Thursday, November 25, 2004

Groping and Japanese war crimes

A friend suggested that I blog on the report that 64% of young Japanese women are regularly groped on the trains in the major urban areas.

I live in a small city serviced by an old cranky rail system. It is so excruciatingly slow that I christened it, 'roba-den' (literally, Donkey Train). No groping here, I suppose.

Meanwhile, I am more attached to why Koizumi seems to be so adamant to continue going to the Yasukuni Shrine.

Japan screwed up bad during the Pacific War. And she has not been forthcoming on it.

Yasukuni Shrine, to victims of the war, is the premier symbol of Japanese imperialism.

The shrine houses the spirits of all Japanese soldiers killed in conflict, as well as approximately 50,000 civilians; women and children.

Fine.

The point of contention is, it houses the remains of 1,068 convicted war criminals, among them were 13 notorious Class A war criminals.

The most notorious war criminal was General Hideki Tojo, who was considered responsible for killing almost four million Chinese. (http://www.worldhistory.com/wiki/T/Tojo-Hideki.htm)

I am reminded of to my visit to the Hiroshima Peace Park when I first came to Japan as a student. I recall I was drawn to tears upon seeing the gory exhibits.

Upon reflection, the Peace Park focuses on the horrors of the nuclear bomb and the 'crime' committed by the US in dropping the bomb on innocent civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Again, Japan is not forthcoming on this.

Why, exhibits on only the anguish wrought by the nuclear bomb? Why not on war as a whole?

Why not exhibits on the miseries forced upon the innocent war victims in other parts of Asia as well?

I hope Koizumi will take a break and choose to go to Meiji Shrine instead.

It is quite a lovely place, actually, if you can avoid getting groped in the trains while on the way there.


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