How Do the Japanese Teach About WWII?

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In the video today, we're looking at how WWII is taught in Japan.
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How is World War II Taught in Germany? • How Do German Schools ...
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Sources:
www.bbc.com/news/magazine-212...
apjjf.org/-Mark-Selden/3173/a...
www.japantimes.co.jp/news/200...
spice.fsi.stanford.edu/docs/e...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanes...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_R...
www.washingtonpost.com/world/...

[@TodayIFoundOut]

Get awesome wine delivered to your door, support this show, and get 50% off your first six bottles by checking out BrightCellars using the following link www.brightcellars.com/TIFO50

[@CarlTSpeak]

Argh. Love to but US only 😭

[@15-Peter-20]

Today I found out that this channel couldn't function without Wikipedia !

[@elhombredeoro955]

I skipped a heartbeat when you said Pleistocene epoch😂😂😂 Very informative video though. Thank you and congratulations to you and your team.

[@Stoppskylten]

@Jonathan Perry You "would" probably be extremely racist too if having a gigantic military base filled with foreigners who regularly cause general disorder and commit crimes with near impunity. You know, a bit like some near for example the Mexican border are a bit or extremely racist..

[@irvingramirez2335]

You did one of my requests 😭 thank you ive asked for this specific topic

[@rxhawk75]

When I studied Japanese in college I had several Japanese friends. They told me America only dropped the atomic bomb on Japan and not Germany because of racism. When I told them the atomic bomb wasn’t successfully tested until after Germany surrendered, they had a rather shocked look on their faces.

[@hydrolito]

We got knowledge how to build the bomb from the Germans. German Scientists and Engineers were involved in developing the atomic bomb. Both the United States and Soviet Unions space programs used German scientists.

[@mgway4661]

Ever try surrendering. Ask them if they think we would have dropped the bomb if they had surrendered.

[@omargj1]

@@hydrolito The german scientist what helped to develop the A Bombs escaped Germany before the war, but it took the US more than a couple of years to develop the Bombs, the first test was done in July 1945, few months after Germany surrendered.

[@funofboredom]

@@mgway4661 especially the 2nd bomb. After the 1st one, the Japanese was still stubborn as fuck and didn't want to surrender.

[@peace2]

Japanese continues to teach (or not teach) their kids even today what they have been programmed to teach them by the postwar occupation force(s) of Japan. So, you will find the accurate understanding and answer to this question by referring to the historical records on War Guilt Program of the occupation force(s). Also, I learned about the following history-changing video from a comment with a link posted in this comment section: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6Gbq2R3aLmmrrc As for atomic bombs, I've read/seen in several documentaries that started to pop up on the media in the past a few decades that: they used to call it "new weapon (of mass destruction)" towards the end of the war; the Japanese military R&D was developing it also, until the emperor Hirohito had been notified of its project and ordered immediately to halt its development, as he had feared the total destruction of Japan and the world (mankind) if the war was to escalate to using such weapon.

[@WorldTravelA320]

Japan: We were having a picnic in China, and all over the Pacific. Then for some reason the Americans nuked us.

[@somethingcool9010]

WorldTravelA320 wasn’t like Americans owned most of the food factories and crop fields in japan America shuts them down then Japan starts starving the only choice they have is to scare Americans into opening them back up Japan was a cat in a corner yet we were the victims

[@ezrabridger252]

Something Cool yeah because nothing says “please reconsider opening up your food factories” like Pearl Harbor and taking over the world with your best bud Hitler, yeah poor japan.

[@bocat1964]

@@somethingcool9010 I had breakfast with a survivor of the Bataan death march we left them of easy.

[@MrCipasa]

@@somethingcool9010 they where closed for a reson. what about 2 decades of shenanigans in china? about promisses to stop and then breaking the promises over and over again. US didnt shut down the factories and oil trade out of the blue. What do you expect US to do? nothing? and what was Japans response? getting their shit together? no, they joined nazis and attacked.

[@jjiang7488]

Something Cool oh yeah, because the Japanese were totally not using the American resources to invade China and massacre its population.

[@riversong9333]

When I was living in Japan, a friendly clothing-shop owner asked me while doing small talk where I came from. "Germany", I answered. He brightened, smiled, told me Germany is a great country and if I knew that Japan and Germany were war-time friends? He told me what a strong leader Hitler was, and proudly showed me a Nazi-uniform replica hat in his (otherwise normal) clothing shop. He couldn't understand, why I didn't want to buy it?? I tried to explain as politely as possible that he shouldn't sell stuff like that, especially to Germans, that swastika symbols were illegal in Germany and that Hitler was a "really bad man". He was genuinely confused. He never learned in school about the "bad stuff" of Nazi-Germany and was terribly sorry, apologising about the Nazi hat. I saw him again a few weeks later when I was in the area. He recognised me and told me that, after going home that day he googled Hitler and the Nazi regime. He was shocked about what he found and apoligised again about not knowing about that stuff before.

[@carmawarlock8455]

You have an occupied slave mentality, regurgitating the propaganda forced down your throat in indoctrination camps called public school. Then you go spread your cultural rot in a foreign country where you have no right to. What makes you think you can impose your imperial elitist ideologies to foreigners that you clearly look down on? Youre an unbeknownst occupying agent dupe

[@Zabi-S]

So, he had access to the internet the whole time and it wasn't until your brave act of humility that he decided to "Google" everything? I smell BS.

[@riversong9333]

@@Zabi-S No, he seemed to just not had any particular interesst in the topic before and he told me they didn't really talk about it in school, therefore, he only knew some (very) basic things about it. Why get informed about stuff you have no connection or interest in the topic? Do you inform yourself and google stuff about topics you don't have interest or some reason to know more about it? I don't. I also had the feeling that of course the nice things he said about Hitler was more in order to sell this hat, talking nice about my country and its former leader, so I would buy.

[@BigBossKingpin]

And then everyone clapped.

[@idfkidc]

​@@riversong9333but why did he have the hat? Go to buy something like that and you will quickly see what comes up..

[@David-ns4ym]

My wife is Japanese from Japan. They do not mention the rape of Nanking, they do not mention the empire aggression they wanted, they glance over Pearl Harbor, but they sure do talk about the atom bombs and fire bombing of the cities. It’s sanitized history.

[@user-wy8cs2dk1h]

America, France, and England invaded.

[@donaldvonglitchenberger4108]

@@user-wy8cs2dk1hI just farted

[@daphenomenalz4100]

​@@user-wy8cs2dk1h ngl but England was also not good 😂 it invaded almost every single country in the world nd committed genocide in India and Africa

[@mastrtonberry2]

Don't worry it's sanitized history on the other side too

[@jedmiller3015]

@@daphenomenalz4100 Imperial Japan is by far the most barbaric and blood thirsty nation from contemporary history. Nanjing is the worst thing I've ever read about it. At least other countries recognize their faults and teach about them. Japan pretends like it didn't happen. Seriously, take a deep-dive into the "Rape of Nanjing" and it'll make your stomach turn. Throwing babies in pots of boiling water was the cherry-on-top. This was only 80 years ago.

[@YeahButCanISniffUrPantsFist]

Germany: "We remember, we're sorry" Japan: "Sorry, we dont remember"

[@YeahButCanISniffUrPantsFist]

@Something Diabolical ...what? You know that two cities is nothing for WW2 right? Especially when u compare it to Germanys civillian losses, lmao. im not sure what youre even trying to say

[@frankie235]

@Something Diabolical there would've been millions of deaths if they invaded Japan

[@jewellesacdalan8410]

@Something Diabolical That’s nothing compared to the number of civilians that they have killed all throughout the asia.

