Bill Belew has raised 2 bi-cultural kids, now 34 and 30. And he and his wife are now parenting a 3rd, Mia, who is 8.
Fighting Against Japanese Culture
This posting by Muninn Japan’s 21 Apologies to China builds an excellent case as to why Japan does NOT need to apologize anymore for its wartime behavior. Japan need no longer beat itself up. What more could be said or done?
President Hu of China said as much earlier this year when he said words to the effect that the problems between Japan and China are not China’s fault or the Japanese people’s fault. It is the fault of the political leaders in Japan who continually rub the war atrocities in China’s face once a year when they, Koizumi and others, visit the Yasukuni Shrine to show respect to the war criminals.
I encourage readers to view the 21 apologies listed by Muninn. They are there to read in a list, with dates, speaker, and context as well as English, Japanese and Chinese versions. Truly great work!
I encourage Japanese readers to tell the PM to stay home next August. catch cold, skip a visit, whatever, and see what difference it makes or…doesn’t. What is there to lose? The support of Japanese nationalists? The PM would still get elected whether s/he goes or stays home.
I encourage Chinese readers to see who it is that is at odds with China – a few knotheads politicians and NOT the people they supposedly represent.
China and Japan can get along – look at the ongoing business relations of the two countries.
Why can’t a few Japanese leaders be more sensitive and Chinese be more forgiving of the majority of Japan? Why can’t we all get along?
What do you think?
I agree whole heartily that both Chinese and Japanese should get along. Fundamentally, I believe both people are good human beings. The current Japanese generation should not be held accountable for what their ancestors did more than 60 years ago. If one looks back, every ancestor of every ethnic group in the world did some horrible things. Heck, the Chinese ancestor not too long ago murdered lots of Tibetans and lots of own Chinese. One mass murderer is still so revered in Beijing that a giant mausoleum is erected for him. What has to happen is for the Japanese leaders to stop going to the War Shrine to incite Chinese passion and for the Chinese government to let the Chinese people find out that the Japanese really did apologize for past atrocities and sent lots of financial aids to China to build roads and airports.
A load of horsecrap.
As long as German Chancellor is visiting a shrine honoring Hilter and Co., no amount of half-hearted double-faced appologies is going to mean a squat to the Jewish people.