Japanese Revisionist History Indicative of Alarming Trend in Global Politics
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007
As someone who has spent a good portion of their life studying history, the efforts by politicians to revise the historical dialogue is disturbing. The recent debate over recognition of the 1919 Armenian genocide (yes, it was genocide) in Turkey has shown the blind spot inherent in partisan politics: dealing with rhetoric separates politicians from realities that they acknowledge in their personal life. There is no doubt that some of the legislators that debate recognizing the genocide feel that it was genocide but needed to deal with potential issues with our ally Turkey.
Japanese politicians are engaging in a debate over the circumstances of suicides committed as Americans invaded the Japanese empire that puts the Armenian debate to shame. Japan has been dealing with the effects of World War II in a frank manner since the end of World War II. Cultural manifestations like anime and cinema have helped Japanese deal with their own imperial legacy as well as the effects of the atomic bomb in equal measure. If Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and other nationalists in Japan have their way, they will whitewash the horrors of war six decades after the last battles were fought.
A provision supported by the Fukuda government would eliminate references to government support for suicides by residents of Okinawa in 1945 from textbooks. The Japanese Empire asked residents to kill themselves instead of allowing Americans to capture hostages in their initial campaign. Okinawan residents, parents and others concerned about eliminating the truth behind their sordid history are fighting this provision tooth and nail. It seems likely that textbooks will be censored for the next school session in April.
The problem I have with revisionist history exists on two fronts. I dislike immensely avoiding critical analysis of historical truth in order to spare the feelings of a sensitive public. More importantly, I hate when politicians and parents fail to place historical events in context. The Japanese Empire does not exist anymore, the Prime Minister does not call for suicide and America does not plan on dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. This is a different time and the Japanese need to understand that their critical distance from World War II allows them to heal wounds by exposing the truth.