[@dscrappygolani7981]

Underrated

[@user-cl6lw6rc1c]

It’s more like “Remember? You made it up.”

[@lokilxix]

For a culture so obsessed with honor they sure did lack it.

[@davix994]

Damn

[@rollsroycegriffon2375]

Nicely worded

[@emarceeqem4715]

One could say they tend to be more concerned with saving face than with honor in of itself.

[@lgay1927]

@@emarceeqem4715 True

[@Rupcoris]

Savage

[@JustinVan]

My grandparents went to Japan about 10 years ago as part of a tour group. My step grandma's father served in the Marines in the Pacific during WWII and witnessed atrocities. They went to Hiroshima and the tour guide presented the atomic bomb as the peaceful people of Japan were randomly attacked by the horrible Americans. When my step grandma told her about stories she heard about Japanese soldiers, the tour guide told her to leave. She believed it was lies made to make Japan look bad because Americans are jealous of Japan's success. This was someone leading tour groups!

[@decarloharris9996]

Lmfao if I was on that tour I'd been like "they don't teach pearl harbor here, because in America we have the philosophy called "GET BACK GANG"

[@DJ-mz7td]

Actual truth is rarely told.

[@nigelwillson6096]

Marketing, propaganda, misinformation, disinformation which usually leads to discrimination, is not unique to Japan and Japanese culture, it's everywhere. Unfortunately, Japanese culture takes a dim view of dishonorable behavior. To acknowledge well documented Japanese atrocities commited during WW2 leads to a condition of cognitive dissonance. Redirecting blame, portraying Japan as the victim of American aggression is their way of dealing with their dilemma.

[@cheryldeboissiere1851]

No, it isn’t, Nigel. They really don’t know and the ignorance continues. A bomb had more impact.

[@98gsoup]

Dads Marine engineer company rebuilt the infrastructure of Hiroshima

[@skriabinfly]

My grandmother's uncle was a P.O.W. captive in a Japanese camp. He never talked about the war but my grandma relayed to me one story. His fellow prisoner was starving to death so my great great uncle swiped a melon rind (like a cantaloupe rind) that the soldiers had discarded from under a fence to give his starving friend to eat. Soldiers caught him and knocked his teeth out with a rifle butt and beat him. He was eventually rescued, weighed 90 pounds, looked like a crippled old man in his 20s, and never talked about the war except a small handful of times. Died in his early 40s.

[@Neolithika]

Jesus

[@tonygameaddict_1168]

How old were you when your grandpa died?

[@skriabinfly]

@@tonygameaddict_1168 The POW was my grandma's uncle. He died seven years before i was born. I only have the secondhand story from my grandma who died a few years ago.

[@NeinVyacheslav]

@@skriabinfly Jesus, dude. I'm so sorry. I had a great grandfather who served in Europe, and he was fortunate enough to never be taken prisoner by the Nazis. Ngl, it's sometimes a real shock to realize just how lucky I was that he survived the war and died instesd from a bad Florida hospital when I was 5. My best friend had a great uncle that I'm pretty sure died at Iwo Jima. I'm truly sorry that happened to your family. That definitely can't be the most fun story to tell.

[@lmcc0072]

One of my dad’s friends was a POW in Germany during WWII. He was shot down over occupied France in 1943 and spent 2 years in a prison camp. He didn’t have a single good thing to say about his captors. Even at that, he was probably treated better than the POWs held by Japan. Surrender was seen as weakness to the Japanese and they treated people who surrendered accordingly.

[@zacharyswygart337]

Germany: we have committed countless attrocities and shall now make laws to be better, as well as pay reperations. (Edit, was repititions as a typo) Italy and Russia: we joined the allies and were forgiven. Japan: there was no war is ba sing se

[@Mx.imilian.f]

I love that comment lol

[@winchesterchua7600]

This, this is gold.

[@panjic9944]

It’s a long long way to ba sing se Please note I suck at spelling

[@stanjon7]

In fairness I’m pretty sure Germany was forced to admit and teach it. Japan never had that pressure put on them.

[@stiimuli]

pay repetitions? O_o

[@kevinwebster7868]

I lived in Japan for a few years in the mid 90’s and I was stunned at how many Japanese had no idea of what transpired during WW2. Never mind covering up atrocities, everyone does that, but they really were taught that they were just going about their own business when suddenly America attacked them. This didn’t really start changing until the internet became widely available.

[@akizeta]

I took a Japanese woman to see _Pearl Harbor_ back when it was released. She was mystified by the scenes of Yamamoto and his staff planning the attack, and asked me what they were doing. Between my terrible Japanese and her better but still not perfect English I came to understand that she had the impression that _America_ attacked _Japan_ and couldn't square that with the idea of Japan striking the first blow or even planning it. I don't know how she ever reconciled her cognitive dissonance.

[@benn454]

@@akizeta Sadly, most people never do. They just reject any truth that's too uncomfortable.

[@naomimay82]

That is just like the Germans from World War 2. My Great Grandma and Grandma didn’t know the truth about what happened to the Jews until they came to America in 1956. They came from Germany and didn’t know the horrors of what happened because the Nazi’s didn’t exactly advertise what they were doing. Many Germans just didn’t know.

[@davidnam8510]

I had a Japanese friend in college who grew up in Japan. His knowledge of his own country’s involvement in the war seemed incredibly limited. I get that it that the atrocities weren’t common knowledge but surely the imperial expansion wasn’t a secret? I just couldn’t believe that the Japanese people had no idea that their military expanded all over Asia all those years. I somehow don’t see a country that is proud of its military accomplishments hiding it from its people. So if the people knew of the military expansion, why would it be a surprise to learn that their military did terrible things, including taking preemptive action? In the end, I attribute the ignorance to a lack of critical thinking. If you don’t want to know, you’ll keep yourself from finding out the information, even if you’re in a place of higher learning.

[@hanliu3707]

How much dose Internet helps now? I'm curious...

[@davidyoung745]

I’m an American who taught English in Japanese junior high schools for 17 years. Before that, I tutored Japanese exchange students in the USA. Now most exchange student programs have some academic requirements to take part, you’re usually talking about some very smart kids. So I was really shocked the first time I was tutoring a girl in history and the subject was the Battle of Midway in WW2, we were going into great detail and she was taking all these notes when I asked if she had any questions so far and she honestly asked me 1) what countries fought in the war, and 2) which side won. 🤨?!

[@DrDizzleFrizzle]

Unfortunately, our own schools are doing the same on an even larger and more extreme scale in regards to slavery, genocide, white supremacy, war crimes, and so on. States like Florida working to outright make it a crime to teach children about the history of racial discrimination that defines every aspect of the evolution of this country. Unfortunately, most countries and cultures try to erase and hide their own crimes.

[@bow_wow_wow]

Some young women in particular really have zero interest in history.

[@AdderallAscension]

⁠@@bow_wow_wow I find people like you so weird because every comment section has like one or two of you focusing on women even if it has nothing to do with them. Like the whole point is that Japan doesn’t talk about the war in general and teachers won’t speak out because they get shamed

[@storybuff4939]

@@AdderallAscension Maybe for whatever sociological reason men are more into History than women ? Or non-Japanese men frequent Japanese women a lot more than Japanese men frequent non-Japanese women for whatever reason too ?

