Monkey Diaries Archive

I was purusing Yahoo news when I came upon this article about the Mayor of Hiroshima, Japan and his thoughts on Bush's nuclear weapons proliferation programs. One thing that has always struck me as odd is the Japanese perception of World War II and most importantly, the United States' decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki into the 1800s: Why don't Japanese educational systems teach Japanese youth that their countries greed and racial-superiorty complex set the stage for a war with the United States that killed millions of people. I once had a debate with a Japanese tree-hugger who vehemently denied any Japanese responsibility for the war, much less the United States decision to use Atomic weapons to end it. The person stubbornly ignored the facts, choosing instead to focus on why it is wrong to use Weapons of Mass Destruction against a country. He tried to paint a picture of a civilized, peace-loving Japan (nevermind the hundreds of thousands of Chinese who the Japanese killed throughout the ages) being victimized by a ruthless United States. Sorry to have to burst a few bubbles, but the pre-Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japanese were a horrible group of elitist and racist people hell-bent on world domination long before the German's decided to lay claim to that particular brand of nationalism. My stance has always been that had Japan not attacked the United States' holdings in Hawaii and chosen a path of agression against the US, the US wouldn't have needed to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent Japanese. On another note, my Yuba Gap Camping Adventure is this weekend. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by!