I received several text messages from chinese university students today asking me to see this film so I will "understand why we HATE Japanese so much."

Should I hate 21st century Germans for killing millions of Jews, 60 years ago?

I think some serious education reform is needed...

Phil: better question would be: "should we hate 21st century Chinese for Genghis Khan and his successors conquest of Central Asia and Eastern Europe?"

I also think, that some serious education reform is needed very badly.

As long as history (and hate) serves a political purpose then it will be remembered.

I just can't get over the irony of "History should be remembered" being spouted by a government that does everything to 'forget' J4, culture revolution, Mao's economic incidences ect. Talk about hypocrisy.

Also, using the Nanjing massacre as a justification to build up the military is missing the point... Why the hell are we so stupid??

I would appreciate readers of this website make their comments in context. As people interested in media scene of China, guess we should be aware of the "representativeness" of news reports and allegedly "some student's" text message. It's dangerous to hint, no matter how remotely it can be, that china's education system is hatred-oriented.

Some people's reaction might come from a frustration out of mis-information that Nanjing's massacre is less widely known than the Jewish suffering during the second world world. Given the fact that there are plenty of noises in Japan to deny their atrocities done to Chinese people and all the Chinese discontent towards this type of Japan-sided stroies was generally labelled as "rising Chinese nationalism".

Yes, Jews should not hate Germans today but dare anyone in the world to say anything good about the Nazi publicly in the world today? The magnitude of discussion on Jewish suffering indicates a well-balanced discussion and Jewish views are adequately (or relatively) represented, and, accepted globally.

For millions of Chinese that don't read newspapers, or cannot afford going to cinemas (and schools), they are always negelected by the CHinese society. Unfortunately they are not on the horizon of the omini-potent chinese pundits. They are number games for both sides to exclaim either "history not forgotten" or "Chinese nationalism threatens".

Should I hate 21st century Germans for killing millions of Jews, 60 years ago?

I think some serious education reform is needed...

If the Germans didn't compensate their victims and didn't continue hunting down and prosecuting war criminals, but rather they enshrined Hitler and Goebbels and their heads of state and lawmakers visited the shrine... Look, even you buy into that convoluted and kind of amusing logic of why the inclusion of war criminals in the shrine is important, Asian forced laborers and "comfort women" in the WW2 should have been compensated but all Japan has done is waiting for them to die off.

Don't get me wrong, hate is never the answer. But you aren't comparing the same thing between Japan and Germany, not even remotely close.

Totally agree with the 2nd point though, but not just in China.

Also, using the Nanjing massacre as a justification to build up the military is missing the point...

How? This is as straight forward as it can be, much the same as many Jews believe the need for the state of Israel. If the military is strong enough, nobody would be able to sack Nanjing to begin with.

IMO, China is seriously on the path to universal alienation in the future.

Not just because of the above statements, but as an amalgamation of state supported nationalism (to keep the dictatorship in power), skewed educational system (to keep alive the myths of said dictatorship), continued insecurity and thin skin, its diplomatic style of money-without-accountability to like dictatorships, and the "Chinese model" of development and environmental rape.

Yes, the counter arguments about "the West led the way" will be used but this is now the 21st century. Information is at the tip of a finger and worldwide travel is a matter of hours. China is still trying to "right" alleged wrongs dating hundreds of years now. They just can't get over it.

*sigh* maybe Jackie the Wanker Chan has it right...

Jxie

It's not straight forward and it does miss the point. The Nanjing massacre happened because of uncontrolled militarism and nationalism from a totalitarian fascist regime. Using the memory of the massacre to bolster nationalist sentiment and excite people about how strong the military is getting is ignoring the fact that this kind of garbage is what started the problem to begin with.

I do understand your point and the paper's point as well, but its pretty basic and if you look a little deeper you'll see the irony.

As for Israel, if the holocaust is what is influencing their treatment of Palestinians and their unrestrained use of force in the last couple of wars they started, then they missed the point too.