[@shuaishao8381]

I’m from a very very small city in China and when I watched the movie Midway I can’t believe that it’s accurate enough to include my city Quzhou! I visited the memorial since I was a kid and always known the story of American pilots but it’s nice to see it being represented in western media

[@shuaishao8381]

During the invasion, Japanese army dropped bacteria bombs in my hometown Quzhou (if you watched the movie Midway, it’s in there) and my grandmother as a kid was effected by it and since had a severe skin problem on her legs, which got passed down to my father and maybe me. It’s a symptom that makes your skins on the leg become fish scales like and very itchy. And I know that there are many many more people who are still living with the aftermath of their war crimes.

[@stevewondering6311]

china, korea: yeah we just want you to apologize Japan: we're sorry that you feel like you need an apology

[@KY-ji4wd]

double faced Japanese attitude.

[@FoxySpartan117]

Chad attitude right there lmao.

[@warpzone8421]

It was a Rick & Morty quote. Season 3, Episode 9, "The ABCs of Beth."

[@hueyfreeman1983]

Europeans do the same thing when it comes to colonialism excerpt their favorite reply is iT wAs nOrMal tHeN

[@gx_soloman6691]

@@hueyfreeman1983 you mean Britain and France right (edit: also Spain, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, , and Italy)

[@dapperfield595]

Germany: We are so sorry, please forgive our past and we will pay more reparations.. Italy: wdym we and the allies won Japan: What war?

[@ameyas7726]

British: Our Colonists lads that enslaved and killed billions were wee little heroes, bringers of civilization and we don't own anybody anything and no you are not getting your stolen history back from our British Royal museum.. Chinese: We all love and worship Mao for killing millions of Chinese people, causing irreparable damage to Chinese culture and history and for his great leap backward....nah he's Okay!!!

[@dustinaguirrefierro8736]

Ameya S the Chinese one is kinda debatable on the person you ask but the British is spot on lol😂

[@saffronic3026]

America: We single handedly saved the world, we're the hero!

[@wiemarball8966]

So Italy is dumb founded

[@wiemarball8966]

@@ameyas7726 XD

[@daviswhite3591]

I served with a Japanese man. He stuck out like a sore thumb. He looked like a 25 year old and a 70 year old at the same time. He was a 30 year old Private with Jump Wings. These facts begged some questions. His name was Hiro Yoshimitsu [Yoshi]. He joined the Japanese Ground Defense Force at 17 years of age. He did not like school. He did not study. He excelled at being a warrior. He volunteered for everything. He eventually earned an officer commission. As such he was offered a slot at US Army Airborne Jump School in Ft Benning, Georgia. He took it. He learned US Military history. He graduated and earned his Jump Wings. He went to a US Marine Corps recruiting office (in uniform) and asked how he could become a Marine. The Marines asked why he wanted to be one of us. He said he learned about what Japan did in WWII and that he didn't want to fight for them anymore. He would fight for us instead. He would redeem his family and his honor with his service to us. He was told he would lose his rank because he didn't have a High School Diploma and no college education, he barely spoke English. He would also have to graduate Marine Corps boot camp. Square One. He agreed. He went home to Japan. He resigned his commission. He sold everything he owned and brought a one way ticket to San Diego. He enlisted the next day. He graduated boot and went on to become an 0311. Infantryman. He served with me in First Battalion, Seventh Marines. Chesty's old outfit. (Look it up, It'll make more sense) A Japanese Soldier became a Son of Chesty. Life is funny sometimes.

[@66gtb]

Sounds like that needs to be a movie.

[@daviswhite3591]

I'm sure he had an interesting career. He did not stay with us long. Once he became a known quantity he became sort of a novelty. That's not a bad thing for anyone involved (I guess). The Marines are a small place. Word gets around. You see for some reason command level officers are a club. They rate themselves within that club based on all kinds of metrics but one they like to display is having foreign nationals serve under you. Add that he has Jump Wings. Now add he's a decorated former officer. Lastly he earned his combat action under your command. That's a rare thing. How valuable would he be as an Aide de Camp for a Marine General in Okinawa? The answer is: invaluable.

[@51dbail]

I did a trip to Bataan a few years ago. They have a museum where the American-Filipino’s surrendered. In the museum they have pictures of what the Japanese’s did to the civilian population in Manila when it fell. One picture was of women with her cloths half ripped off and her breast cut off. We were told by the administer that a Japanese student broke down to tears when he saw that. He had know idea of the atrocity his country had done to the Filipino people.

[@mistahcow]

as a german, im very proud of the german education system and that in school they teach what genuinely happened because i think you should always remember what your ancestors did wrong to learn out of those mistakes because our generation has the responsibility to not let history repeat itself

[@mixie5751]

Everyone should recognize that history is made by the victorious nations. Japan started the war because of the racism from the whites. Whte people invaded many countries and treated blacks, Indians, Africans, Indonesian as badly as cattle and fed them like feeding pigeons. Japan submitted a treaty on the elimination of racial discrimination at the Paris Peace Conference, but the U.S., Britain and Australia rejected it. They stopped all resources, including oil, to Japan, and life for the Japanese was at a breaking point. This is why Japan started the war. Japan first attacked bases in countries colonized by whites. After WW2, Douglas MacArthur said that Japan only fought a war of self-defense. His Japanese interpreter Faubion Bowers, said he was impressed that Emperor Showa was a gentle man who cared for his own people. People ignoring the aggression of their own country, and criticize only Japan are shameful racists.

[@user-oh6eg4ny3h]

I feel the German model education should be used in every country around the world to expose every country’s war crime in order for everyone to be educated and smart enough to prevent future war crimes

[@mixie5751]

@@user-oh6eg4ny3h I never agree with Nazi Hitler, but it is also true that German women were raped and otherwise tormented by Jews. It is strange that only defeated countries such as Germany and Japan are blamed today. In other words, in Churchill's words, history is made by the victorious nations. Defeated countries had no right to speak anything.

[@mixie5751]

The atomic bombing by the U.S. is a holocaust comparable to that of Germany, Germany historian said so.

[@mistahcow]

@@user-oh6eg4ny3h yesss

[@CatsMeowPaw]

I asked a Japanese friend what he thought about the war in the Pacific. He only replied "Victors write the history of war". That's all I really needed to know. It really sounds like Japan continues to downplay what happened during the war while Germany has fully owned what happened and moved on. Japan likewise could be a fully rehabilitated nation but it simply refuses to do so.

[@conveyor2]

On the contrary it's Germany that has failed to move on and is still paralysed by Selbsthass (self hate). Japan has no such obsession.

[@eldavid8774]

Wait how can he downplay it And claim history was written by victors? Would that imply he knows the history? And how arent they rehabilitated? The havent had a war in almost 80 years

[@2011blueman]

@@eldavid8774 No, he meant that American wrote the history books to make Japan look bad.

[@eldavid8774]

Leggo My Ego Doesnt that contradict the video?, how can a foreign agent write books in a sistem of goverment aproval like japan? I think you might be a bit confused yourself buddy

[@Stoppskylten]

@@eldavid8774 The entire construction of new japan was after a masterplan that would maintain western (US) control. Did you not listen to what was said in the video? The provisional administration could have done things differently but chose not to alter too much to keep the loyalty structure in place. Even letting actual leaders and war criminals off to do so. This is nothing strange however. Even with Germany some got of lightly if they could be helpful to the new administration, ot beneficial to the victory powers in some way. Like getting to the Moon. Or incidentally, developing atomic weapons.

[@jeffreywhittle6161]

My wife is a Filipina. I have been to the Philippines four times. 400,000 of their civilians and soldiers were killed in 3 years. They will never forget.

[@harrellt1405]

We wont forget. But bygones be bygones. Everyone love japanese maids and anime now xD

[@suboka]

Don't forget that Spain and America colonized the country and stole its resources, leaving many people starving.

