In 2014, a controversial Japanese politician ran for governor of Tokyo.
Although he didn’t win, his popularity among young voters was partially due to what many
call “Japanese Revisionism” of 20th century war crimes.
Many Japanese youths refuse to shoulder the burden of World War Two atrocities, while
some politicians openly deny certain events.
So, what war crimes is Japan trying to hide?
Since the 1950s, government officials have repeatedly apologized for crimes committed
during World War Two, primarily authorized by Emperor Hirohito during the Showa Era.
However, in recent years, the government has attempted to downplay the severity of these
crimes.
The most glaring examples of revisionism are in government-approved historical textbooks.
War crimes are rarely mentioned, and when they are, it is in a detached, inculpable
tone.
Most school districts outright refuse to use these textbooks.
Internationally, Japan’s mass killings have been referred to as the Asian Holocaust.
Some estimate that during World War II, the Japanese military killed up to ten million
people, nearly 4 million of them Chinese.
In one famous atrocity known as the Nanking Massacre, the Japanese Army executed hundreds
of thousands of civilians and prisoners of war over the course of a month.
Facts about this event have been widely disputed by Japanese officials, despite international
acknowledgement.
Another horrific crime was the Emperor’s establishment of human experimentation camps,
the most famous of which was Unit 731.
Prisoners were infected with diseases and cut open while alive and without anesthesia.
Some subjects had their limbs removed and then reattached on opposite sides.
Some had frostbite intentionally induced, others were used as weapons testing.
Most women were raped.
After the war, nearly all the researchers were given immunity by the United States in
exchange for the information they gained from these experiments.
Furthermore, records about the unit were destroyed, leaving only survivor testimony, giving weight
to denier claims.
Although there were many other war crimes committed, including faking surrender, reports
of cannibalism, forced labor, and torture, the most notable was the use of “comfort
women."
Original Japanese occupations saw mass rape of locals, so brothels for soldiers were established.
However, there were not nearly enough women to fill them, so as many as 200,000 women
and girls were kidnapped or coerced into sexual slavery.
This issue is particularly contentious for Japanese officials and journalists.
In 2007, a number of surviving comfort women demanded an apology from the Japanese government.
Initially, the Prime Minister said there was no evidence of these horrific crimes.
However, several weeks later, the Japanese parliament officially apologized.
Japanese nationalists have since pushed to rescind the apology.
Many Japanese youths consider the issue of 70-year-old war crimes to be unfairly lumped
onto them, pointing out that they were not the perpetrators of these events.
However, the push to whitewash history in order to appear blameless is in no way an
appropriate method of dealing with historical atrocities.
Japanese officials’ denial of comfort women is one of the saddest modern dismissals.
See this video by Seeker Daily to learn more about the lives of these enslaved women, OR
if you want more of the shocking history behind why China hates Japan, watch this video.
Thanks for watching TestTube News, don’t forget to like and subscribe for new videos
every day.