2012, A rock song for China Hates Japan-Trample Tokyo

Not defending Japan here, but I believe there is a justification(a bad one) for their actions.

Imagine you(Japan) killed Larry's(China) dad, went to prison, got out, became a better person but never apologized to Larry. Larry obviously hates you for this.

You don't want to go around saying, "Oh yea I killed Larry's dad," because all it does is connect you with your past that you want to move on from.

Now 70 years later, you've done a lot of good, and want to be remembered for the good things you've done. Then the guy who helped you kill Larry's dad puts up a statue about the killing.

Suddenly Larry who all but forgot about you, and was starting to move on, is reminded of the killing and returns to hating you. Obviously you wouldn't want the statue, not for the fact you don't believe the history, but you want to protect your reputation.

Now the real solution would have been to apologise and recognise the atrocities as soon as the administration changed, and vow to repair relations, but 70 years on, its a bit of a hard ask. If they were recognised at the time, the outrage would have had time to simmer and cool, but recognising them now would bring up plenty of outrage among those who didn't know about it, again needing time to simmer and cool.

But as the saying goes, "The best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago, the second best time is now."

Japan doesn't openly deny their atrocities(unless you look at the far right-wing which denies and brags about them in the same breath), but they absolutely try to bury the public knowledge, which isn't doing them any favours. Japan must do what is difficult and accept responsibility in this case.

Unfortunately I believe Japan is choosing to wait as long as possible, even to the point where no one alive experienced the atrocities committed by Japan. AKA They will apologize in 2050 to a bunch of gravestones.

I am a bit of a Japanophile(Weeb who doesn't really get into the Otaku culture), and also dabble(I'm obsessed, its a problem) in WW2 history, mainly the Pacific Theatre. I can appreciate modern Japanese society for being pretty neat(not perfect) and WW2 Japan(and their suppression of it's existence) to be pretty trash.

/r/China Thread Parent Link - v.redd.it