Why didn't Japan apologize for the wrong act of launching World War II? Why do Japanese history books disguise Japan as a victim?

[Season]

Wrongly launched World War II, brutally killed hundreds of thousands of ordinary people, and then refused to apologize. What kind of nation is this? What face is there to survive?

 

[mdchachi]

Wrongly launched World War II, brutally killed hundreds of thousands of ordinary people, and then refused to apologize. What kind of nation is this? What face is there to survive?

There have been many apologies.

List of war apology statements issued by Japan - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[thomas]

In addition to the official apologies, the ODA payments made to China between 1979 and 2018 should be mentioned in this context, too. They amount to:

• 3.3164 trillion JPY in loan aid (yen loans): loan aid involves the provision of loans under relaxed conditions (low interest, long repayment period) to recipient countries, in principle, untied loans = 3,314,400,000,000 JPY
• 181.7 billion JPY in technical cooperation: involves the technologies being provided to recipient countries to spread the use of technology among people in developing countries and improve technical levels = 181,700,000,000 JPY
• 157.2 billion JPY in grant aid (financial assistance that is extended to recipient countries without imposing an obligation of repayment) = 157,200,000,000 JPY

Source

So there were countless official apologies as well as substantial financial support ("reparations").

 

[johnnyG]

Wrongly launched World War II, brutally killed hundreds of thousands of ordinary people, and then refused to apologize. What kind of nation is this? What face is there to survive?

<yawn>

 

[cloa513]

"Why do Japanese history books disguise Japan as a victim?"- that part is moderately true and shows the power of the pathetic nationalists in this country who do litttle but whitewash the failings of the country.

 

[Majestic]

I would say its also a reaction to the impression of "victor's justice" meted out by the allies (but mostly the Americans) after WW2. There was a chance to apportion blame to the militarists and to the Imperial institution after the war, but this chance was squandered by MacArthur as he viewed the Emperor as being a valuable tool in avoiding chaos in the post-war era.

Also, the post-war years saw a rise in radical thinkers and leftists in Japan, including leftists in the government. In order to curb this trend, the Americans quietly started welcoming back some rightists and uber-capitalists back into power so that the country could function as a counter-balance to China and North Korea. While the leftists and free-thinkers had the moral high ground for a hot-minute, they gradually lost ground to the industrialists and the politicians in their pockets. These were the same guys who were making money during the war. It was a very cynical turn of events, that not only silenced the leftists and voices of anti-Imperialism, it left them feeling horribly cheated and robbed of a chance for true reform and reflection.

I think (hope) it goes without saying that there was some value in stabilizing Japan, even at the cost of ceding some power back to some irreclaimable people. So I don't mean to beat old Douglass MacArthur from my comfortable position in history. Thank God famine was avoided in Japan after the war. Thank God Japan ended up with as much democracy as it has, and that it wasn't split up after WW2. BUT... mistakes in the occupation were made that continue to have consequences.

 

[mdchachi]

BUT... mistakes in the occupation were made that continue to have consequences.

Yeah, like why did we give back Okinawa?! We should have kept it!