Should I hate 21st century Germans for killing millions of Jews, 60 years ago?
----------------------------------
Germany/Israel is different from China/Japan, Germany is willing to acknowledge and apologize for the Holocaust and WW2 in general, and thus reconciliation can be achieved and European nations can be united, while Japan is repeated honoring war criminals, on top of that, the Chinese government needs anti-japan sentiments to deflect domestic discontent. And for the records, check out how Anti-Japan is done in South Korea, China has a lot to learn from the Koreans.

My personal experiences with Japanese people is that many of them do despise other Asian countries and believe their nation and race are superior and that Japan should disengage Asia all together.

Germany and Japan has handled their past VERY differently. Anyone who doesn't see that is just ignorant, and your opinion is WORTHLESS.

This isn't about something that happened 60 years ago. This is a political issue that is happening TODAY! And Japan isn't changing their tune, so it pretty much looks like they will follow this path forever.

This may not effect you so it's not something you care about or think about, but to millions of families that lived through it, it's understandable why they would want justice.

Heck, a bunch of Saudis attack in 9/11 and we drop bombs on Iraq. At least we can "claim" that terrorist/WMD are in Iraq. It's quite F#King obvious which country/people did that to China, and when that country HONORS it's war heroes that will drive you nuts.

Posted by: Chris

>It's not straight forward and it does miss the point. The Nanjing massacre happened because of uncontrolled militarism and nationalism from a totalitarian fascist regime. Using the memory of the massacre to bolster nationalist sentiment and excite people about how strong the military is getting is ignoring the fact that this kind of garbage is what started the problem to begin with.

Plenty of war movies produce strong emotions among people but to assume it translates into attitudes that eventually leads to war is reductio ad absurdum; nor does feeling excited about a strengthening military power equate to militarism.

The Nanjing massacre happened because of uncontrolled militarism and nationalism from a totalitarian fascist regime.

That is muddled thinking, the likely result of years of brainwashing by political doublespeaks. People kill people all the time since the beginning of homo sapiens walking on the Earth. At a nation-to-nation level, massacre happens when,

1. One side believes it's a good idea of invading the other, for whatever reasons.

2. Dehumanize the other side, e.g. Abu Ghraib. Reduce another people to "weak Chinese", "bloodsucking Jews", "terrorists".

During the second Sino-Japanese war, between 1937 and 1945, about 20 million or a bit less than 4% of the total Chinese population died. From 2003 to today, by one count some 1.3 Iraqis have died -- that's near 5% of the total Iraqi population.

LCLT,

That's some serious exaggerations you've got there. I wouldn't be surprised if they came from some clueless foreigners who can't find Beijing on a map, but from "China hands" like you? Meh. China is increasingly pluralistic on pretty much everything, especially opinions. Even though it takes time and more efforts to rid the nation of the victim mentality and inferiority complex, the signs are encouraging. That Chinese student Phil in China cited might represent many, but can you say the whole nation thinks like him? This movie is a small step in the right direction.

By the way, in case you didn't know, the Chinese are working pretty hard on developing alternative energy. Credit should be given where it is due.

Out of curiosity, did any of you China critics see the movie?

Chris,

"The Nanjing massacre happened because of uncontrolled militarism and nationalism from a totalitarian fascist regime."

Who are you to say it won't happen again? Or that massacres would not involve nice, benevolent, "free world" democratic states?

"Using the memory of the massacre to bolster nationalist sentiment and excite people about how strong the military is getting is ignoring the fact that this kind of garbage is what started the problem to begin with. "

Isn't building a strong military a deterrent for "this kind of garbage"?

The bit about Chinese girls reaching puberty sooner is bad news, too.

So-called "improved nutrition" actually translates into "higher body fat," which stores sex hormones. We saw this phenomenon beginning in the States a few decades ago.

Ultimately, we all have to understand that this is just a film and not THE truth.
A cool head is needed.

btw, JXie, I am curious to know where you get your information about the number of Chinese deaths (20m) during the Sino-Japan war. I understand Jiang Zemin made it 35m in 1998?
A substantial increase from the 1.3m GHQ/GMD announcement at the end of the war. To be clear, it is still a huge number. It is just that the number seems to increase, not based on improved scholarship but apparently due to the political climate of that time.

