Editorial Racing Against Time

More than seven decades have passed since WWII ended, yet the Japanese government still has not apologized for the massive and inhumane atrocities the Japanese Army committed all over Asia during WWII.  One by one, all the former sex slaves, euphemistically also known as comfort women, will die within a few more years.  Similarly all the former slave laborers, or the survivors of the biological/chemical weapons of mass destruction, or the survivors of the Nanking Massacre will die before any of them has a chance to hear their long awaited wish:  an apology from the Japanese government.

We have often heard that the Japanese government has already apologized several times.  However, whenever some Japanese government leader has offered some sort of apology, later that person or some other government leader would make statements contrary to that earlier apology.  Furthermore, no apology has ever come from the Japanese National Diet, the highest government organization in Japan.  In addition, the true history of the Japanese government’s involvement in those kinds of atrocities has not been taught in Japanese schools since the early 1980s, resulting in generations of Japanese without any knowledge of that part of history.

Within a few years, there will no longer be any living survivors.  Therefore, it becomes even more important for the world to hear and document that part of history.  This is what organizations like NJ-ALPHA are trying to do. Unfortunately, we are racing against time.

An Open Letter to the Emperor (April 24, 2019)

Adam Jonas Horowitz, an American from New Mexico, published an open letter in Counterpunch on April 24, 2019 just before the retirement of Emperor Akihito, the son of Emperor Hirohito, the Emperor of Japan during WWII.  In his letter, he requested that Emperor Akihito should apologize before retiring at the end of that month. He said that apologizing in this case is not losing face, but is in fact the opposite.  It is saving face, and providing an example of responsibility, grace, and courage that will provide peace for not only the victims of the Pacific War, but for the entire world.” Click here to read his entire letter.

Japanese War Crimes and Related Topics: A Guide to Records at the National Archives (July 19, 2019)

This massive (1,717 pages) pdf document was compiled by Greg Bradsher at the U.S, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) at College Park, Maryland. It contains vast amounts of information related to military, intelligence, political, diplomatic, economic, financial, social, and cultural activities in the Far East during 1931-1951, as well as information regarding Allied prisoners of war; the organization, functions, and activities of American Allied agencies; and the Japanese occupation of countries and the American occupation of Japan.