http://www.japantoday.com/jp/quote/2014/all

"I don't stand beside them, I don't sit beside them, I don't shake hands with them. There's a thousand men out there on that ship that lost 65 years of their life and I'm sure they would not shake hands with them."
Don Stratton, a USS Arizona sailor who suffered burns on 60-70% of his body during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He says not all veterans can put the past behind them and embrace their former enemies. (AP)

Like we care

All war tragedies really scar people and its so sad.

soldiers = space monkeys

I wonder what they think of some of today's Americans who are Japanophiles and want to visit/live in Japan, get a Japanese spouse, reincarnate as a Japanese, etc. Man, how times have changed.

^ they like to flatter themselves?

Who would?

it's sad


but look at what they did in Hiroshima ......like that could be easily forgotten

boohoohoo cry me a river

and yet killing hundreds and thousands using an atom bomb is any more justified.
Very hypocritical statement by the former American serviceman.

Oh dear, oh my, oh goodness, gracious me......hot dog?

What a fu-king dumbass. When you get your @$$ hammered, you blame yourself. You don't blame your opponent for beating you. Embarrassment to all Americans.

Yep, just like anyone cares about you people getting nuked. TWICE.

If you fu-king halfwit Americans don't start learning from your many, many mistakes, You're going to get another Pearl Harbor right up your @$$.

This country has been severely weakened by George Bush and you had best believe some other nation is going take advantage of it. It is inevitable because so many nations now hate us.

I just hope you'll have the brains and guts to out the blame where it belongs instead your unbearable whining like you fo about Pearl Harbor. Grow up and find yourselves some balls before it's too late.

With that said, I should point out that certainly not all Pearl Harbor survivors look down on the Japanese. Many of them admit that they would have done the same thing if their govt ordered them to. That attitude is proper and I have no problem with it. The whining I can do without. We had our chance to stop those planes well before tjhey ever got to Pearl Harbor and we did nothing. We have no right to call it a sneak attack because there was nothing sneaky in it. The Japanese pulled it off due to American ineptitude and nothing but American ineptitude.

And now it will happen again because our fighting and defense resources have been drained by George Bush and the 109th Congress. They are doing to the military what they done to the earth--strip it bare and don't bother to conserve or renew or replace what was taken--just fu-k it and forget about it and worry about only when it becomes a crisis. But guess what? It IS a crisis.

i sort of agree. but the japanese imperial soldiers had little choice where missions they would do, etc. just like american men of the era. and both side is trying to see whats most beneficial to their side. and for japanese it was to stop america from holding them back in any way in the war and for america, to drop the bomb was to stop the fighting as opposed to an island hopping battleplan which would have killed more people in general.

oi... aren't you guys taking advantage of korea?

Who Americans? Well, can you blame them? Its all human nature really. Its not only the U.S that is and has taken advantage of other nations.

I assume your Korean? India's been taken advantage of with the landmark nuclear deal between it and the U.S mostly just to keep a check on China and for economic gain for the U.S, they aren't doing it just to be nice.

I've been to Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, and well the Japanese don't really like Americans either so yah.. Sh!t happens, forgive and live on. Life is too precious to always be thinking about stuff like this.

Some have done so, some don't (considering this guy suffered burns on 60-70% of his body - can you really blame him?).

And Hiroshima and Nagasaki isn't really analogous to the attack on Pearl Harbor except for the human suffering.

Because thats soooo likely to happen

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the only war crime the Americans committed was allowing the war to continue as long as it did. Edmund Burke said it best "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

well, that was the us gov and like one or two guys, not a fleet

the dude got blitz in pearl harbour. i wouldn't go and do the boogie with anybody that attacked me either

meh japanese forgot nanking very easily. I don't see how they can't forget hiroshima.

As long as they have that disgraceful shrine up I will not acknowledge the hiroshima and nagasaki bombings simple as that.

^Yeah, great attitude.

Just fighting fire with fire.

pfff.........I'd be more concerned about the shrine museum than the actual shrine

There both bad Im not going to sit here and say which one is worse. Though I will say this since shinzo abe took power he has taken the right steps in at least trying to improve ties with his neighbours.

I'm confused here. I hear that Abe is trying to improve ties with Japan's neighbors but that he is also trying to steer Japan more towards militarism and nationalism?

Abe is a uyoku for all practical purposes. He is in power because the Western powers want him there. It is America that does not want Japan to apologize because that would place America in a very awkward position. Japan will NEVER apologize as long as the West, particularly the US, regards them as an ally. The day Japan apologizes they will no longer be allies to the US and that is why Japan will never apologize.

