2007-02-11 07:39:44 · 12 answers · asked by nikki 2 in Travel ➔ Asia Pacific ➔ Japan
I am not sure what "forgive" means in this question. Should the Chinese and Korean and other countries (U.S. included) use WWII as a source of hate to generate their own nationalistic idealogy today? (Why not earlier wars? US-Spanish? Russia-Japan?)Or use it as an execuse of blind hate to all things Japanese? Absolutely not. On the other hand, should anyone forgot the terrible things done in the war or deny them? Absolutely not. All people need to work hard to understand each other across the boundaries of languages and cultures, and learn from the history so not to repeat the mistakes we made over and over.
2007-02-11 10:44:57 · answer #1 · answered by patchin1 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Wow. Difficult question. I would have though to say yes, because there comes a time when everyone shoul dbe forgiven. It is NOT the young and new generation of Japanese people who are responsible. They are no differenet from the young people of Korea and China.
In the 2nd world war the it was the Japenese soldiers who were the most brutal against the British army. I know from having discussed this with many elderly war soldiers in the UK. They have a grave dislike for Japanese people. We have to forgive though. Surely. Hate cannot move us forward. (I have lived in Korea for 2 years hence I DO appreciate the level of feel;ing on this issue)
2007-02-11 07:46:19 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Should they? Hard to answer that because it all depends on what they (China / S.Korea) want.
If they want to stay angry at the Japanese then by all means I think they have the right to be.
But should they "hate" ALL Japanese (Which includes children and new borns) who are innocent of any personal wrong deeds to them? Of course not.
Being angry and hating are two very different things.
And being angry at responsible people is one thing, blaming a nation that's evolving every second is another.
2007-02-12 05:10:21 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you didn't live through it, weren't personally a victim, then your right to be pissed is not so great. But there are still those whose parents or grandparents WERE victims, so it is natural to still feel anger. Anger at the soldiers and politicians who did and approved the invasion.
But, it was over 60 years ago. Most of the soldiers who actually took part are dead. Being angry at Japanese people in general is just racism. The Korean and especially Chinese governments are using the invasion as a way to focus hatred on an outsider instead of on their own repressive government.
But many old men in Japan are too nationalist. They still think worshipping Japanese war criminals at Yasukuni shrine is not a bad thing. I think they mainly continue to do it precisely because Korea and especially China are angry about it, and they don't want to "give in" to Chinese demands, especially since China and North Korean complaints about human rights and victimization are VERY hypocritical (Tienanmen Square, labor camps, etc.)
2007-02-11 08:28:57 · answer #4 · answered by Ken O 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Eventually, the generations that endured the injustices that Japan inflicted upon them will die. It is up to the new generations to let go of the past and not blame the descendants of the perpitrators. The children in Japan do not know or understand what happened then and the children of China, Korea and others are taught to believe that the aggression happened to them as well. Somewhere, sometime, everyone has to put the past behind them and forgive what happened.
But, I don't see this happening in my lifetime.
2007-02-11 07:45:46 · answer #5 · answered by Steve 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Turning a blind eye to the problems of their own countries, and venting their anger at a safe target obviously do not help the situation.
A quote from BoYang
"Chinese people are highly reluctant to admit their errors, and can produce a myriad of reasons to cover their mistakes. There's an old adage: 'Contemplate your faults behind closed doors'. Whose faults? The guy's next door, of course! When I was teaching school, I told my students to keep a diary and record their weekly activities. The entries read like this: 'Today Ming cheated me. I've always been good to him. It must be because I'm too kind to him and too honest.' But when I read Ming's diary, I saw that Ming thought that he was too kind and too honest as well. If everyone in the world is so kind and honest, can there be any dishonest people left?"
2007-02-11 09:41:46 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
The question is do the decedents of the oppressors and the victims want to carry the hate and negativity into the future? The hate will just eat away at their national identity until they are just a shell ow what they could have been. Are they mature enough to let the past go?
Good question, but creates more questions than are answerable.
2007-02-11 14:02:01 · answer #7 · answered by Looking for the truth... 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Yes, and most already have. But there is a principle of honour and responsibility to be considered which is why the issue continues to resurface.
I Cr 13;8a, Love never fails!!!!!
2007-02-11 10:08:30 · answer #8 · answered by ? 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Who are the Janpanese?
2007-02-11 08:29:36 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
Of course...
China & S.Korea are keeping their peoples hate focused
on other nations so that they do not focus on internal corruption
and abuses of power..
2007-02-11 07:48:23 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 2⤋