To put my last post into a broader historical context, Japan was but one of many imperialist powers over the last 200 years. It's just that they came in somewhat late. European powers had been colonizing and plundering African, American and Asian peoples for centuries in a process that came to a head in the 19th century. China's current posture of not tolerating any encroachment on its perceived territory harks back to the poor treatment meted out to it by foreign powers during the last century of the Qing Dynasty. Japan was one of the last to jump on that bandwagon and consequently has suffered the greatest criticism from Beijing.

Japan's problem lies not only in how recent its wayward behaviour is, but how it has managed to mix up the messages. An apparent heartfelt apology is followed by a Prime Ministerial visit to Yasukuni. Regret at the outrages of the Imperial Army are followed by obfuscations about the nature of the atrocity (eg: Nanjing) or the extent, such as in the debate over "comfort women." It is a Yes, but... approach that casts doubt over the sincerity of any regret. Cue Shinzo Abe.

When I taught in Japan, the subject of the Great Pacific War, as it is called there, sometimes came up with adult students. I never raised the issue myself, but was happy to tread carefully and politely in any debate that followed. Certain patterns emerged in such discussions, usually starting with the tricky question, "Were the atomic bombings justified?" Leaving aside that thorny moral dilemma, the line of argument that followed was that Japan had been starved of resources and initiated a justifiable conflict with the United States. Putting to one side again the fact that Japan had already racked up 50 years of conquest and aggression against its Asian neighbours, the argument continued with the conspiratorial riposte that President Roosevelt had known about the attack on Pearl Harbor for some time and had allowed the attack to continue in order to get the US into the war.

I miss those class chats a lot, never mind the disagreement. You had to keep your wits about you and the disputes were always amiable.