I doubt that I will ever understand what you just said. What awkward position? What does being an ally have to do with an apology? Germany is an ally and we basicly made them own up to every misdeed they were ever accused of.

That's funny because I don't recall the US ordering Germany to apologize to anyone. And I certainly don't remember them ordering Japan to apologize.

Being an ally means the US brought in their doctors to tell them all about their experiments. We brought in German and Japanese scientists and engineers to give us all their data. It was strictly for the govt's use and had nothing to do with bringing people to justice. We can't force apologies while engaging in this behavior.

uhmmmm all those war crimes trials after WWII? The executions of the convicted? The life in prison? That was the justice end of the deal. As for forcing an apology. What is a forced apology worth? No matter what war it is no matter what side their are atrocities committed. Not that might makes right because I firmly believe anyone wearing the uniform should be held to the highest of standards but the fact is it happens. As for using former enemy knowledge and technology the USA wasn't the only ones to exploit that. The USSR, England and France all enjoyed a piece of the pie. Japan after WWII was brought low and rebuilt as was germany. You so freely condemn the USA for its part in this but compare the nations the USA befriended v.s those occupied by the USSR... The difference is striking.
Look at France as it tried to rebuild its empire...
The USA has its share of sin but by no means does it have the market cornored.

damn you Japanese talk big huh? Come on, you have to launch a sneak attack on the U.S, byung shin deul,

actually.. thats because the germans apologized themselves - it doesnt need to be reminded to apologize for something it did bad, even if it was controlled by a twisted dictator at the time.

the US may not order the Japanese to apologize, but china, korea, vietnam, singapore, malay etc. all are since they took the blunt of the japanese invasion. sure america lost many lives in WWII, but majority was military casualties. asian countries lost millions of civilians and irreparable damage to culture with many historical and cultural buildings being destroyed.

the japanese on the other hand put their pride before their usual polite demeanor and has still yet to apologize formally to its neighboring countries.

however, no one should be blaming the pilot that bombed pearl harbor. he didnt plan the attack. he didnt decide whether or not to execute the attack. he merely did what he was told. if the americans should have bitter feelings over pearl harbor, it should be with the japanese generals.

and believe me, hiroshima and nagasaki are a lot more immoral than pearl harbor. whether or not pearl harbor is an ambush is debatable. however, its purpose was clear. it was to take out the US pacific fleet.

whereas when we look at the atomic bombings - their objective was to cause terror and harm to the civilians so that they would pressure their gov. to surrender. soldiers dying in war are a fact of life. civilians should not be killed even though they are sometimes as collateral damage. however, targeting civilians on the other hand can be filed for a war crime.

That's a shame. He shouldn't have beef with the entire Japanese civilization. It only took a few Japanese politicians to make the decision to bomb PH, not every single Japanese citizen. If he wants to hold a grudge, let him hold it against the Japanese people who directly had active hands in the bombing of PH. Why hold a grudge against the innocent Japanese who had nothing to do with it. I have a feeling this guy isn't really upset over PH, he's just racist.

Hum i think we better not discuss about what crime what country has commited, because it would only lead to flaming and bad manner...

for the american guy who hate japanese because of bombing and for japanese who hate american because of atomic bombing, i think it is just their problem and their war. some people pain and war will never end, and you can force people to like each other..
he doesn't like japanese, doesn't want to shake hand, fine , nobody will force him, as long as he doesn't harm japanese people in anyway, what he think is only his own matter.

but for all of us who where lucky enough to live in peacefull time, i say enjoy your life, befriend others, discover other people cultures, and learn to understand other people and maybe like them.
life is short, live is precious, history has wasted so many lives, better be thankfull and enjoy everything we can.

The main difference between the wrongs AMerica did and the war crimes done by the Japanese is America has anounced that is was a huge mistake for the to use nuclear bombs. U.S. said it regreted using the bombs and apologizes. Japan continues to deny or excuse there crimes which angers everyone involved.

I don't know that Germany apologized for anything either. They might have but I don't know if they did or not and I don't take a poster's word for it without some kind of evidence. And it really doesn't matter since it's not what I'm talking about anyway.



I'm not defending Japan. They made their bed and can lie in it all day for all I care. What I'm sick of is stupid, illiterate Americans telling how noble and great America was in WW2. We were fu-king butchers in WW2 just as bad as the countries we vilify. Then we took all their research on torture, medical experiments and poison gases and used it to beef up our own arsenals and PAID these bastards for it and where's the outcry against that? Why should Japan and Germany bear all this blame when the United States paid the worst perpetrators, shielded them from justice, and appropriated their "work"? It's like the fu-king US can do anything it wants to anybody for any reason and gets away with it. nobody criticizes. another country does the same thing and we're demanding apologies left and right. Look at Vietnam. Look at My Lai. Where's the apology for that? We got a bunch Vietnamese retards in here who want to thank the US for that. Hey, Japan killed SEAs just as ruthlessly as Americans and how come they're supposed to apologize and not America???



