For the anniversary of the defeat in WWII

Around the anniversary of the defeat of our country in WWII, that is, 3 days ago, there have been a number of programs in the mass media regarding the day. Most of them concerned about the damages and the victims in Japan due to the war. For example, the damages by the atomic bombs in two cities or the massive bombing in various parts of the country. So many people were injured or killed. Many people have suffered from that experience for years after the war. It deserves recalling that experience and telling the history to the young people.

It is, however, unfair only to recall the war as an event where we, Japanese, remain as sufferers. It is not only our government or the japanese military which has started and carried on the war. Most of the people delightedly accepted the war and compelled our government to carry on and extend it, even though the mass media was partly responsible for misleading them. In the neighbor countries, we have caused massive damages and large number of victims. In China, the number of the victims during the WWII is estimated from 10 to 20 millions while it is 3 millions in Japan. We should recall those who suffered much damage and lost their lives over there.

We were not only the sufferers but also the invaders to the neighbor countries. This defect in understanding the own history may be closely related with biased recognition of the responsibility for the war. Since the cold war has started as soon as the WWII was over, the responsibility for the war was not thoroughly investigated at all. The bureaucracy and the emperor system should have been seriously questioned at that time. The US has taken advantage of them to govern our country.

A portion of conservative politicians and bureaucrats have survived in the
postwar period. Their obedience to the US enabled them to remain as the ruling class in the society. They are now trying to recover their historical identity with the revisionism for the modern history. The feeling of being victimized in the people is, in my view, closely related with this anachronism in a portion of the ruling people.

For the past few days, this thought has occupied my mind.