Japan general says WW2 military acts not aggression

[darrels joy]

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan was ensnared into World War Two by the United States, the chief of staff of the Japanese air force has written in an essay, denying the country was ever the aggressor in China.

General Toshio Tamogami's essay posted on the website of a Japanese hotel and apartment developer could stir controversy with Asian neighbors such as China and South Korea, where memories of Tokyo's wartime acts and colonization run deep.

Spokesmen for Japan's foreign and defense ministries declined comment on the air force general's comments.

Disputes over wartime history often fray ties with Beijing and Seoul, although relations with China especially have warmed in the past two years as both sides seek to put priority on deepening trade and investment.

"Even now there are many people who think that our country's aggression caused unbearable suffering to the countries of Asia during the Greater East Asia War. But we need to realize that many Asian countries take a positive view of the Greater East Asia War," Tamogami wrote in the essay.

"It is certainly a false accusation to say that our country was an aggressor nation." (Pearl Harbor attack our fault )

The English and Japanese language versions of the essay were posted on the Apa Group's website http:/www.apa.co.jp_report/index.html.

Similar views are shared by some right-wing Japanese scholars and politicians. But successive Japanese government's, including that of Prime Minister Taro Aso, have backed a landmark government apology to people in countries, particularly in Asia, that suffered under Japan's colonial rule and aggression.

Tamogami said in the essay that Japan's military actions in China were based on treaties, and that the Korean peninsula under Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule "was prosperous and safe."

He argued that Japan was drawn into World War Two by then-U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whom he said was being manipulated by the Comintern.

Tamogami also rejected the verdicts of an Allied tribunal which convicted Japanese wartime leaders as war criminals after Tokyo's defeat in 1945.

"The Tokyo Trials tried to push all the responsibility for the war onto Japan. And that mind control is still misleading the Japanese people 63 years after the war," he wrote, urging that relations between Tokyo and Washington, its closest security ally, should be put on a more equal footing.

(Reporting by Linda Sieg and Yoko Kubota)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081031/...us_japan_war_1

[Keith_Hixson]

Another fruitcake rewriting history. Probably a liberal.

[SuperScout]

Isn't amazing how some people can be so deeply mired in the sea of denial? One of the signs of maturity is for one to admit it when wrong, take full responsibility for one's action, and strive diligently to not make the same mistake. But to deny fault or guilt is and always has been a sign of gross immaturity, rampant stupidity, clinical ignorance, or a combination of all of the above. The origins and the ends of WWII have been studied by countless historians, both military and civilian, and the vast numbers of them both agree that Japanese aggression was the cause of WWII in the Pacific, exacerbated by their total lack of much in the way of raw materils.

[Keith_Hixson]

In General Toshio Tamogami's research I'm sure he didn't interview the Chinese or the Koreans or the Philippinos, what a crock. However I'm sure many Japanese not wanting to face the past probably believe it.

Keith

[Keith_Hixson]

http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/world/to...wwii-6496.html

TOKYO—Japan's defence minister said on Friday he will sack the air force chief of staff for saying that Japan was ensnared into World War Two by the United States and was not an aggressor in the conflict in Asia.
General Toshio Tamogami's essay, posted on the website of a Japanese hotel and apartment developer, was expected to rouse anger in China and South Korea, where memories of Japan's wartime acts and colonisation run deep.

"I think it is improper as the air force chief of staff to publicly state a view clearly different from that of the government's," Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada told a group of reporters.

"Therefore, it is inappropriate for him to remain in this position and I will swiftly dismiss him."

Japan expressed remorse for its war-time actions in 1995, following it up with another apology a decade later.

Kyodo News Agency quoted Prime Minister Taro Aso as also saying that the essay, in which the air force general denied Japan was ever the aggressor in China, was inappropriate.

Disputes over wartime history often fray ties with Beijing and Seoul, although relations with China especially have warmed in the past two years as both sides seek to put priority on deepening trade and investment.

"Even now there are many people who think that our country's aggression caused unbearable suffering to the countries of Asia during the Greater East Asia War," Tamogami wrote in the essay.

"But we need to realise that many Asian countries take a positive view of the Greater East Asia War. It is certainly a false accusation to say that our country was an aggressor nation," he said.

The English and Japanese language versions of the essay were posted on hotel and apartment developer Apa Group's website (http://www.apa.co.jp_report/index.html).

Apology
Similar views are shared by some right-wing Japanese scholars and politicians. But successive Japanese governments, including Aso's, have backed a landmark government apology to people in countries, particularly in Asia, that suffered under Japan's colonial rule and aggression.

While Aso is known as an outspoken nationalist, he has been expected to take a pragmatic view on the relationship with China. Just last week, the leaders of the two countries met in Beijing and agreed to set up a hotline to deepen trust.

Hamada said by acting swiftly against the general, the Japanese government had made clear it did not share his views which he said could stir controversy in Asian nations.

Tamogami said in the essay that Japan's military actions in China were based on treaties, and that the Korean peninsula under Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule "was prosperous and safe".

He argued that Japan was drawn into World War Two by then U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whom he said was being manipulated by the Comintern, the international communist organisation founded in Moscow in 1919.

Tamogami also rejected the verdicts of an Allied tribunal which convicted Japanese wartime leaders as war criminals after Tokyo's defeat in 1945.
Last Updated
Oct 31, 2008

[revwardoc]

I think Tamogami's been hitting the sake a bit hard lately.

[82Rigger]

Similar views are shared by some right-wing Japanese scholars and politicians.

Right wing?????

That's interesting!

[SuperScout]

Their 'right wing' and our 'right wing' are vastly different! For one thing, we don't wear those stupid sweatbands with the 'rising sun' on them, nor are we into kamikazi missions!

[82Rigger]

nor are we into kamikazi missions!

You might get an argument from the M4 Sherman crews who were sent up against Tigers and Tiger IIs.

[namvet]

strange. why did Japan apologize to China and other countries it invaded???? hmmmm