2020/6/20
There were many passages in this month's issue of the monthly magazine Seiryon that I left unread.
This morning, when I was reading Mr. Sukehiro Hirakawa's long series of articles, a passage struck me as very similar to what is happening in China today.
In the notes that Mr. Hirakawa included at the end of his article, a passage proved that I had hit the nail on the head.
In this paper, I would like to excerpt those passages and others that all Japanese citizens should know.
Mr. Hirakawa's paper is a must-read not only for the people of Japan but for people all over the world.
Editorial in the Asahi Shimbun (2006)
The view expressed in newspapers, television, radio, and other media, as well as textbooks, that Japan is solely responsible for past wars is commonly referred to as the Tokyo Trials view of history. However, there are still people within major newspapers who express extreme opinions about responsibility for "that war."
Japan "domestically exonerated others by holding Class A war criminals responsible for the war. It included the Showa Emperor.
It is a passage from a 2006 editorial in the Asahi Shimbun.
But if the paper thought such an editorial would sell papers, that would be a problem.
The paper's sales and authority have steadily declined throughout the Heisei era.
In 1989, the President of the United States and others attended the funeral of Emperor Showa.
Given this, should we not consider that the verdict of history has already been handed down internationally?
Those who denounce Emperor Hirohito as responsible for starting the war are the British evening broadsheet "Sun" and others, some editorialists of the Japanese "Akahata" and "Asahi Shimbun" newspapers, and some NHK employees.
They planned to air the "Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery" to judge the Showa Emperor.
This kind of demonization of the Showa Emperor is in the minority, and the Independent, Britain's premier newspaper, wrote: "Attempts are being made to link Emperor Hirohito with atrocities committed by the Japanese military, which is akin to saying that King George VI orchestrated the inhumane bombing of Germany during World War II. (November 1, 1988).
Despite this rebuke, the theory of the Showa Emperor's responsibility has been persistently reproduced at home and abroad since then.
By the way, various historical interpretations have emerged in recent years, but will the so-called Tokyo Trial view of history continue to be valid in the future?
If the Showa Emperor was not a bad guy, was the nation of Japan?
Were all of Japan's Class A war criminals evil in the first place?
If so, were they even worse than those who ordered the atomic bombings?
This article continues.
2023/6/10 in Osaka
