Ex-POW seeks apology, compensation | Oddly Enough | Reuters I believe he was part of 2/19th Battalion: Australian War Memorial
Japan PM won't apologise to Australian POW - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) See also http://ww2chat.com/forums/news-articles/5307-japans-pm-snubs-pows-son.html and http://ww2chat.com/forums/news-arti...e-about-familys-wartime-use-slave-labour.html Ex-POW aussie seeks compo from Japanese PM - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Apologies Having read about the psychology of the Japanese in Operation Kingfisher by Moffitt I think they are unlikely to ever apologise as they dont understand that there is a problem. Good for this person to at least try and three cheers for Mr Fujita for doing so too
Wow... That is really a shame, I would expect the Prime Minister to take responsibility and give these men an apology. This is completely unacceptable. Forcing them to work in such dreadful conditions in a coal mine of all places. Even if he doesn't receive compensation for his time as a PoW, I hope the government issues an apology. Germany already did long ago, and now its time for Japan to acknowledge their atrocities in WW2.
I doubt an apology will ever be seen. I'm almost positive there will be no compensation. I know one thing for sure, the Japanese are a proud nation of people, and that's all need be said I imagine.
It is unlikely those POW will get what they want. Japan is quite different from Germany after WWII. While Germany officially apologized and compensated for the crimes they had committed during the war, Japanese not only didn't pay anyone beside the U.S. (because the U.S. is still occupying them), but they also refused to admit many of the war crimes they committed during WWII. In Japan, many right wing politicians called Nanking Massacre a fiction. Same things applied to many of other WWII crimes they did. They refuse to pay the "comfort women" (forced prostitution). They also contentiously change their text book little by little about what really happened. They used the word "enter" to replace all the "invade" and "attack". Some random Japanese students will tell you that they have killed a couple hundred people in Asia during WWII. Some others will tell you they were provoked into the war...etc. Today, even many of the war criminals being executed by the U.S. forces after the war are having their spots in their national shrine. Every year their political leaders would go there and worship these war criminals. You really have the U.S. government to blame. After just a decade of occupation, the U.S. government changed the policy toward Japan from suppressing to supporting. The purpose was to use Japan as an ally in Asia to against the communists. Many war criminals in the prison were released and put back into high positions in the government. You get the picture.
Exactly. Its funny. You'd think after all this time you'd just forget about it. But some things stick with you for a long time.
The right wing in Japan repeatedly push for text book editing. They changed the choice of words little by little in their school history books. "Invade" China became "entering" China. Well, little by little they changed the history. They have always denied Nanking Massacre and many other war crimes ever took place. They even started calling themselves a victim in WWII. As if it was someone else forced them to invade all those countries one after another...
I doubt an apology will ever be seen. I'm almost positive there will be no compensation. I know one thing for sure, the Japanese are a proud nation of people, and that's all need be said I imagine.
Hopefully he's not holding out for an apology either. As the person said above, they Japanese are a very proud people so I doubt they will apologize for how he was treated while he was a POW or while he worked in the mine which sucks but so does life so yeah...
So true. I watched a Nanking Massacre doc on Youtube. I happened upon it by mistake, but the way the Japanese deny it is like that family guy Nazi Skit. I will put it when I find it.
