nipppppon comments

Well, Emi Suzuki, that is an impressive list of apologies.

And yet, I feel they are worth nothing. Here are 3 reasons why:

'1. Both you and I know how Japanese think in a "uchi" vs "soto" way. Many of the apologies are logically directed to the outside world. It's natural. But to make an apology really sincere, there should be also a message toward the Japanese themselves. In other words, how many cases are there of the prime minister or emperor telling the Japanese population that what Japan has done in the past was not acceptable, without using just vague terms like "it was regrettable"? I think there are very little such speeches, because in general, the Japanese population does not want to hear these kind of messages. And why don't they want to hear them? I think it s because the Japanese ultimately don't feel they did anything wrong. Now, is an apology really sincere when the person giving it does not really think he did anything wrong?

'2. Related to the above. A sincere apology is basically incompatible with history books that do not contain the truth, and a general attitude that shows that Japan sees itself mainly as a victim, with Japan's own actions become no more than details that can be easily forgotten by future generations.

'3. A sincere apology is not compatible with large numbers of ministers, including prime ministers, and law makers visiting a shrine where war criminals are honoured as gods. This is just insulting the victims of Japanese aggression. Think about it this way: when the BBC makes a joke about the atomic bombs, many Japanese are enraged because they feel the joke is "disrespectful" and "insulting" to the Japanese victims. Now, this is about a comedian making a joke. Compare that with prime ministers making official visits to pray in a shrine where war criminals are enshrined. How come Japanese do not see this as "insulting" or "disrespectful" behaviour towards the victims of Japan's aggression? Can we really call the apologies of these people "sincere"?