"Japanese" and Japan's War Crimes

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On February 2, 2010, my friend and I attended “63 Years On” which was a documentary screening and presentation about “Comfort Women”. “Comfort women” refers to all the women “who were pressed into sexual servitude during the Asia Pacific War that began with the invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and ended with Japan’s defeat in 1945” (Soh, 2008). The majority of the women are Korean, and many Chinese women were also victimized (Soh, 2008). Japanese army also forced women from Philippines, Indonesia, Indochina, and Burma. The army also used non-local people in those courtiers, Americans, Dutch, French, and British. And a limited number of Japanese women were also included (2008). The film showed how much Korean, Chinese, and Dutch women suffer from the sexual slavery even now. It also showed Japanese people visiting museum in Korea to learn issues around “comfort women.” So the film did not accuse Japanese people as a whole rather focused on accusing Japanese government refusing to apology for war crimes. As I watched the film, listening to panellists, and talked with my friend, I felt uncomfortable when I heard “Japanese” forced, “Japanese” killed, “Japanese” committed. As opposed to “Japanese government,” “Japanese military,” or “Japan (as a nation state),” the language use of “Japanese” as a subject seems to include every single person who has a Japan’s nationality. I even felt that I was racially discriminated. But I have to think twice here; is it a racial discrimination to accuse all the Japanese for the Japan’s war crimes?

My cultural, social, and educational backgrounds entirely rely on “Japan”. I have grown up in Japan, raised by my Japanese father and mother. I went to a public elementary school and a public junior high school in Japan. And I attended a private high school in Japan, and my high school had some connection with a Ward Government in Tokyo.

Therefore, I have received so much information that includes hegemonies controlled by media and the government in Japan. Indeed, I have rarely seen any news about commercial whale hunting by companies in Japan. I have heard people on television saying that Japanese are so gloomy about ourselves, so that Japanese people should be proud of being Japanese more. I heard that some Japanese intellectuals said that Japan already paid compensation to China for the World War II, and Japan already apologized to China for the war. I heard many of my Japanese friends, ranged from my age to 73 years old, talking that China always demands for an apology every single time when their prime minister changes. My friends go on to say that “anti- Japanese” is nothing but a mere political strategy for Chinese government to have a unity in China. Furthermore, did anybody tell me anything about Japan’s war crimes in any of South East countries? No much at all.

Despite all the hegemonies I received in Japan, I have been a most pro-China person among my friends and family. Because I made so many friends from China, Taiwan, Philippine, Australia, America etc when I spent one year as an exchange student in Australia, nationality do not bother me to have friendships. At several occasions when I met Chinese people in Australia, they did not react “You are Japanese, and I am Chinese,” but he said, “Oh, we are same Asians!” I liked to think that we were all the same Asians. So in order to keep the good relationship with them, I wanted to take serious responsibility to admit the Japan’s war crimes, and refuses all the war in order not to repeat the same crimes. Japan’s war crimes were my original sins.

So why do I feel uncomfortable to hear “Japanese” as a subject of the war crimes? For me, holding Japanese nationality itself is not a sin. Even though the nation state, Japan, committed so many war crimes during Wald War II and even after the war, it does not mean that all the Japanese people became evil. I am quite sure that I am brain washed at this point by the Japanese government and the American strategy under the GHQ head quarter, but I think that Japanese civilians, especially children, women, and the youth, were the victims of the war. Of course we have to examine the cause of the war and who are responsible for each crimes. But I believe that the problem was the war itself rather than the race. So, when we talk about the war, using “Japanese” as a subject might seem to include a racial discrimination.

I, and I believe majority of people would, think that racial discrimination is immoral, and universities usually educate people not to have racial discrimination. Do I dislike all the “Arab people” in Sudan for committing genocide? No. Do I hate all the British people for colonization? No. Do I dislike all the Iraqi people for terrorism? No. Do I dislike all the Americans for the Iraqi War? No, I do not.

Even when I think of the cases that Japanese people were victimized, I would not dislike all the people who would be categorised to the same group of the people committed a crime. Indeed, do I dislike all the Americans for atomic bomb? No. Do I dislike all the North Koreans for systematically kidnapping Japanese and South Korean people? No.

Yet, I am not too sure for a case that I think of my closer people being hurt. If my mother was killed by a person from country A, would I hate all the people from the country? I hope not, but I might not be able to stop disliking at least all the family members of the criminal.

In order to think about the issues around discrimination against family of a person committed a crime, there is a great book to refer; a repetitive novel “Tegami” written by Keigo Higashino (2003). In the novel, one character says to a man whose brother committed a murder: as you have noticed, people would be even nice to you, as they feel sympathy. People know that having a criminal as a brother is not your fault at all. But people naturally avoid you because murder or crimes are something we want to keep a distance. To keep a comfortable and safe life, people try not to have connections with you. And this is only a natural reaction. Even though you are angry with such people behaviours, and you even feel seriousely discriminated, this discrimination is necessary for maintaining an order in the society. When your brother committed a crime, he socially killed himself. And his payment for his crime includes your suffering. People see you to understand that committing crime means socially killing ourselves and even our family (2003).

Applying this way of thinking to the Japan’s war crimes, we can think in this way. The fact that Japan committed war crimes means Japan socially killed all the Japanese people including the next generation. Thus, discrimination against Japanese people is necessary for teaching a lesson not to committee war crimes.

Of course, violence is totally not acceptable at any case. So even in any protests or activists' movements, I do not agree to have violent acts. And when we think of a brother of the criminal, he is sacrificed for the social goods (public welfare). So we have to think if we should discriminate any people even when the discrimination helps society organized well.

Still, it is also true that we emotionally cannot just stop disliking a criminal’s family even when we understand the family, especially the criminal’s daughters or sons, has no responsibility for the crime.

“Do not tell us to like the Russian people. With all the scars we had, we just cannot.” This was the wards of a man who was forced to involve in the conflict between the Russian government and Georgia. He was educated man and working for the peace reconciliation. Yet his scar is so deep that he cannot escape from his emotional hatred.

The scars on human minds are real, and the scars are what we have to consider first among of all. Yes, both Japanese and Chinese governments use Yasukuni issues and even “comfort women” for their political strategies. Many Japanese intellectuals who are pro-Japan argue to protect Japan mentioning International laws, treaties, and research strategies, and they usually ignore personal feelings of the women, who had to face so sensitive issues (It would be so hard and need great courage for me to publically speak up that I was raped.)Issues are so complicated. So much information is manipulated (by various governments, media, etc), and it is hard to judge which is close to the truth. Even inside Japan, there are arguments between the left side and the right side etc. But one thing for sure is that the women who were forced be “comfort women” have scars on their mind, and none of us should ignore nor deny them.

My conclusion for now; disliking all the “Japanese” would be a racial discrimination, yet you can hate “Japanese,” you can hate me, because with the scars you have and your people have it is only natural to hate “Japanese.” And that is what a war brings to us. Indeed, wars do not produce any good. Wars protect nothing. Wars leave people scars. And wars force us to hate each other. And as a person holding a Japanese passport, as people see me as Japanese, and as a person whom you might hate, I have a responsibility to consider and act for the issues related the Japan’s war crimes.

S.M.