Peteryang, sad to hear that's been your experience. Hopefully you won't generalise it to the whole population.

I tend to avoid having serious discussion about the war with mainland Chinese folks that i come into contact with. This is because the issue is political and the aim is not to search for historical truth.

I will be happy to discuss when variety of opinion can be expressed in China through e.g. books, that differ from the official narrative. And I don't mean through anonymous comments on forums.

It's my understanding that Japanese scholars have done some of the best work on the Nanjing massacare.

The opinion you often hear from Chinese posters that many in Japan believe there has been no massacare is more likely to be a minority opinion (and tend to be peddled by 'non-academics' and people on the fringe of society). You hear about them because Japan is a democratic country.

I would prefer to be in a society where many perhaps crazy views get to be heard and ignored, rather than a society where there is only one official narrative of the past and that past changes at the convenience of the people then in power.

I can't speak for the Japanese people but I assume many do what i do, flick through/read/ignore 'crazy ideas.'

Choice is not just about having 10 different detergent powers to choose from.

apologies it's very long and probably a bit incoherent.

I am curious to know where you get your information about the number of Chinese deaths (20m) during the Sino-Japan war. I understand Jiang Zemin made it 35m in 1998?
A substantial increase from the 1.3m GHQ/GMD announcement at the end of the war. To be clear, it is still a huge number. It is just that the number seems to increase, not based on improved scholarship but apparently due to the political climate of that time.

20m were the war deaths, and another 15m were wounded. Those have been PRC's official numbers since the beginning. Don't know where the 1.3m came from, but I would venture to guess it was from KMT's 1.5m killed in battle figure. You have to understand,

1. Right off the bat, you need to add MIAs and deaths due to military-related injuries and illness.

2. Then you need to add the communist force and corroborate forces that didn't report to KMT HQ.

3. Then you have the civilian deaths. Given where the war was found and the notorious cruelty of the Japanese military, the civilian death toll was far higher than the military death toll.

The numbers from the Chinese side have been relatively consistent. For instance the casualty figure of the Nanking Massacre was from the post-WW2 military tribunals, during which a large number of non-Chinese testified. And what're called the "scholarly works" in Japan to me often fell into 2 camps:

1. Obfuscate the scopes, and raise the doubt of the Chinese numbers. This works very well for those casual observers such as yourself.

2. Discount non-Japanese sources since most of those who testified in the military tribunals were citizens of the Allied. The idea is that the Allied countries had vested interest to put Japan down.

Just for those very well educated Chinese who nevertheless continue to claim that "Japan has never apologized", here's a list.

So, very far from "Japan has never apologized", the truth is, in fact, Japan has never stopped apologizing.

As for the compensation issue, Japan accepted the need for compensation in the Potsdam Declaration, but both China and Taiwan officially gave up those claims in exchange for the exchange of Japanese colonial assets.

Also, there was a policy of stripping Japanese "home" industrial assets and sending them to the countries (or colonial powers) that Japan attacked during the war.

China got over 50% of all such "stripped" assets, a reasonably large sum at the time.

Dear Apologist,

I am sorry, but saying "I am sorry" or "I regret" and then turn around paying tribute to the very scumbags that did all the things you are "sorry" for, is really not an apology.

Nice try though.

In point of fact, China is no more interested in receiving a sincere apology than Japan is in offering one. In other words, short of every adult Japanese male over a certain age ritually gutting himself, every attractive young Japanese woman allowing herself to be treated as a comfort woman by angry, young Chinese men, and every Japanese textbook teaching the same bent view of history that Chinese textbooks do, this back and forth will continue. Indeed, if you're Chinese, this apology business is the gift that keeps on giving. Feeling a little down and in need of a patriotic lift? Bash the Japs! Got a sticky trade problem with your wealthier East Asian neighbor and want the upper hand? Bash the Japs! Need to feel morally superior? Bash the Japs!