[@quadcannon]

Living in Japan for the past ten years I can confirm the entirety of this video.

[@andywest8363]

Yes me too.since 1989

[@davidewhite69]

a friend of mine spent a couple of years as an exchange teacher in Japan, she said the school she taught at they teach this: "Japan was backed into a corner by western colonialism and unreasonable trade restrictions and the only course was to fight, despite Japan's superior culture, superior technology and superior warriors Japan could not match the US's superior manufacturing capability and eventually the war did not go favourably" that's it, that's all they taught, no mention of the invasion of China, no mention of their imperialism and conquering of other nations, no mention of atrocities or war crimes

[@thebravegallade731]

Maybe, just maybe they have an excuse vs the west. Not vs the other asian states they subjugated though. Especially korea.

[@tigoid]

@@thebravegallade731 Korea was conquered way before ww2. Also the trade restrictions were imposed after Japan started invading other countries.

[@ga4rfc9]

Well there was nothing really unique about heir expansion pre-WWI as the other imperial powers were equally guilty of this. Much like the Italians there was resentment over the way they had been treated as allies after WWI. None if their territorial claims were acknowledged and they were forced to keep a smaller navy than the US and Britain. So in that respect they may feel justified in their expansionism. Nothing justifies the atrocities committed though.

[@p1b1harper]

Seems pretty accurate. More accurate than the American narrative.

[@ga4rfc9]

@colin minhinnick I don't disagree but it is true that the Italians perceived they had been slighted. So did Japan. Their imperial sentiment was out of time with the west but that is no surprise either considering they weren't heavily involved in the conflict. WWI saw an end to the Ottoman, Russian, German and Austro-Hungarian Empires. The British and French had suffered huge losses and so focused more on the home front than their colonies. Japan was different because its position was strengthened by WWI and so imperial sentiment was still strong.

[@yellowcrayonkid]

My parents are Korean and I asked them why they hated Japan so much. They spent like 30 mins naming atrocities and told me not to watch anime because the Japanese would put subliminal messaging in it to make it seem like they were victims.

[@gageriddle1681]

Tbf most anime I watch arent even based in japan, and if anything they are very anti war XD

[@marching27]

Yeahhhh my mom felt that from Hetalia-- that anime def. does make it seem like the axis powers were "not that bad"...........LOL they show Germany of that time as "good". I mean history/countries/culture is more complicated than a single anime character can portray so..... I tried to just let it go- but my mom def. hated it STRONGLY. Actually I'm sure Korea hated it, hence their character was removed. But my mom wasn't against anime like Inuyasha which was more like folk tale like. (She enjoyed watching it with me). But I feel like most Asian countries would not be as bitter if Japan had made an official apologies earlier in history....and approached it more like Germany did. My mom and I can understand some Japanese, so we got to experience awkward moments with some Japanese adults that came to our house..... I remember my Japanese's friends dad drinking a bit too much at a party my mom hosted for my friends and their parents, (4 friends and 4 set of parents). The Japanese dad started muttering about how low Korea was and how he hated working here with lower class people to the other Japanese dad that looked quite nervous. Both mothers looked clearly uncomfortable too. He also brought up how much he hated his daughter was best friends with a halfy girl (aka me). I guess its similar to how white millennials feel when their dad calls his/her black friend inappropriate nicknames/ or shows his biases...... I'm sure not all Japanese people think this way... but you know how the US voted trump? I'm just saying wrong thinking is more prevalent that one might expect hahhaaha. LOL sorry long rant but made me reflect on how I grew up. (edit spelling)

[@gageriddle1681]

@@marching27 eh, hetalia feels like its very much obvious satire that knows it isnt taking itself seriously to me at least, but idk :O

[@marching27]

@@gageriddle1681 yeah, it is pretty funny, but it also reflects how little, the Japanese public learnt about their part in WW2, a lack of respect/understanding towards the level of atrocities they took part in is kinda, hard to ignore I think..... It really contrasts with their victimization persona that is taken about the nuclear bomb that took place in Hiroshima and Nagasaki... which I do not take lightly, and think of as horrific events. But I also had fun watching hetalia when I was younger, and helped draw fan fic.... but the more I learnt about actual history the more I was like-- ehhh;;;;; maybe not the best move on Japan's part.... Cuz hetalia was targeted for younger audiences as a fun way to teach history....... but as a whole I think its important to just respect one another, and there is no need to hate on modern day Japanese people...... but like Germany, learning one's history is important... like how I wish in America, learning more in depth on how the natives were treated is important......

[@stevenjohnmandaya6732]

But you really can't blame the Japanese citizens for their ignorant about their own history. The way to help them realize their history is to teach about it. I'm an Anime and Manga lover myself despite my country (Philippines) being one of the countries nearly destroyed by the cruelty of Japanese Empire that time. But, why is philippine citizens still welcomes Japanese Nationals enter our borders without a sense of despite to them? It is because we were educated that It is the Government's Fault and not the citizens of the country they also suffered losses and even innocent lives who doesn't want war at all. In the end, no one actually wins for there are always losses. It really is to education that this ignorance will be dealt. Not only in Japan but also in the other countries such as S.Korea, China, Philippines.

[@anye1019]

My wife's grandmother told us a story how her mother died. Stepped to death by marching Japanese Soldiers at Quipao, Manila, Philippines. I don't hate them, but they should know what they have done to other countries.

[@pauloazuela8488]

Fix your term a bit. They should know what their ancestors did. "They" now , didn't do anything at all and teachers don't know either what they're teaching. The old veterans who had done something is the one accountable for it. Japan today is a pacifist , some old civilian people experience what the war did and never want to do it again

[@MrAres1love]

In the United States they told us that the Indians we're our friends what A lie, so the pilgrims share their blanket with them oh they forgot to tell us that they have smallpox on those blankets

[@ChickSage]

@@pauloazuela8488 The pronoun "they" could represent the noun "Japan". Japan should know what Japan has done to other countries.

[@pandalime]

@@MrAres1love The British also did this at Fort Pitt by 'gifting' the Native Americans two blankets and a handkerchief that were used in their smallpox ward. It's really upsetting that this is what both colonists and the British opted to do. The natives had no natural immunities and there was no vaccine at that time.

[@gymshoe8862]

@@pandalime You and msareslove make it sound like americans knowingly infected the Indians with smallpox. The Indians contracted the disease but microbiology was unknown at the time. Pioneers/soldiers died of it too, by the thousands. Teachers in the last fifty years have taught that whites committed genocide on Indians. We migrated west, but the policy of genocide was a fabrication of Leftist teachers recently

[@trmilne7666]

In 1990, I was teaching at a small school in CT that had Korean and Japanese students. In one class, I had a student on the Roster as Myung, which is a Korean name. I said hello in Korean and he looked at me like I was crazy. Very insulted, he said he was Japanese. I replied that I had made the mistake based on his Korean name, which he flat-out denied was anything but Japanese. I let it drop, but later heard that he had complained to his family. His grandmother confirmed she had been a comfort woman, and that he was part Korean, his father a child of Japanese rapists. That brought out that his mother was probably also the child of a comfort woman, though his maternal grandmother had passed away some time before. Myung later told me that all of his Japanese friends wound up shunning him over it. Occasionally, Asian kids would bring their textbooks to use as reference materials. The math and science books were pretty good, but the history books were exactly as you said - the Japanese very thin on WW2, and the Korean and Chinese ones full of stories from the time. The Japanese kids would be angry about the "false history" from the time, like the Bataan Death March mentioned in Zinn, but they quickly realized that ther was a lot missing from their history books.

