KirinMan
後輩
- 23 Jan 2007
- 2,113
- 68
- 58
I first heard this on the news this past Friday evening. Once again the Japanese Government is attempting to rewrite it's history, this time in regards to it's own people. There are many here in Okinawa that are more than just a little "upset" at this.
Japan to Revise Books on WWII Suicides
This time there is factual evidence that the Japanese Military personnel ordered the civilians to commit suicide. I have heard survivors of the war give lectures to Elementary, Junior High and High School students about this sad part of the Battle of Okinawa.
There have been movies made about this as well. Once again the government is sticking it to the people of Okinawa. Oh and if the Japanese soldiers didn't hand out the hand grenades how in the heck did the people get them in the first place? If a civilian was caught with them they would have been shot for pilfering military war material.
Also it's kind of hard to interview the dead Japanese military personnel who committed suicide themselves rather than be captured.
There is more in the article as well about other issues related to this recent spate of "work" by the current Japanese administration to soften it's own history.
Japan to Revise Books on WWII Suicides
TOKYO — The government ordered changes Friday to seven history textbooks describing how the Japanese army forced civilians to commit mass suicide at the end of World War II, the country's latest effort to soften brutal accounts of its wartime conduct.
The high school textbooks say the army _ faced with an impending U.S. invasion in 1945 _ handed out grenades to residents on the southern island of Okinawa and ordered them to kill themselves rather than surrender to the Americans.
The Education Ministry said there was no definitive evidence that the suicides were ordered by the army. The publishers were asked to modify the relevant passages and submit the changes for approval by a government-appointed panel.
"There are divergent views of whether or not the suicides were ordered by the army, and no proof to say either way. So it would be misleading to say the army was responsible," said Education Ministry official Yumiko Tomimori.
Since taking office in September, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has promoted national pride and sought to distance Japan from its post-World War II guilt. His conservative government has bolstered Japan's international military role and amended the constitution to require schools to teach patriotism.......
This time there is factual evidence that the Japanese Military personnel ordered the civilians to commit suicide. I have heard survivors of the war give lectures to Elementary, Junior High and High School students about this sad part of the Battle of Okinawa.
There have been movies made about this as well. Once again the government is sticking it to the people of Okinawa. Oh and if the Japanese soldiers didn't hand out the hand grenades how in the heck did the people get them in the first place? If a civilian was caught with them they would have been shot for pilfering military war material.
Also it's kind of hard to interview the dead Japanese military personnel who committed suicide themselves rather than be captured.
The battle in Okinawa raged from late March through June 1945, leaving more than 200,000 civilians and soldiers dead and speeding the collapse of Japan's defenses.
Accounts of forced group suicides on Okinawa have been backed up by historical research and testimony from victims' relatives. Historians say government propaganda led civilians to believe U.S. soldiers would commit atrocities, persuading them to kill themselves and their families to avoid capture.
But in recent years, some academics have questioned whether the suicides were forced, part of the wider push by conservatives to soften criticism of Japan's wartime conduct.
There is more in the article as well about other issues related to this recent spate of "work" by the current Japanese administration to soften it's own history.