A meaningful apology requires the sincerity of both parties, and the Chinese, for their part, are simply not interested. This being the case, who can really blame the Japanese for ingoring Chinese demands to end their visits to Yasukuni?

"I am sorry, but saying "I am sorry" or "I regret" and then turn around paying tribute to the very scumbags that did all the things you are "sorry" for, is really not an apology."

Kind of like "Mao was 70% right (and 30% fucking mass murdering crazy) but we'll still put him on our money"? That kind of thing?

No-one except a few mentally disturbed right-wing nutjobs pays "tribute" to anyone at Yakasuni. What part of "it's Japan's national war grave" don't you understand?

Is every single person buried under those white markers in France pure as the driven snow? Did NONE of them shoot prisoners or rape a handy farmgirl?

Are China's home-grown war criminals specifically excluded from the big parade to honor those killed fighting on the wrong side of the Korean war?

Why doesn't South Korea "deplore" this, do you think?

Grow up.

JXie,
thanks for the info. You are right in saying I am a casual observer of this issue.

Still, am curious to know how this number has been so "consistent" as you say, when there should be a lot of confusion (records buried or burned, hazy memories, etc) which may get 'discovered' with improved scholarsihp (or gets worse with passage of time).

Isn't doubting the essence of scholarship?

I'm just using such number as an example as they can seem objective and definite when of course they are simply not so.

I guess the real point is about questioning the approach to dissenting or minor views.

I'd like to haveg an open mind and keep working towards getting to the truth (and not simply sticking to a certain view). Keep reading, digging for info, etc.

Anyway, just as a side note, for many, going to Yasukuni isn't about worshipping the war criminals. It's about paying respect to those that died for Japan (technically for the emperor i believe), whether they misled Japan or not. I just went there to better understand what it was all about. There were some right wingers hanging around, though not too many when I went (quite a few years ago).

Also, this maybe a cultural thing but many in Japan stop attacking people when they die. A bit different from what i understand of many Chinese folks who still harbour negative feelings even to this day for e.g. those that killed Yue Fei (!). Whether the feelings are real or just for show is not important.

Anyway, as I said before, it's just a film. We can of course learn from it but let's not take it as THE truth.

Stinky,

The Chinese are demanding an apology from the Japanese? According to who? My understanding of the Chinese government's position is that Japan should come to terms with its role during WWII and that the Japanese PM should refrain paying tribute at Yasukuni where Class A war criminals are honored.

Apologist,

If you don't want China and South Korea to bitch about Yasukuni, you should remove those Class A war criminals from it. And please, I'd say many, if not the majority of those dead Japanese honored at Yasukuni were nasty little twerps when they were alive, as they were killed in China, Korea, the Philippines and the Pacific. What were they doing there in the first place?

Oh please, don't give me the bullcrap about China's "war-criminals" in Korea. What war crimes did the CVA commit in Korea? Was there a Chinese version of the No Gun-ri massacre? There is no comparison between the IJA invading and colonizing Korea, China and much of East Asia and the CVA fighting for the North Koreans.

The difference between Japan and Germany is, the Nazi regime was removed while the Japanese royal family was allowed by the Americans to survive. I could argue that those German soldiers killed died for Germany in the same way those Japanese soldiers died for Japan. It is OK for anybody to bash the Nazi German soldiers but when the IJA soldiers were brought up, you've got an uproar. All sorts of defensive arguments come up with the most popular one being "you Chinese killed more of your own people". OK, OK guys, I see that as long as China remains undemocratic as she is today she doesn't have an argument, OK. What about South Korea? SK is a democracy. Apologist, what would you say to me if I were Korean? Find my own Korean "war criminals"? There are none, unless you consider Yi Sun-shin who kicked your ass during Imjin Waeran one.

"The difference between Japan and Germany is, the Nazi regime was removed while the Japanese royal family was allowed by the Americans to survive," implies that the Showa Emperor set policy and was the active administrator of the state, and so directly responsible for the execution of the war, the Big Brain and Guiding Hand of the Japanese military if you will, which notion is patently false and contrary to the role of the emperor in Japanese history. The only decision (and to break a stalemate) credited to the Showa was to surrender.