It should be with themselves for allowing it. When you get your @$$ kicked, you ALWAYS blame yourself for allowing it to happen. Blaming the one who kicked your @$$ makes you look stupid. Learn from your deficiencies and do better next time or you're going to get your @$$ kicked a lot.



The bomb was dropped for one reason: it was made to depopulate a city in a flash and the only way to know if it truly works is to drop one on an unsuspecting city. That's why it was dropped. Had nothing to do with ending the war since the war was all but over. Truman had no intention of letting Japan surrender before the bomb was ready or he would have had no justification to use it.

Again, when has America ever apologized for killing civilians? Never.




Where is your evidence that America ever issued such an apology?

Jor..America hasn't apologized ever, it denies it...and Hiroshima and Nagasaki are glorified by the Americans, as I am sure you have seen.

I know there was no apology. But that's not my point, my point is why isn't one being demanded? They can demand one from Japan--which I have no problem with--but they don't even think to demand from America who is at least as guilty at foisting on atrocities in their countries.

Let's sum it up: White/Western worship.

It's acceptable for white or Western people to commit atrocities on Asians--they'll submit to that--but not when it comes from another group of Asian/Eastern people.

If I'm wrong, then where is the demand for an apology for the Opium Wars, for Vietnam, for the Philippines Wars, for Bikini Island? Nowhere. I can't even take these people and their righteous indignation against the Japanese seriously because they give no indication they are serious. When they start demanding an apology from America and Britain, then maybe I'll rethink that position but not before.

Right now I'm watching far too many Asians pairs of lips smacking loudly against white, hairy @$$ to believe these people can be so infuriated against the Japanese but can't bring themselves to feel one bit of even mild resentment for what the US and Britain has done to them.

Then they whine that white guys are taking all their women or some $hit.

The war was not over. Japan never had any intention of surrendering. Japan knew that they could not win, but they wanted to spill as much American blood as possible to pay for their loss. America dropped the bomb to save the thousands of American lives who were fighting. It might be a dirty and in-human tatic, but at least they had an understandable reason. What was Japan's reason for killing and rapping Chinese? What was Japan's reason for murdering innocent Filipinos?

hiroshima and nagazaki ended the war, pearl harbour started it. hmmm, makes you think doesnt it?

its hard to forgive a cowardly surprise attack. (well, in the eyes of the American GI.s)

Uhhh...yeah it was.



So what? What were they going to fight with? Kids holding toothpicks.



That's a little thing called war. There was one going on at the time. You might have heard something about it.



Yes, I can understand how Japanese women and children were a lethal threat to American soldiers. But seeing first hand what cowards we American fighting men actually are, maybe they have something there.



I don't know. You'll have to ask them. I'm saying it wasn't Japanese women and children that "rapped" the Chinese.




Maybe the Japanese didn't want to use timetables.

Hum... let's try to moderate a bit

Quote: Mua Posted Yesterday, 10:25 PM
hiroshima and nagazaki ended the war, pearl harbour started it. hmmm, makes you think doesnt it?

well what he said Is true, these are history fact.

but was the bombing the only solution, was the bombing the best solution... impossible to answer this history has already taken place and nobody can go back on what happened.

1) some people say the Japanese fanatic (at that time there was kamikaze and brainwashed people) would fight to the death and civilian feared so much white barbarian American that they would rather suicide that to accept defeat and loose their honor (honor i think is important in Japanese culture).
so to avoid mass death of Japanese inocent civilian and American soldier, to end the war as quickly as possible they Nuke two city full of innocent civilian and cause death because of nuclear radiation for many many generation.

2) some other people say that the Japanese where so much defeated that the emperor or Japanese authority were already accepting the fact of surrendering, and that the bombing was done intentionaly in order to test this new superweapon.

i don't know wich one is true from 1) or 2)...

But what true is that winner is always right and looser always wrong, if Japan had win the War, atrocity commited upon Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean would have never been apologized nor even being heard of...
Germany was defeated and German Soldier did not only commited War atrocity like every army does (rape, murder of civilian and soldier) but they also commited horrible crime as Genocide of jewish people, medical experiment on living human, torture with no military purpose and many more.....

