BagOfCrisps 24 Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has made a visit to a controversial war shrine in Tokyo, prompting a furious response from China.Abe, who became prime minister for a second time exactly a year ago, is the first Japanese leader to have visited the Yasukuni shrine since Junichiro Koizumi just over seven years ago. Abe, a conservative who has spoken of the need for Japan to end its “masochistic” feelings of guilt over its wartime conduct in Asia, had voiced regret that he did not make the pilgrimage during his first, year-long term as prime minister from September 2006. Thursday's visit sparked predictable outrage from China and South Korea, which view Yasukuni as a potent symbol of Japanese militarism, and visits by politicians as evidence that Japan has yet to atone for atrocities committed in parts of China and on the Korean peninsula in the first half of the 20th century. What do Japanese people think about this? Is it a big deal, or is a big deal just being made about it? Link to post Share on other sites
oo 1 Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 I may be wrong, but feel that a big point is often missed. If the 'war criminals' we're moved from the shrine, and just left the non war criminals who died, there wouldn't be a problem, right? Japanese media misses that point out. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 On the BBC they said there's a museum next to (part of) the shrine with some unbelievable version of 'history'. Anyone been? Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 Mentioned in this http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25517376 Link to post Share on other sites
mina2 6 Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 it would seem to be a right dickish thing to do. Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 Another charm offensive from the master of diplomacy. I may be wrong, but feel that a big point is often missed. If the 'war criminals' we're moved from the shrine, and just left the non war criminals who died, there wouldn't be a problem, right? Japanese media misses that point out. That has been suggested, but apparently there is no procedure for un-enshrining the war criminals. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 On the BBC they said there's a museum next to (part of) the shrine with some unbelievable version of 'history'. Anyone been? Yeah me. It paints a less serious version of events than what actually happened. I went on Jan 2nd about 10 yrs ago after going to see the emperor wave his really small hand at the masses. The shrine was full of the black flag people generally shouting in my direction and waving their naval sun flags Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 I would like to go there actually. Abe is just holding his (imaginary) enormous cock doing this isn't he. What a plonker. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 That has been suggested, but apparently there is no procedure for un-enshrining the war criminals. Wouldn't it be like the scene in Ghostbusters when the Ghost Tank explodes open? Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 That was quite scary wasn't it. I jolly well wouldn't want to be nearby if that happened at Yasukuni. Link to post Share on other sites
OBLONG 0 Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Tubby, who or what are the black flag people? Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 The right wing people who drive around in black vans, wearing black clothes waving black flags and ranting about foreigners and how Japan should revert back to control under the emperor etc etc Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 What are the foreigners supposed to have done wrong, Tubby? Walked into the living room still wearing the toilet slippers? Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 the same thing that foreigners the world over have done wrong in the eyes of right-wing xenophobic fascist groups. All the country's problems are due to us foreigners....you know how it goes 1 Link to post Share on other sites
kokodoko 67 Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 A lot of the guards in POW camps were Korean. I cannot understand why Korea is hating on Japan when a lot of the brutality was carried out by Koreans against Australian, English, Dutch etc... under the orders of Japanese military of course.. to me it seems a mite hypocritical.. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 the same thing that foreigners the world over have done wrong in the eyes of right-wing xenophobic fascist groups. All the country's problems are due to us foreigners....you know how it goes Is it us foreigners or those foreigners? I'm getting confused in my old age. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 it depends on which foreigners are at hand. Koko, plenty citizens of the occupied European countries enlisted as SS and did the Nazis nasty work, at their behest of course. It wasn't a majority by a long shot though and so I reckon their dislike for Japanese methods during the war is more representative of the whole population. That said, history is written by the victors 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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