[@ronniefnd]

This would be a good series. How do ---- teach about WW2. All the participants

[@MultiCarlos94]

@UCo1OEN5udxXOWquC2W8D7gg I believe that video was already done

[@dr.m.hfuhruhurr84]

He did Germany a couple weeks ago

[@RTDice11]

Like how American schools teach us the Western front won the war when the Soviets were already well on their way to Berlin

[@ronniefnd]

@@RTDice11 yea. Thats why I would like to see all the countries because I liked this video and the one on Germany. Being a 40 year old American we were not taught anything about the Soviets being part of the end of the war.

[@originaljackofhearts]

I wonder how it is taught in countries that were mostly not involved. Like ones in South America and southern part of Africa.

[@brashair7652]

20 years ago my new Japanese wife and I were watching the movie “Pearl Harbor.” She honestly thought it was totally fictional and was shocked to learn that the Japanese had actually attacked the US. She said the Japanese schools never taught anything about the war that portrayed them as aggressors.

[@Hellraiser988]

The US did worse nuking 2 major Japanese city's that should have been a war crime

[@maverickslastoddworld6476]

@@ReubenPastrami so what has Ben Affleck ever done to you personally, I'm just curious?

[@sallygomez8799]

Doesn't surprise me in the least.

[@pizzamon795]

@@ReubenPastrami Aflec was the bomb in Phantoms yo

[@niftygrower2745]

@@ReubenPastrami I dislike Ben Affleck too 🤣. Him and J Lo, which coincidentally are married again… horrible actors

[@seaoh7252]

Next time anyone visits Japan, try visiting history museums. I encourage you to do a Google translate on the alot of the Japanese descriptions. You will notice that there's a difference in what's written in Japanese vs what's written in English

[@thelradame5508]

Its the damn truth, I hated the Hiroshima museum. Went with a Japanese speaking American friends and we nearly got kicked out for laughing at their version of events.

[@georgia4111]

⁠@@thelradame5508same I visited the atomic museum in Hiroshima this summer. So conveniently vague. It makes me angry: no one is guilty of the crimes of their ancestors (I mean shit I’m German-English I have to believe that right) but we sure as shit should make sure we don’t replicate them. How can you do that when you ignore your own history? Sigh.

[@thelradame5508]

@@georgia4111 Couldn’t have put that much better myself.

[@TiffanyRyeMarston]

My grandpa was a pow at the hands of the Japanese for 4 years. His memoirs speak of the horrors he witnessed. He watched his best friend die in front of him because a sadistic guard jump on his friends head.

[@jameskilcoyne1955]

My Dad fought the Japanese, from the Solomon Islands all the way to Japan, and he served 6 months as part of the occupation army in Japan. He never said too much about the details. He did share seeing a couple of his buddies get killed. He would not tolerate us, his kids, buying a Japanese car. My sister tried to buy a Datsun and my Dad threatened to disown her, cut her out of the will, if she did. She bought a Chevy instead. The one thing I managed to get him to speak about and why he harbored such animosity all those years later was a massacre scene they came across. School children murdered by the retreating Japanese. That image gave him nightmares the rest of his life, and he never forgave the Japanese for it.

[@TiffanyRyeMarston]

@@jameskilcoyne1955 ya my grandpa wouldn’t tolerate that either. he had such awful nightmares him and my grandma slept in separate beds. I remember first reading his memoirs when I was about 16 and crying my eyes out. Since he only showed his kids and grandchildren when we where old enough to be able to handle it. That reminds me of the at Stephan’s massacre. During the battle The Japanese stormed the hospital. They raped the nurses before killing most of them and bayoneted the patients.

[@robo.5550]

Ratio of American POW that died when captured by the Nazis: 1 in 16. Ratio of death when captured by the Japanese: 1 in 2.

[@TiffanyRyeMarston]

@@robo.5550 my grandpa knew an American who had survived the Bataan death march, and was well respected among the other pows. Some of the horrors in my grandpas memoirs I first read and I couldn’t stop crying.

[@monmonfiasco6391]

Axis Lost: Hitler: Shot him self Mussolini: hanged to death Hirohito: Vacation in US and Went to Disney Land

[@ML-kj3fr]

Kishi Nobusuke(A-level war criminal) became the prime minister after WWII, his son was congress man but died before national election, his grandson Abe Shinzo became prime minister , so did his relative Aso Taro.

[@mythrindiir1463]

Hitler lived

[@howiehippie6156]

@@ML-kj3fr o

[@DeadlyAlpha]

@@mythrindiir1463 um... source??? 😂

[@MrMathsimon]

@@ML-kj3fr Japan's wartime criminals continue to be revered and memorialized in the Yasukuni Shrine to this day. In my last visit to Japan (2019), I still saw the wartime rising sun flag in one of its museums, proudly displayed, together with a recorded interview of an old Taiwanese couple, stating that Japan helped educate them during the war. Though the account may be true, the deliberate one-sided representation of the war continues in Japan to this day.

[@Bunni_boi]

* Opens up japanese history book * 1. Prehistory 2. Edo Period 3. End of Isolationism 4. 1900s-1930s 5. 1950s-1990s 6. Recent Years

[@furryslayer8688]

Is the joke supposed to be that the 1940’s were out?

[@AimForMyHead81]

@@furryslayer8688 Obviously

[@derjapanischebruder760]

Rafurbi Here is a fact. I have here in my hands by far the most popularly used textbook for high schoolers on the Japanese history(has a 60% share, while the 2nd has just a 10%)and it tells the history which lies between the beginning of WW2 until the end of the 1940s for more then 30 pages(the entire history is treated for 407 pages). It is true that, speaking from my experience as a native Japanese, most of the Japanese history classes in the compulsory education are deficient on this topic and some of them are just complete disaster. But orthodox historians at least put in the textbook the fact about occupation, about comfort women and about major genocide of Chinese and Korean done by Japanese soldiers and civilians. The real problem is not texts, but systems, teachers, and the general tendency towards historical denial in mentality of Japanese.

[@SuckOnTheseNutz]

wait a minute

[@furryslayer8688]

@@AimForMyHead81. Well I couldn’t tell because I thought it might’ve been a typo or something

[@azureliteyahoo]

I'm from Singapore, and we are conscripted to serve 2 years in the army. When telling that to a Japanese friend, he asked why bother who will attack Singapore? I told him Japan did and killed many civilians indiscriminately. He was in disbelief. I told him the whole world know it and knows that Japan is whitewashing it. Send him some articles. Unfortunately, he never spoke to me again

[@americanliberal09]

Yeap. It goes to show you something that there's something wrong with that country. 😑

[@s_shaleh]

😂😂

[@jsoe81657]

​@@americanliberal09that's why Japan is facing Karma and will send itself into History that failed

[@americanliberal09]

@@jsoe81657 Oh. I see.

[@mastrtonberry2]

Guys... The war was 80 years ago. Nobody cares anymore and it's not possible it happens again. And yes I know the meme about those who forget history but it's a different time now.

[@margaretjiantonio939]

My cousin was captured in Bataan. He survived the death march and the prison camp. I never knew him because he had to live in Florida. Physically, he couldn't handle the New England winters. My dad told me how thin he was when he came home. His experience probably shortened his life. I'm surprised how many young people in America never heard of Bataan. They heard of the atomic, though..

[@ibuprofenPill]

I attended college with a large Asian population in the student body. A few of the Japanese students had no idea what happened leading up to the war. As far as they knew, Japan was minding its business and America attacked them. One Japanese guy I knew became obsessed with WWII because he was never taught much about it. He had never heard of Pearl Harbor. It really had a profound effect on him.

