Why do East Asians still hold grudges against Japan?

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by DanS
I don't agree that Japan hasn't been penitent. Look at their actions compared with the Germans. While Germany has a military that goes outside of its borders regularly, Japan has a tough time sending troops anywhere.

Also, pacifism is so ingrained that it is a question whether her troops would even fire in self defense were they outside of her borders.

Japan has been penitent wrt to its militarism. More so than the Germans (who have been encouraged not to be too penitent since the beginning of the cold war BTW).
However, Japan hasn't been penitent towards their past evil deeds. The Germans have completely changed their society and relationship to authority, the German population has cultivated guilt for 50 years, with the government's blessing, all in the light of nazi horrors.
The Japanese haven't done so. Unlike the very anti-nazi Germans, I doubt the Japanese even feel bad for the past horrors that they have done. To me, they are similar to Turks and the Armenian genocide.

[TCO]

Remember Pearl Harbor. Thank God for the atom bomb.

[DanS]

[Kuciwalker]

America's "resolve" is its luck.

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by DanS
Lastly, German industry has been no less hesitant to settle claims against them for the war.

This isn't true. While some German industries have been hesitant, many German companies were very compliant with making reparations. Volkswagen stands out among them, as well as many of the German banks. In fact, in some instances it has gone too far. It's one thing to try and make amends through reparations and becoming a civic-minded entity, quite another to bankrupt one's self and ruin one's employees when none of the people in the company were responsible for what happened 60 years ago.

I think Spiffor is spot-on in that Japan as a society has been far, far less willing to accept responsibility for their atrocities agains their neighbors. I also think one of the big reasons for this is the atomic bomb, as it gives the Japanese a wedge issue that they can use to cloud things and evoke national self-pity. We may have used the a-bomb as a weapon of war, but now it's used as a shield against Japanese introspection.

[DanS]

I doubt the Japanese even feel bad for the past horrors that they have done

Why should they? We're about 3 generations removed from the fight.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Hell, if I could get the Japanese to level LA then I'd pay them.

Well, that's perfectly understandable

[Richard Bruns]

To an American, something that happened 50 years ago is ancient history. To an Asian, with a consistent cultural heritage thousands of years old, 50 years is practically yesterday. It doesn't help that the Japanese never apologised or even admitted wrongdoing.

But then again, we never apologised for nuking two cities, and the Japanese don't seem to have any major grudge against us. A lot of the anti-Japanese sentiment is probably just jealousy.

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Richard Bruns
But then again, we never apologised for nuking two cities, and the Japanese don't seem to have any major grudge against us.

Uh, that's not really accurate. Just read what the Japanese have to say every anniversary of Hiroshima. There is a grudge, and it's used to lend a level of righteous indignation to the Japanese so they can ignore their nation's actions.

[DanS]

To an Asian, with a consistent cultural heritage thousands of years old, 50 years is practically yesterday.

Not to pick on you, Richard, but this is ridiculous, if true. 60 years ago is not practically yesterday. Perhaps we are indulging East Asian self-pity to an inordinate degree. Hey, we all want to consider ourselves victims!

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by DanS
Why should they? We're about 3 generations removed from the fight.

People should be conscious of their collective history. Since people's opinions and mentalities are significantly dependent of their culture (their collective understanding), it is important to acknowledge the atrocities of the collective that has raised you.

As Individuals, the Japanese sure shouldn't feel bad about past atrocities they never took part in. But as a member of the Japanese culture, they should be aware their culture has brought these horrors, and that these atrocities are evil. If only, it would help preventing the Japanese doing so at some point in the future.

[Richard Bruns]

If your gradmother lived through it and still has scars, it's as good as yesterday.

One of my chinese flatmates at the Hogeschool Brabant was from Nanjing.

[Dinner]

I really don't see anything for America to apologise for. They were ordered to surrender "or face serious consequences" yet they did not. After each bomb they were asked to surrender but they didn't until after the second one. It's not like we didn't give them a way out.

Also the estimated casualties were 1 million Americans and 7 million Japanese if the Allies invaded the home islands. Certainly 250,000 is a smaller number then 8 million.

[DanS]

It has been 70 years since Nanking, Richard. That's not practically yesterday. And even if it were, it's not a proper basis for foreign policy today!

[Boris Godunov]

It should also be noted that the younger generation of Koreans is far less anti-Japanese than the previous generation. As time goes on, the sentiments will dissipate, as memory of the atrocities are relegated to history. The more Koreans have contact with Japanese culture and peers, the more things will change.