Pfeffer: "The Chinese are demanding an apology from the Japanese? According to who?"

According to the Chinese, that's who. Consider this: In 1998, Japanese prime minister Keizo Obuchi delivered a written apology to Korean president Kim Dae-jung. Later in the same year, Chinese president Jiang Zemin traveled to Japan to meet with Obuchi. Jiang apparently believed that arrangements had been made for Obuchi to deliver a WRITTEN apology to him as well. To Jiang's obvious chagrin, however, Obuchi offered an ORAL apology instead. Here's what political science professor Susan Shirk has to say about the incident:

"Jiang went to Japan in November, following South Korea's president Kim Dae-jung's trip a month earlier. The Japanese government had presented Kim with a written apology for its wartime past IN EXCHANGE FOR HIS PROMISE THAT SOUTH KOREA WOULD NEVER RAISE THE HISTORY ISSUE AGAIN...Once Jiang saw that Kim had obtained a written apology, he was determined to get one too as a ‘deliverable’ to bring home to the Chinese people...The Chinese foreign minister, Tang Jiaxuan...had to back up Jiang's demands for a written apology to show that Tang wasn't a Japan sympathizer. Some people in the Japanese government favored granting the written apology, but Japanese prime minister Keizo Obuchi called in his senior Foreign Ministry advisors and asked, 'Why do you believe that China will put history behind it?' The...officials recommended that Obuchi give Jiang only an oral apology because...THE CHINESE SIDE HAD SHOWN NO SINCERITY AT DROPPING THE HISTORY ISSUE EVEN IF IT RECEIVED THE WRITTEN APOLOGY. In their view, CHINA AND JIANG WOULD ALWAYS PLAY THE HISTORY CARD.” (Fragile Superpower, 166)

Once more, Prof. Shirk goes on to write:

“The Chinese debated canceling the visit, but Jiang, like many political leaders, overestimated his powers of persuasion and thought that once he arrived, he would get what he wanted. JIANG DROPPED THE OTHER TWO THEMES AND CONCENTRATED LIKE A LASER ON HISTORY. He pressed his case in every meeting, including the televised dinner with the emperor, which people in Japan, the left wing included, found extremely rule. In the end, Jiang came home empty-handed…The English-language China Daily…criticized Japan for not giving Jiang a written apology. The public lambasted Foreign Minister Tang, who felt humiliated. Jiang himself blamed Tang for the fiasco.” (Fragile Superpower, 167)

So much fuss over an undelivered written apology that the Chinese government and people would not have accepted anyway. Even so, the Chinese side was livid at not receiving one. Still more from Prof. Shirk:

“After his trip, Jiang Zemin felt personally insulted by the Japanese. [Chinese] Foreign Ministry officials and other senior leaders…did some soul searching. Japan experts [from China’s Foreign Ministry] reported to the Central Committee that the ‘situation was grave,’ because CHINA’S FIXATION ON HISTORY WAS CREATING A BACKLASH IN JAPAN. Zhao Qizheng, the director of the State Council Information Office who was responsible for President Jiang’s image overseas, visited Japan in early 1999, and was shocked at what he heard. He reported back to Jiang Zemin personally that CHINA WAS MAKING ENEMIES OF ALL THE JAPANESE PEOPLE. But Jiang was deaf to this logic, even when it came from his closes colleague, Zeng Qinghong.” (Fragile Superpower, 167)

Finally, back to my point – neither Japan nor China has any faith in the other’s sincerity. In addition, while the Japanese may have good reason to want to put the ugliness of the past behind them, China does not. That is, China may have more compelling reasons to allow the situation to continue to fester. After all, the open historical wound makes an excellent club with which to periodically pummel the Japanese and inspire the patriotic hoopleheads. With such issues as Taiwan and the Diaoyu Island still left to be decided, the CCP apparently believes that it is in their best interests to prevent said wound from healing. As for the Japanese, things being as they are, who can blame them for not caring what the Chinese think – about Yasukuni or anything else? It's not that the Japanese didn't behave brutally and shamefully in China during the 1930s and 40s - they did. It's just that the grotesque hypocrisy on display each time the Chinese self-righteously lecture the Japanese on the need to “face history” never fails to make me wince.