American did commit only one atrocity against Japan that was the bombing, but bombing civilian in time of war is almost something "natural" (first victime in time of war are always civilian), but this kind of bomb has nothing to do with "natural" because it is the most mass destructive weapon at that time.
the kind of horror done by this kind of weapon is a sin to humankind as much as the genocide by the German... but depending on reason 1) or 2), they might had no choice but still American should apologies.

Why is Japanese so much hated in Neighbourg country, because no only, like American and European country they did war on them, but like German they shared the superiority race thing and treated other people like animal and did many atrocity and crimes... almost like German.

I don't ask that Japanese people apologies, they did nothing wrong, i mean most of you weren't even born at that time, only the people who do evil need to apologies... But the Japanese government should apologies on the behalf of the Japanese authority of that time who did order these crimes.

Jor you look like you hate a lot American or white people well that's your own opinion and i don't complain about it, But when America occupied Japan they did quite a good job...
whatever you might think...
because of MacArthur the Japan that was ruined at that time became the powerfull counrty it is today because of American funding and help of devellopment
American government wanted to Judge and kill the emperor Hirohito for crime of war and it is the General MacArthur who stoped that and maintained the Imperial power inside Japan.

I am French so you can really say i am not a Pro American supporter, but except the bombing, what they did with Japan was truly Great for the Country.

But i think as we all are civilized country today, as we are no more at war... we should all (the government) apologies for the wrong we did, Japanese, American, etc...
France also should apologies for occupying China, colonizing Vietnam, Algeria and many country in Africa.

that's all i hope everyone try to be more open minded

The Germans have shown genuine remorse. For example, here's Willi Brandt kneeling at a Polish war memorial shrine:

http://cnd.cnd.org/mirror/nanjing/brandt.html



Yes, total war was practiced by the Americans and Allies but they were nonetheless not morally equivalent to the Axis powers. They didn't perform experiments on humans for one thing. It is simply a lie that we were 'just as bad as the countries we vilify'.

Given that the research had already been done, it would have been stupid not to acquire the results. By the way, from what I've heard the Japanese 'experiments' were carried out with such lack of scientific rigour as to be worthless anyway - more exercises in senseless cruelty.



Do you have any proof of this monstrous allegation? I bet you don't. I bet you're just another internet monkey blowing smoke. Because the history books say Japan was poised for all out war in defense of the mainland that would have cost probably at least as many Japanese lives - civilian along with military, fighting as one - as Hiroshima and Nagasaki, along with huge numbers of American casualties into the bargain. (And whose lives was Truman sworn to protect?)



I agree with you here. It doesn't make sense for America to issue an apology. First off it doesn't concede guilt. And even if you were right in your grotesque opinion of Hiroshima, it wouldn't make sense because that would leave America open to prosecution under the international laws that she herself is largely the architect of.

^ It would be stupid not to pay and acquire the results??
The question should be, Are you stupid? By paying and acquiring results from the torture of other human beings is in effect backdoor and retrospective condonation. Besides it being extremely low-down.

Your reply starts with "because the history books say.." Do you know history books are an interpretation and subject to bias or even outright lies? Yeah, even american history!

Such a well-programmed western korean who can't think for itself! lol.

They did their usual perfectly $hitty job--whatever you might think.



MacArthur is the reason Japan has never apologized. Hirohito WAS a war criminal who deserved to go to the gallows. I don't care if he's an emperor and descended from teh sun goddess and all that retarded monarchy crap. The Japanese are stupid to believe that idiotic garbage. Even as stupid as the Britons are, they don't even believe all that garbage about their sovereigns anymore.

When the war ended, the Japanese industrialists swung a deal with MacArthur. The Japanese corporations known as zaibatsu owed America a LOT of money. If Hirohito was replaced, all the industrialist leaders would be also be replaced. If that happened, the new leaders could legally abolish the debts they owed to America. To prevent this, MacArthur agreed not to try Hirohito for the war crimes that he is responsible for. All the zaibatsu leaders--the people that truly ran Japan's war machine--remained in power and never faced justice. With new corporate leaders, there was a chance of an apology but with the same leaders there is no chance.



I agree. It was great for Japan because it enabled them to prosper and pay back the American corporations. It fu-ked over the rest of Asia. America is responsible for why Japan has never and will never apologize.



America will never apologize so why should anyone else?



So what??? Many individual Japanese have apologized, some of them in the govt. But they can't apologize on behalf of the govt. It is only their personal feelings. Germans have done the same thing. The difference is, when white people do it, you accept it. When Asian people do it, it's just lip service.