A look at history

surprised Mr Abe hasn't decided to claim that the holocaust is just hearsay. Odd that the Japanese are not so good at visiting monuments to Japanese colonial victims. In fact recently they like to pay and have them taken down and replaced with cherry trees. I hope Mr Kishida takes more from this visit than just a photo op.

Hopefully he learns that admitting to history and acknowledging atrocity and the victims is the first significant step in actual reconciliation. And I also hope he doesn't think, as many lawmakers/politicians do in Japan, Israel isn't making all this up like they claim China and SK do.

Unfortunately, you just need to spend five minutes on the Internet to find thousands of nutters who deny the holocaust. There's no rational basis for their beliefs. It doesn't matter how much evidence there is. This is why many people in Japan refuse to believe that there were any Japanese-perpetrated atrocities during WWII. As for the lack of education in Japan on the topic, a few years ago I had a student from Nagasaki. One day in class she started to tell about the suffering of her family in the atomic bombing of her home city. She broke down in tears. Everyone was quietly sympathetic. Then she raised her head and shouted, 'Why did such a thing happen? How could the Jews do such a cruel thing to us!' I was speechless.

Maybe Fumio Kishida should also be pictured in Palestine where there is an ongoing campaign to wipe out the Palestinians?

Hopefully Japan can learn from Germany and build a memorial to the innocent lives taken and women forced into sex bothels by the Imperial Japanese Army during WII. The memorial will serve as a reminder to not only Japan but to the rest of the world Japan's willingness to acknowledge the past and Japan's leadership in moving forward

OssanAmerica: "Why? The holocaust is fully documented. "

As are other atrocities that people like Abe deny, doesn't stop them from denying or downplaying it.

hackney: "Unfortunately, you just need to spend five minutes on the Internet to find thousands of nutters who deny the holocaust. There's no rational basis for their beliefs. It doesn't matter how much evidence there is. This is why many people in Japan refuse to believe that there were any Japanese-perpetrated atrocities during WWII."

Exactly! The worst part of it is that some of the people you speak of are "selective", in that they outright defend the Japan deniers (often denying there are any) but will get seethingly angry at, say, an Iranian politicians who says the Holocaust is a fabrication.

I've never heard anyone in Japan blame the Jews for the atomic bombings, but I have heard people ask why. If they're asking why as in 'how can humans do this to one another' I completely understand. Be it atrocities against the Jews, Japan's neighbours, the atomic bombings, or anything else it is simply beyond comprehension that we can do these things to one another. But it's when the white-washing or lack of education about history (regardless of what nation) that they really don't know what events led to certain incidents is where problems can come into it.

Anyway, as I and others have stated, hopefully the guy actually takes some of what he learned back with him and doesn't just choose to ignore it.

Obviously some people are unaware that in the years prior to and during WWII Japan's policy towards European Jews was counter to their later ally Nazi Germany. There were Jews living safely in Japan during WWII. The IJA Kenpeitai worked against the Nazi SS agents in the Chinese cities to get Jews out. The Japanese government believed that the Jews controlled the finances of the west, including their enemies the United States and Britain. This was a view developed from the actual assistance given to Japan by Jewish financiers during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904/05. Ignorance is truly bliss.

spudmanJul. 25, 2013 - 07:37AM JST

surprised Mr Abe hasn't decided to claim that the holocaust is just hearsay.

Why? The holocaust is fully documented.

I hope peace negotiations (which has been suspended since the fall of 2010) will resume between Israel and the Palestine Authority.

Same Ministry that punish its own for helping the Jews during the Holocaust.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiune_Sugihara

Lest we forget

I hope peace negotiations (which has been suspended since the fall of 2010) will resume between Israel and the Palestine Authority.

Won't happen, where is the money in that?

Good gesture by the FM. Does Japan have any kind of war memorials dedicated to victims? Would like to go visit a few myself.

The holocaust is something every humanitarian person should know. But I strongly disagree with using holocaust as a tool for modern politics. It's disrespectful for representatives of other nations which suffered badly during this biggest madness of humanity. The war was a triumph of megalomania and valuing money above human life. If you don't believe it, try reading "Medallions" by Zofia Nałkowska - a series of short stories telling the discoveries of Polish commission investigating German experiments on humans.

Description in Google books: http://books.google.pl/books/about/Medallions.html?id=YZYo-U_NcD0C&redir_esc=y

And a quote from the book: We all live right by the wall, you see, so we can hear what goes on there. Now we all know. They shoot people in the streets. Burn them in their homes. And at night, such shrieks and cries. No one can eat or sleep. We can't stand it. You think it's pleasant listening to all that?‎

Jews weren't the only victims of WW2. But they seem to get the most attention nowadays. Nations of Eastern Europe are ignored, and I hope it's because people are uneducated about the war rather than doing it intentionally.

The Rape of Nanking is nothing compared to the Holocaust.