There in lies the problem again - Sincerity or the lack thereof. Stinky focused on the Chinese Communists' willingness to continue the "blame" game to serve their domestic political purposes but why should the Japanese government feed that cycle? Why don't they continue to take the higher 'moral' leadership that then PM Junichiro Koizumi always alluded to? Surely, enlightened Chinese overseas & even on the Mainland would understand & sympathize. It does two to tango ...

My uncle fought against the Japanese (in China) as an American soldier. My father joined the navy when he was 17 to fight Japan after Pearl Harbor attack. My uncle and father do not hate modern Japanese people even though his friend in army was tortured and killed in cruel Japanese prison camp. American people don't hate Japanese people because their grandfathers did a cowardly attack on Pearl Harbor. Many Japanese soldiers wrote letters to family saying Japanese leaders were bad people. Many Japanese soldiers were executed if they did not do what they were told. It was just an insane time that can't be explained. But the old Japan military was defeated and humiliated and then the country was forced to observe civilized behavior. 2 million of their soldiers were killed and many of their commanders were executed or imprisoned for war crimes. 580,000 Japanese citizens were killed in World War Two. Two of their cities got an atomic bomb and most of their cities were fire bombed into nothing but dirt and ash. What more revenge do you seek? Japan lost very badly in the end. It's over. Get over it or the hate will make you a bitter, shameful person. Japan is a very peaceful people now for almost 65 years. The parents and grandchildren of those insane soldiers became peaceful people. They are completely different people now then back in 1930s. There is no denying that. Young Chinese people seem very very angry at other countries for things that happened 50 or 100 years ago. Why aren't you also mad at Mao whose ideas about agriculture killed 100 million Chinese people with starvation? The hate asians have towards each other for things that happened 50, 100, 500 years ago is shameful. Grow up. Embrace a bright future. Stop living in the darkness of the past. Stop living in a dark cave with bad stories painted on the wall. Get outside and see the bright future. Make a friend with a Japanese person. Travel, share music, make business partners. Stop acting so crazy about something that happened 70 years ago. The soldiers who did that are dead or 100 years old and their military was completely crushed 100% a very long time ago. Your government is feeding you hate about other people. It is up to you to stop the hate...it should not be your situation to keep that hate alive to give to your children also. I had a Chinese friend who hated Japan but had to go for business. He brought his parents and parents were nervous. Walking on the street a little boy accidently bumped into Chinese older mother. The boy did a deep bow with his parents. The people were nice to them. It is small things like that that can open minds. This person still is resentful about history but he no longer hates Japanese people.

This hate that the Chinese government is allowing towards Japan (and the USA) is extremely unhealthy for China. They are encouraging you to hate countries that want to be friends or at least business partners. They are filling your heads with stories that aren't true at all. The modern world has really tried to help China the last 30 years. Where do you think all this modern stuff came from? If the west wanted China to fail or stay powerless why did it help China become the country with the biggest modern cities in the world? Why did President Clinton give China information to help them build out your military? Why did Japan share their high speed train technology and other things? You can't stay angry at someone peaceful because their grandfather did horrible things 70 years ago. Young Chinese people should make their own future and stop living in the past.

