Impact of History ( Sino-Japanese & WWII)

[rumpel]

This is a very interesting ongoing Op-Ed Series running in the Asahi Shinbun

an excerpt from:

Guilt over war dead blurred Japan's sound judgment

02/01/2008

BY KAZUO SATO THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

"I am concerned about the battle against terrorism and (global warming from) carbon gases," Masayoshi Kiyama, a 98-year-old former commander in the Imperial Japanese Navy, said as if talking to himself.

After living nearly a century, he is now alarmed about the future of mankind. While the comment struck my heart, all I could do was nod.

While reading many documents in preparation for writing about the process that led Japan toward starting the war against the United States, I felt an urge to personally interview former leaders who were involved in the decision-making process regarding the conflict. Yet, since more than 66 years have passed since the beginning of the war, many key figures of that time had already passed away, as have army and navy staff who drafted important national policies. Ryuzo Sejima, who was the youngest staff officer at the Army Section of the Imperial General Headquarters, died in September 2007 at the age of 95.

Nevertheless, it is a newspaper reporter's job to attempt the impossible. As I approached various people, I encountered a kind person who connected me with Kiyama.

Born in Kumamoto Prefecture, Kiyama was an elite officer who graduated from the Naval Engineering College. He was not in a key naval position when the war broke out, but he was assigned to head fuel policy in January 1944 as a member of the munitions bureau of the Navy Ministry. He is one of a few people who have direct knowledge of the atmosphere surrounding military leadership during the war. After the war ended, he founded fuel and other companies to employ people returning home from overseas.

snip

So it means the key compromise within Plan B was intentionally removed from the diplomatic telegram sent to the Japanese Embassy in Washington. For the first time, the recently discovered document reveals that the entire message was entrusted to Ambassador Saburo Kurusu, who was dispatched at very short notice to the final negotiations.

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/IHistory/TKY200802010208.html



The entire series to date:

Introductory chapter

* History gains weight when intertwined with politics(06/18)
* Changing history education (06/18)

Chapter 1

* Japan had good intelligence about China's losing fight in Opium War (07/22)
* A reckless adventure in Taiwan amid Meiji Restoration turmoil (07/22)
* INTERVIEW/ Chin Shunshin: History is invariably written by conquerors (09/03)

Chapter 2

* Spark for Sino-Japanese War was triggered in Seoul (08/24)
* East China Sea is as troubled as it was during Sino-Japanese War (08/24)
* INTERVIEW/ Kazutoshi Hando: Japan's war machine reeked of incompetence (09/08)
* INTERVIEW/ Bu Ping: Time for us to adapt to the changed face of Asia (10/04)

Chapter 3

* For fleeting moment, Togo's victory raised Asian hopes (09/28)
* Railway network was key to Japanese army's control of Korea (09/28)
* Takeshima islets, an issue where ethnic pride still rules the day (09/28)
* INTERVIEW/ Chen Kaige: Moving toward a new Asian balance of power (09/28)
* INTERVIEW/ Teruo Hiyane: Okinawa shares much in common with Asia (12/12)

Chapter 4

* Sun Yat-sen's Xinhai Revolution of 1911 had its seeds in Tokyo (10/29)
* Tokyo rally triggered 1919 independence movements in Korea, China (10/29)
* INTERVIEW/ Chung Jae Jeong: For better and for worse, Japan shaped Asia (11/02)
* INTERVIEW/ Yoko Kato: Hard lessons from East Asia's painful change(11/16)

Chapter 5

* Search for the truth leads to U.N. archives in Geneva (11/30)
* For Japan, its slogans for Manchukuo were pie in the sky (11/30)
* INTERVIEW/ Andrew Gordon: 'Modern girls' had a major impact on society (12/04)
* INTERVIEW/ Shinichi Kitaoka: Nationalism a running theme in Asian history(12/28)

Chapter 6

* Japan underestimated changes in China, the world (12/28)
* Vital role of a small bridge against the Japanese army (12/28)
* INTERVIEW/ Kazuhiko Kimijima: War crime tribunal created attitudes of denial(01/12)
* INTERVIEW/ Kwon Okie: Asia's history is irrevocably tied to the U.S.(01/19)

Chapter 7

* Guilt over war dead blurred Japan's sound judgment (02/01)
* Why Japanese fought on both sides of China's civil war (02/01)
* INTERVIEW/ Hiroshi Mitani: East Asia had times of peace as well as conflict(02/07)
* INTERVIEW/ Liu Jie: East Asia's future depends on China's direction(02/18)

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/history.html