China vs Japan - politics and propaganda

who's right? who's wrong? no doubt japan was guilty of horrible horrible war crimes. many of its asian neighbours were affected. malaysia as well. the japanese soldiers were unbelievably cruel. treating the locals worse than animals. can they ever be forgiven? all throughout history and right up to this very day, zealots in power have been and are still oppressing their weaker enemies, treating them with utmost cruelty. why then so much anger at the japanese? have they not apologized? yes they have! are they not sincere? that is a harder question. why did the japanese government whitewash their heinous acts in their history textbooks? how dare they gloss over their crimes and put a patriotic and altruistic spin on their abominable actions? did they approve the books for their own political interests? how can the japanese be sincere about their remorse for their crimes against asia if they condone such gross mis-representation of the facts? fortunately the current japanese generation knows what their ancestors have done. that can't be said for the following generations if lies like these are allowed to perpetuate. the offending textbook will not be widely used, at least not today. however, the fact that it was approved by the japanese government is in itself outrageous. how can they be so callous? they must not feel that they were wrong! inspite of all this, japan is not the only country guilty of doctoring their past. the chinese themselves are guilty of it. you could say that essentially all of the chinese textbooks are written by the chinese goverment. everything shameful has been omitted. only the glory of china and the misdeeds of their cruel neighbours remain. how then can they point their fingers at japan? what right do they have? after all they are hell-bent on brainwashing their own people! remember the google incident?! the nerve of the chinese government!! of course, many other countries are also guilty of rewriting their history. even malaysia is not spared.

anyway, do the japanese still feel they are superior? is that the root of it all? it's true they have a lot to be proud of. japan/tokyo is widely mentioned as a prominent asian country/city. tokyo is the capital of technology and fashion. japan is home to numerous technological feats. japan pioneered countless electronic innovations. tokyo is chic. tokyo is fashionable. japanese technology is apparent all over the world. japanese cars last forever - is the popular belief. japanese culture is well preserved. historic sites are aplenty. unlike china with the regrettable cultural revolution. I'm chinese, 4 generations removed from china. I feel negligible attachment to china. don't get me wrong, I would love to visit china and learn all about it. I consider myself malaysian first, chinese second. I love eastern culture - chinese, japanese, malaysian, korean, indonesian etc. anyway, back to the superiority of the japanese, I am inclined to say that they do feel superior. I think they do believe that they are smarter, more hardworking, more cultured, more refined, and more advanced than the rest of asia. I can see why they would think so. however, in many ways japan shouldn't be so smug. china's economy is growing at an alarming rate while japan is dealing with a stagnant economy. this is what the chinese claim the japanese are afraid of. japan's prominence in biological and medical sciences is also fading, with countries like singapore looking to take the lead. what about the rigid social structure of japan that looks like it might crack, including the suppression of the japanese women. who hasn't heard of the troubles that plague the crown princess masako? what I'm saying is that imho opinion, although the japanese have a lot to be proud of, they should not feel superior.

that aside, the violent nature of the chinese demonstations should be condemned. the horrible acts in the past do not justify retaliation in the present. how is it fair or beneficial to beat up japanese people in china? or to burn japanese cars and businesses, most of which belonging to chinese people!? look in the mirror!! beating up helpless people is inexcusable!!

so what happens now? koizumi has apologized. although he has never apologized for his yearly pilgrimages to the yasukuni shrine. I for one am not sure how the war criminals are worshipped. Are there separate tablets for each soul? Or is it a veneration of all the souls together? I'll give it the benefit of doubt. what about japan's bid for a permanent seat in the un security council? japan cites its numerous contributions to the welfare of the world. heft monetary donations to help countries devastated by natural disasters. donations to the third world countries. personnel help in peacekeeping. technological help times of need. japan should be commended for its prominent role in helping the less fortunate. by rewarding them a permanent seat on the security council?