---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A long editorial disclosing sources of information Editorial published in the Asahi Evening News, Saturday August 15, 1998., p8 Describes the portrait that can be gained by surveying a few accounts of the hypocritical brutality of the Japanese military system, which humiliated its own, whose arrogance was such they believed themselves the strongest in the world. A good opinion that could have been expanded to a review of the relevant books and pieces, especially those available in English.. A few allusions " Militaristic Japan was a regime that played on such human witnesses According to Ooe, the military exploited violence in the barracks to force young conscripts to force young conscripts to accept values completely different from other sections of society.
"Even though recruits were pitiful victims, many became victimisers later. Though most of the Japanese people were victims of oppression by the military, they became victimisers of neighbouring countries. If facts are faced as they really were, that is the only possible explanation.
"If we see aspects of our having been victims alone and turn a blind eye to the facts that we were victimisers ass well, then we are no different that had put together generals self-justification.(sic: surely ‘was put together by generals in self-justification.’?)
"Not to fight a war again means that we are resolved to be neither victims nor victimisers. Is not too much importance being attached to short descriptions about the last war in school, textbooks one way or another.
"There is much else that should be read, such as diaries, memoirs, history book, research and literary works by well-known and less well-known people. We recommend young men and women read some of these works."
(translation of editorial published August 15 1998 in the Asahi Shimbun: a few spelling corrections were made in the above quotes so I could read it without the red lines in Word
"When you mistreat your friends, somebody sure will mistreat you." Says the blues song. Oh, so said the but if it were true, how ill would all our lives be…
--=================================================================== © TR 17th/10/ 98
© Teal Ray... (with acknowledgement to Steve Hartley, Uzbekistan and the camels for inspiration)...