[@M0rmagil]

These days, students in general are ignorant of history. 😕 Progressive are in charge of education, and history isn’t important to progressives.

[@kevinnorris6558]

Brainwashing at its finest. Wait until he finds out what Japan did to the Chinese and Koreans

[@wayneaustin5533]

I bet

[@chrisortiz8072]

Well when you learn a huge part of history was hidden from you.. I think many of us would react the same

[@ibuprofenPill]

@@chrisortiz8072 right. I should have also pointed out this was back in 1990.

[@Isaac_L..]

Japan’s denial of their war atrocities is straight up shameful. Knowing Better (another KZbin channel) has another very good video on the subject.

[@CrayCow]

Should see all the angry Japanese commenting below the video, it's hilarious. Some even gave out death threats.

[@NT-gh5hh]

Link to the other utube channel?

[@Isaac_L..]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/op-kdGCPbtWSqbs

[@Overlord99762]

@@CrayCow the Japanese giving out death threats? How? Using a gun? They can't even smell one in Japan

[@DakodaOK]

Meanwhile the U.S. doesn't teach about things we've done to our own people most of the time.

[@ajhubbell3754]

While serving in the US Air Force my wife and I hosted Japanese foreign exchange students. One day, while exploring a nearby Discovery Store, one teenage girl we were hosting asked me why a framed picture on the wall for sale was of any importance. I looked at the picture and it was of the aircrew standing in front of the Enola Gay. I had to tell her why, from our perspective, the mission of the Enola Gay was so wonderful and saved American AND Japanese lives. It was hard to see the look on her face. She went on to explain that it was a horrific attack but she understood it. She also told us that the Americans had actually dropped leaflets over the cities warning people to leave but the Japanese government downplayed it and reassured everyone they were safe. Interesting side note: the fire bombing of Tokyo in June had a higher death toll and was more horrific than the Atom bombs. It just didn’t have the shock value.

[@MizTheDonGargon]

that's because less then one gram of the material actually had fission

[@frequentlycynical642]

@@MizTheDonGargon Huh? Amount of fissable material has nothing to do with the fire bombing deaths in Tokyo and elsewhere.

[@MizTheDonGargon]

@frequentlycynical642 Read more carefully...I was responding to when he said the Tokyo Fire Bombings had a higher death toll than the atomic bombs that were dropped.

[@frequentlycynical642]

@@MizTheDonGargon And they did.

[@user-ow2yr4nu4z]

America did actually try and reduce civilization deaths and gave work before the attack (the pamplets) sounds like a very bright young lady who understood what America did.

[@c8Lorraine1]

I was teaching in Japan when Hirohito died. All but the elderly, celebrated his death. University students rebelled by refusing to take a break from their classes. I was shocked to find out Hirohito was hated by the modern population.

[@aoeu256]

Note that Americans could have probably ended the war with Japan's other condition to have Japan occupied by neutral nations and tried by neutral nations like Russia & India & Mexico, but the Americans decided that those conditions were bad so Americans let the war criminal hiro-hito go free.

[@edbecka233]

So the widespread ignorance of the facts is feigned?

[@Amoore-vv9wx]

@@edbecka233 I would hazard a guess that Hirohito was seen as a weak figure who did nothing to stop militarism of both japan and the US from wrecking japan. The Japanese are very ignorant about everything that which does not directly involve them, but they know darn well how destroyed the country was and how little Hirohito exercised his influence. The emperor, being a “living god,” should and would have known that Americans would not enslave and massacre the Japanese people once they occupied Japan, and he did nothing to stop the bloodshed until the very end. If I were a Japanese person a few decades after the war I would resent him too.

[@nonenone2622]

I’m from Japan Hirohito should have been executed

[@iron2684]

Hirohito didn't necessarily have the power to actually rein in much of the atrocities though, many times he tried but failed, the emperor was still seem as more of a religious and spiritual figure than a political one at this time. His intervention working after the bombs were dropped was the exception, not the rule

[@byroad3]

To be fair even American schools don’t teach about the Japanese atrocities during the war. Most schools focus on Germany too.

[@rogueviking9268]

Yours may not have. Mine did. But that may have been due to the teacher being outstanding imo (he was a retired USMC Master Gunnery Sergeant)...

[@dustyak79]

I just remember the Batan death March from school.

[@TheStackeddeck77]

We weren't even tought about the Japanese American internment camps. I learned about that and more in college.

[@MohitKumar-nc6kt]

@@rogueviking9268 were doughnuts involved in any manner?

[@DomingoDeSantaClara]

Do they teach about American atrocities? Let's face it,no country is whiter than white when it comes to war.

[@PANG0LIN]

Germany really be the only country to own up to there mistakes.

[@CanterlotCrusader]

I think the difference is that Japan can ignore it cuz they did it to other nations, while the Nazis also persecuted their own citizens, even if they viewed the Jews and any non-aryans as outsiders. At the end of the day, Nazi's imposed terror on everyone, which may be why Germany is so willing to not ignore its history as easily as Japan does. Make no mistake, no country is sinless, but in my experience when I went to school, my history professors were very passionate about telling us the whole truth and broke down the sins of America in great detail. My favorite history teacher spent the entire week explaining in detail why the Civil was was in fact about slavery, at its core, and why the Vietnam War was such a disgrace and evil in American history, even if the people at the time saw Soviets as a bigger threat.

[@ZekeJaeger1337]

@@janni_tuts_420 naja, nur weil er Österreicher war ist nicht ganz Österreich am 2.wk Schuld wtf Beim ersten Weltkrieg ists eine andere Geschichte

[@lordoflocks8811]

@@ZekeJaeger1337 dude, it's a joke...

[@ric4397]

*their

[@user-nr1vz9hz8n]

Yeah and to be honest as a German this makes me proud. Iam not really patriotic, I don't patriotism will help anyone. But the way the Germans learned their lesson from the war is very good imo. We have a good education system and there it's taught in many subjects. And I don't see any problem in this. It's how ure supposed to learn from your mistakes. Great video. Iam highly disturbed by the Japanese and how they handled their guilt.

[@ogre4375]

When I was in Japan, we toured Japanese bunkers. In the bunkers they showed pictures of Japanese officers digging out holes and insinuate that they built them themselves. They don’t tell you that Okinawan slave labor built the other 1000. The also had a bunker where you could see shrapnel from a grenade and it read that the Japanese committed suicide honorably. They didn’t have the picture of American GIs walking around with a literal bucket of grenades tossing them into holes and bunkers. And yes, they still have statues with swastikas erected.

[@jessicasousa5709]

The swastika one I can accept because it's a religious symbol much older than when Germany apropriated it

[@TGWhitta]

You earned a sub sir. Amazingly comprehensive, yet easy to digest information. Look forward to browsing your back-catalogue.

[@lea6555]

Back in 1990 I was a 20 year old on my first overseas trip. Went to Honolulu and to see the Pearl Harbour memorial. The coach we went on was chock full of Japanese tourists. I had a bit of downtime with the driver after the visit and asked him how does it feel to him to take Japanese people to this place? He said, long story short this is the first time they learn about what happened, what Japan was involved in and its a real eye opener for them. They just don't learn it at home.

[@cloudbuster77]

because japan is ashamed, so they keep it all on the downlow. asians are obsessed w/'face', ie their reputation and how others perceive them

[@donsevcik4317]

Hope they are educated on that and education will prevent future genocides.

