Thats something, I also do not understand.
We Germans face it, for long already. I grew up with the holocast pictures in my head, no chance to escape this, and I was just under 10 years old and had many nightmares about it, but was so thankfull for knowing this in the end.
I have a child from a partly jewish, from a family that had to escape all that and hide. I know, what I did and that it was alright and the best way to show this. I dearly loved that man, who died in the meantime.
Also I can live with the facts, that his family tried to step in between our love, which I can very well understand, even if I also got very hurt by this. But they dearly love our daughter now, and opened their doors for me, a bit late after all, and I cannot go there, because I will be too close to tears, because of my own pains about all the past and what they have been through as well. But my daughter is loved and very much cared for and completely included in the family, and does understand it all.
I am crying, while I write this, but it is alright, and I am glad, that no one has lied to me about or holocaust past. I am willing to pay the bill, with love, with other words.
We have on the other hand dearly been invited by younger jewish people, but also by Palestines, and before my love died, he made a CD with Palestine songs and had according friends, and excused himself for a lot before he died, also instead of his parents. He never needed to at all, but he did. I did not know what to say then, because he must have been equally hurt from the intervening past. I cried a lot, when he left us, no way to hide it from my daughter. But life goes on.
And it all dictated my arts. And, I will not forget, how my korean fríends hugged me, when they heard about all this, and what they had to say from thier own past. . .also with a wide open door. Believe me, they did not lie, nor did my chinese friends. But also in Japan I found wonderfull people, who understood. but people who ignored, where hardly on my way. To meet them here, is a severe shock for me, and I can only wonder, when they will wake up...because the should.
Believe me, we are furtherhin willing here, to never forget, but just because of this, we will try everything, to bridge the gaps in all directions. My daughter has become very good in this, internationally. She would not accept any racism around her.
If some deny those old facts, it will only start again, it does not disappear by itself. Those who ignore, obviously show a high amount of brutality and disrespect in general. Racism and brutality grows on ignorance! We have to work on it, and the first step is to face it, and I am very glad, that I did, however hard it was.
If some in Japan cannot do it on their own, it will for sure cause many desasters again, also to themselves. The facts are on the table, for all to see, they only have to look!
A little sumimasen or gomenasai can work wonders already, I always thought, they know this. . .
And face it, dear Japanese, your emperor is not a God, nobody is, we are all humans, maybe that helps.