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21/12/99
As well be hanged for a sheep as for a
lamb
The "Mere Old Man" wrote several articles about the
atrocities that the war-time Japanese military people seem
to have done in 1930s and 1940s. The previous article No.
147E being based on what L. Barber and K. Henshall said in
their book, "The Last Wars of Empires." Can the "Mere Old
Man" further quote what these New Zealander scholars say in
the same book? As well be hanged for a sheep as for a
lamb!
It is pages 254 to 255 that gave him a particularly
strong impact. You can never despise what Japan-watchers in
foreign countries point out. The authors say, "Unfortunately
for the Japanese, the 'bubble economy' had occurred against
a backdrop of arrogance and neo-nationalism in Japan which
was quite frightening to the outside world, and to Asian
nations in particular. Not only were school history texts
being blatantly doctored to play down Japanese atrocities,
government ministers were doing the same thing. For example,
in 1986 Education Minister Fujio Masayuki publicly played
down the Nanking Massacre, and also stated that Japan's 1910
annexation of Korea was partly Korea's responsibility
because it had agreed to a merger. Prime Minister Nakasone
Yasuhiro was forced to sack him as a result of international
criticism."
"The previous year he had pointedly honoured war dead at
Yasukuni Shrine in his official rather than private
capacity, seemingly flouting the separation of church and
state enshrined in the Constitution. Then just weeks after
sacking Fujio, Nakasone made his infamous speech in which he
claimed that Japanese were smarter than Americans because
the intelligence levels in the US were brought down by
blacks and Hispanics."
"Matters seemed to be coming to a head in 1989 when Diet
member Ishihara Shintaro responded to 'Japan bashing' with
inflammatory book entitled 'The Japan That Can Say No: Why
Japan Will Be First Among Equals.' His book voiced strong
resentment at complaints and requests for technological
cooperation from what he believed to be a second-rate
America, and also displayed a strong nationalistic belief in
Japan's supremacy. He argued that Japan was the key to the
future and that America should realise this and stop
treating it as some sort of junior. Japan needed, he felt,
to take a harder line against America and stop dancing to
its tune."
The "Mere Old Man" still clearly remembers what the
Minister Fujio said. It is only 13 years ago. He felt
ashamed of the poor historic knowledge of the then minister
of education. Also, the "Mere Old Man" can never ever forget
about the racist Nakasone's speech.
Regarding the book of Ishihara, who is now the Tokyo
Metropolitan governor, this book is assumed to have been
written not only by Ishihara but also by Mr. Morita, founder
and then president of Sony Corporation, as co-author.
However, Dr. Henshall, Professor of Japanese Studies at
the University of Waikato, New Zealand illuminates
Ishihara's real intention. The "Mere Old Man" guesses that
Dr. Henshall must have read the book in Japanese. In
addition, the "Mere Old Man" suspects that most part of the
book, "The Japan That Can Say No" must have been written by
Ishihara.
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