[@_____J______]

@@donsevcik4317 future generations tends to forget their predecessors deeds like this, especially if thats not being talked about load

[@donsevcik4317]

@@_____J______ The government is doing a bad job at educating its people.

[@d.x.1152]

@@cloudbuster77 maintain their pride and dignity*

[@oompalumpus699]

Japan: We did not participate in WWII. Everyone: You participated in WWII! Japan: Here, have a waifu. Everyone: You are completely innocent.

[@dynamicjaethought7788]

Hahahahaha

[@leonardjustinjsering7197]

USA hahahaah I'm going to NUKE you again if you said that one more time!

[@nwoudochiobinna3673]

They have nukes now

[@nwoudochiobinna3673]

@Harutyun Tatlyan America wouldn't try either....it doesn't take that many nukes to cause untold devastation....there's not really any defence mechanism that can fully protect people from even a low class nuke. Nuclear war = Extinction. The sad part is that nuclear war is inevitable.

[@nwoudochiobinna3673]

@Harutyun Tatlyan None of the so called "Anti Nuke systems" have ever been tested against nuclear attacks. Some Military scientists estimate thier failure at a 60% probability. Cause you might shoot down one or two nukes, but that pollutes the oceans were they land ....And depending on how man many are launched shooting them all down will be impossible. The nukes of today are over 10 times stronger than the Tsar bombar....even if shot down the devastation would be inconcievable..... Not even A titanium bunker would be able to take a direct nuclear strike....survival would be impossible, and just like I said....these bunkers have NEVER been tested. At least Africans will be safe in the event of nuclear war😥

[@nerdyrevelries422]

It was surprising to learn this because I had been very impressed with Peace Park in Hiroshima in 2008. It included a memorial for the Korean workers who were incredibly badly treated during WWII. It's unfortunate that this is not the norm in most of Japan.

[@sparhawk5515]

I was flying to Japan and a young Japanese lady talked to me along the way. When she learned that I was in the military she asked if I could answer a question she had. Her question: why are you here in our country? She had never heard of WW2 and had no idea why there were American military bases in her country. We had an interesting conversation about history after that.

[@thelradame5508]

Similar situation to when I was in Yokosuka, however I was only working a civilian job. They are mind-numbingly ignorant. Thank you for your service.

[@cocaineminor4420]

Did you tell her that her country invaded many Asian countries?

[@duitk]

I clearly remember what a Chinese exchange student told me about Japanese and American involvement in world war two, he said that while America is now a rival of china he is grateful to the US for them having avenged the atrocities committed on China by Japan when China was too weak to get it's own justice.

[@brentbeacham9691]

Something I wish they’d remember. Just as Americans need to remember how many Soviet citizens died fighting the Germans. I’m not sure where historians land on this issue but I’ve heard WW II could not have been won just by America getting into it. Let there be no mistake Stalin gave his people no choice in the matter but the citizens of the USSR did fight with patriotism as well. After all they were invaded.

[@duitk]

@@brentbeacham9691 the US could have won, but it would have been either America paying the price in blood, or they would have had to use nuclear weapons on germany, a lot of them.

[@dash4800]

Given china's rise to power since then and their general belligerence towards the west. I'm pretty surprised they never retaliated.

[@kurtaaron4110]

@@duitk problem is most of the nuclear bomb scientists were german

[@duitk]

@@kurtaaron4110 asides From einstein name me the rest of the German scientists that worked on the American nuclear bomb.

[@johnsoto886]

Japan: i dont remember anything from that night Nazi Germany: dude you were so drunk that you punched america and america beat the shit out of us

[@okdre9276]

Well more like: you punched america and america and his gang beat the shit out of us

[@realdiamondshow]

Nazi Germany were broken by RUSSIA. America joined the UK and allies, only when it became obvious that Germany was going to lose the war....taking the scientific, rocket and medical information and top expert personnel back to America

[@MasterChiefSargeant]

@@okdre9276 except america only fought against germany after hitler declared war on the United States. The declaration of war by congress only named japan.

[@randallho3587]

@@realdiamondshow yeahhh...the USSR nearly lost if it wasnt for the Allies(US,UK and a tiny tit bit of france)to open the second front and Hitler's miscalculations and misformation by his generals.

[@realdiamondshow]

@Jeremy Harmon The Germans were only capable of waging war at all due to American industry supplying vehicles and essential fuel additives. It is fiction to portray America as the heroes of the day..without also understanding that they actually backed BOTH sides for several years...stood back and waited to see the best side to publicaly back.

[@AJJJ-co2vd]

Very informative and interesting video. I love studying history definitely subscribing

[@user-oc5mw3fe3x]

In Japanese schools I was taught decent amount of World War II, so it’s hard to believe those upvoted accounts of “nice Japanese people I met who knew nothing about the war” in the comment section. But remembering that the schools I went are considered above‐average generally, other people may have different experiences of education from mine.

[@richarddoig1865]

I visited Pearl Harbor while in Hawaii on our honeymoon. Before the tour, there was a short historical film about what lead to the attack and the consequences. There were many Japanese tourists there, and they were literally horrified. They had no idea of the history of the war, and looked literally sick at what they were seeing.

[@JL_Lux]

I mean imagine going to japan for a tour on a random base that’s important to the locals and finding out for the first time America had slavery. You would be calling a lot of people to confirm and spread the news. “Like wtf do you mean we had slaves?!”

[@Synthetic-Rabbit]

@@JL_Lux Fortunately in America, we do teach that Slavery was a very big deal. For better or worse, it's a big part of our history. The crux of the story is the Japanese try to stay ignorant on a lot of facets of their pre-WW2 history.

[@717UT]

You toured Pearl Harbor on your honeymoon? That's a heavy metal honeymoon

[@richarddoig1865]

@@717UT Well, we were in Hawaii for a week on a cruise ship, and knew we probably wouldn’t be back. It was one of the side trips provided with the cruise, and the weather was awful, so beaches really weren’t an option. Been married 30 years in August, so it worked out okay.

[@richarddoig1865]

@@Synthetic-Rabbit Well, I’m not sure that’s true anymore, really. Many districts have to stay away from that topic now. Can’t make anyone uncomfortable with American history.

[@gregorybreen7705]

As an American I know we don’t love to admit fault. But as a resident of Japan and former school teacher, I got in trouble for talking about “pearl harbor” which didn’t happen.... and I recently talked to my partner about Unit 731 and then she had nightmares because she never heard about it. At least her grandfather said “we were not good to China” without detail.

[@DonVigaDeFierro]

Yeah, I get it must be really fucking tough to discover all that shit while there are still some veterans alive. Imagine that you discover your loved grandfather participated in the atrocities... Must be the most horrible of shocks. I won't be surprised if many of them discovered it now in the internet era but are in complete denial. Many Germans have come to terms with the fact that their family members were high ranking SS officers, so I know the Japanese people can do it too. But it's not an easy thing to do. 80 or so years is basically yesterday in the scale of history...

[@gregorybreen7705]

@@DonVigaDeFierro I've never met a Japanese person who knows what unit 731 is. But they deny it when I ask or they look it up and also decide I'm a bad person for telling them about it. I can't imagine a future where japan takes the approach to history that Germany did. But I do agree that it's not an easy history to confront. Slavery is much older in the usa and many Americans still struggle to accept that and how bad it was.

[@eodyn7]

@@gregorybreen7705 Slavery isn't in living memory. Also, Most Americans even white Americans aren't even descended from people who were Americans at the time of slavery. It's not exactly comparable.

