. Smart figure is about 200,000 women were forced into sex slavery for the entertainment of Japan’s troops. In 2007, the ruling party was successful in having all mentions of it deletd from Japanese educational textbooks, and the minister responsible agreed with a citizen who said any such woman so used should be proud of her service.

You see the same all over. Biowarfare experiments on prisoners? Let’s not talk about it. The mass starvation of POWs? Best not discussed. In fact, the only war crime the Japanese think happened during that era was the American atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which while awful for the inhabitants of those cities, was militarily defensible and likely spared more lives than they claimed.

Again, it’s a good thing that these six POWs finally got their apology. I hope to see more of it. But by pushing off these confessions and apologies for as long as possible (to avoid paying reprations, perhaps?), all Japan is doing is storing up yet more things they’ll have to apologize for (much) later. Perhaps best to just get it out of the way now?

National Post
mgurney@nationalpost.com

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