Nanjing was horrible. The anger is understandable. But honestly, doesn't it make you feel better that in the end 2 million Japanese soldiers were killed in the war and Hiroshima and Nagasak got atomic bomb dropped on them even though the only people there were women, children, old men? What more revenge do you want? 580,000 Japanese people (not soldiers but children, women, old people) died in the end. That's twice as many as Nanjing. Why seek more revenge against young Japanese because their grandfather or great-grandfather did something? Most Japanese people are not even direct descendants of Japanese soldiers that went to Nanjing. The old Japan was defeated and humiliated. Why do you insist that modern peaceful Japan (not a single battle in almost 70 years) still be accountable for the old past? I am shocked at how much rage young Chinese people have toward Japan. America hated Japan in 1945. My grandparents hated Japan until the day they died. But Japan has done nothing to me and Japanese people are really friendly, nice today. A long time ago we got over that hate. My own father and uncle who fought the Japanese are not even angry. Why are you young people so angry? Japan has done nothing to young Chinese people and most Chinese people today did not have grandparents directly affected by Japan's crimes. America is friends with Germany and Japan. Both those countries signed a pact to destroy America. When we won, we could have humiliated them forever and made them a dirt poor nation. Instead our government decided to help them rebuild with democracy and fairness. The past is the past. Don't forget the lessons of the past but don't stay angry at something that happened to your grandparents. It is time to move on. Your hate will come back to haunt you some day. Your hate will eat you alive and make you a bitter person who will contribute more hate into this world. I have Irish Catholic blood it's where my great-great grandparents came from. For 900 years England tormented Ireland and killed millions of people. I have strong feelings about that but I don't hate English people of today because it. Peace is the only way to the future. Only peace can avoid future wars. If China goes to war with some nation in the future it will be horrific. Modern technology will cause at least 200 million deaths...maybe a billion...maybe the end of the world when all the nuclear bombs are sent to destroy all the major cities in the world. And for what? Pride? No. Stupidity.

Blah blah blah, so far everything I have heard is along the lines of the same old argument that "you Chinese killed your own too". While I agree that nobody should hate nobody today for what happened decades ago, but Japan's failure to fully recognize what it did during WWII is not excusable. You people have one standard for Germany and another one for Japan, you people are the hypocrites.

Once again, I see that China doesn't have a valid argument for the reasons you people mentioned above, what about South Korea? What would you say to me if I were a Hanguk salam? Huh?

>>What would you say to me if I were a Hanguk salam? Huh?

Easy. Japan is the reason you're not ruled by a eternal (dead) nutjob.

Is it really about today's Japan (Japanese people? gov?, who, what?) not apologising that's driving the hatred amongst certain segments of the population (if it is really hatred)?

What is this understanding (that Japan hasn't apologised (enough? on absolute/relative (to Germany?))) based on?

Is it true? false? or are things more nuanced?

Or is the whole thing more a reflection of chinese society?

But seriously, Chinese tv show war films involving Japanese brutality even in the morning! I remember switching on the TV around 9am and already such film was on...

And China allows kids to play an electronic game called Kill the Japanese. A 7yr old kid showed me. Nice kid who doesn't hate me but what can such games do to a young kid's mind??

"Easy. Japan is the reason you're not ruled by a eternal (dead) nutjob."

Korea fared better under that scumbag Hirohito as a Japanese colony? Give me a break!

Aki,

I don't know what that "Kill a Japanese" game is about. But if it is like so many of those "Kill a Nazi" games (such as "Medal of Honor", "Call of Duty" etc.) out there, there is nothing wrong with it.

Well, if the game's intention is to portray war...or the horrors of war...or just plain shoot-em-up game that puts you in an intense combat situation. Then that's fine.

But if the point is to just to kill people for pure hatred of ____ some people then that is not really a game I want to play, imho. (Like those games released by the Aryan nation related groups, etc).

Well, I guess you can argue that they are not that much different since both are about killing. I can't speak for anyone else but for me personally I'm just a gamer and I like play these games (FPS).

But also, I suppose games can be used to "say" something, you know, like a war movie.

I'm a gamer...nuff sai;, I could care less if you don't understand what being a gamer is about :P

It does not matter whether or not the Chinese will "play the history card". Japan simply needs to step aside from the issue of politics and do the right thing...apologize in specifics for the incident at issue. And a giant list of apologies for the theme of starting a war that cost millions of lives is not the same thing as owning up to the specifics of war crimes. If Japan was witholding apology over the perception of China's politics...that simply, indicates an official insincerity on the part of Japan.