[@gregorybreen7705]

@@eodyn7 I think you need to study history closer. Hahaha I spent 4 years of university in north Carolina hearing about how the south will rise again.

[@gregorybreen7705]

@@robbiddlecombe8392 I'm form new york, we are taught the same. I went to university from 2010 to 2015 in wester north Carolina, they learned.... other stuff....

[@johnoneill5661]

My wife is Chinese and members of her family were murdered by the japanese during the war and Her opinion on the dropping of nuclear bombs on japan is “GOOD BUT NOT ENOUGH” and I totally agree with that. They should be forced to educate their people about what they did and the fact that they don’t is a disgrace and an insult to the people they tortured and murdered.

[@johnnopeyy4129]

The Chinese were the first to aid the allies (British) ... they also had the second most deaths in WW2. That's been virtually buried now.

[@Noboru_Ohkura]

A comparative study begun in 2006 by the Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University on Japanese, Chinese, Korean and US textbooks describes 99% of Japanese textbooks as having a "muted, neutral, and almost bland" tone and "by no means avoid some of the most controversial wartime moments" like the Nanjing massacre or to a lesser degree the issue of comfort women. The project, led by Stanford scholars Gi-Wook Shin and Daniel Sneider, found that less than one percent of Japanese textbooks used provocative and inflammatory language and imagery, but that these few books, printed by just one publisher, received greater media attention. Moreover, the minority viewpoint of nationalism and revisionism gets more media coverage than the prevailing majority narrative of pacifism in Japan. Chinese and South Korean textbooks were found to be often nationalistic, with Chinese textbooks often blatantly nationalistic and South Korean textbooks focusing on oppressive Japanese colonial rule. US history textbooks were found to be nationalistic, although they invite debate about major issues.

[@bjoardar]

"by no means avoid some of the most controversial wartime moments" ??? *Then why are so many Japanese apparently unawares of said "controversial wartime moments"?* Apart from that, the nationalistic views of all countries involved does not surprise me, but it does disappoint me.

[@cannonf_odder3041]

My great grandfather was chosen to be executed by the Nippon soldiers during the SookChing operation. But while being transported to the execution location (most likely Changi beach) he took the opportunity to jump out of the truck that he was being transported on and hid in the forest before sneaking back home after the operation ended. He was soooo proud of his escape that he constantly bragged about it to my mother and my uncle and aunts

[@leonb9736]

I would too

[@KarlXiao18]

Similar as my grandpa. He was a civilian by then and was kidnapped to be sent to Japan as a slave labour, but he somehow managed to escaped before being sent out (my grandma said he was jumping down from a cliff and rolled into woods and bushes) and survived from the war.

[@cannonf_odder3041]

@@KarlXiao18 ooo which country was that

[@KarlXiao18]

@@cannonf_odder3041 China

[@beesindisguise5375]

Your g-grandfather sounds like a chad

[@fatfastfoodman4864]

As a rare, English speaking Japanese teenager, I can say this video is very accurate.

[@thewrustywrench21]

Oh damn. What’s it like being a teenager over there? (Other than the obvious traits we share as people)

[@BigBadJohn1892]

U ain't that rare

[@yoshiomiyuze856]

What the fuck?! As a rare English speaking Japanese university student, I can say this is so biased and adverse to Japan. This gay like guy is talking as if Nanjing massacre or Sex enslavement was realty happed or directed by imperial Japanese army. Nowadays, even a westerner is realizing that China always cheat ,hide something important for them, for instance Uygr massacre, and unreliable. Nevertheless, why are you still able to believe what CCP claims "happed”？Propaganda is very very favored in China and other countries in Chino-cultural-circle(CCC)countries, wow!

[@thewrustywrench21]

@@yoshiomiyuze856 There are people who are still alive today that remember the imperial Japanese army playing catch the baby with the bayonet.

[@zionpark0803]

@@yoshiomiyuze856 WW2前後で内戦が起きてなかった日本のほうが軍部によるプロパガンダヤバかったと思うんですが。

[@godofmediocrity7582]

Something interesting, in 2007 Success Corporation released Operation Darkness on Xbox 360 in Japan. It was a WWII game that took place on the European front, which, as you can imagine was rather rare. It was also ally sided. In 2008, the game was localized and published by Atlus. I haven’t beaten the game yet, only just over 2/3rds in, but even with some localization changes you can still somewhat see what you’re talking about. The main villains are the Germans, and the game avoids even mentioning Japan’s involvement, from their attacks to their occupied territories, unless they have to. They also avoid showing the Americans, and when they do, they portray the American soldiers as enjoying the killing of the Nazis, and the protagonist and his best friend are shown to have a lot of prejudice against the Axis, which is criticized by the other characters. Of course, I played the localized version, so I’m not sure how much Atlus changed the script for the western release, I’d love to hear if anyone’s played the Japanese version and saw differences. Even then, however, the game’s an interesting looking glass into how the Japanese portray WWII.

[@martyp5976]

Si, great content as always!

[@DominoEffect572]

I lived in Japan for 5 years from 2008 - 2013 and many to this day don't even realize how bad imperial japan treated other countries during wartime. Very eye opening.

[@gabrielbaldovin]

The most important fact about understanding Pearl Harbor is Kermit Tyler and the US radar signal that picked up the Japanese planes coming Check here his and the entire WW2 story : kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqCtgnyrhbd9qLc

[@danielson_9211]

Married for 37 years to a Japanese wife and we were watching band of brothers the episode when they found the camps, I said you think this is bad what the Japanese did was worst, she freaked out had no idea what I was talking about. I showed her a documentary about the actives the Japanese had done to the Chinese, Philippines and others, never seen her cry like that in my life ugh. I couldn't believe she never heard of any of these things, but after going to Japan several times I realize most people no matter how educated they are, they have never heard of a lot of this stuff.

[@mixie5751]

First of all, everyone must recognize that history is made by the victorious nations. Japan started the war because of the racism from the whites. Whte people invaded many countries and treated blacks, Indians, Africans, Indonesian as badly as cattle and fed them like feeding pigeons. Japan submitted a treaty on the elimination of racial discrimination at the Paris Peace Conference, but the U.S., Britain and Australia rejected it. They stopped all resources, including oil, to Japan, and life for the Japanese was at a breaking point. This is why Japan started the war. Japan first attacked bases in countries colonized by whites. After WW2, Douglas MacArthur said that Japan only fought a war of self-defense. His Japanese interpreter Faubion Bowers, said he was impressed that Emperor Showa was a gentle man who cared for his own people. People ignoring the aggression of their own country, and criticize only Japan are shameful racists.

[@RedTachi]

My Ex -Japanese wife said I was lying and making things up. She had to call her "friends" to find out what actually happened. because I was "lying".....

[@mixie5751]

If people turn away from the true history, it will cause another war. Every people should not believe what they hear on TV or learn in textbooks.

[@mixie5751]

Roosevelt had friendly relations with the Soviet Union and supported China. That is no different than the current US Democratic administration.

[@willtheprodigy3819]

A lot of people are talking about Japanese people who grew up in the 90s. Are Japanese kids taught the truth as of today?

[@wzeng02]

I went to college in upstate NY, my Japanese friends (whom are exchange students from japan) know nothing about the WW2 and what Japanese soldiers did in China, Korea and Philippine. My friend showed a book “Rape of Naking” with graphic pictures gave her Japanese girlfriend and she shocked and was cried.

[@papi-sauce]

She cried cuz u caught her lying and she lost face. 😂

[@deathhazard7751]

The dangers of forgetting history is we are bound to repeat it.

[@quarry-rk5mz]

During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, my grandmother told me she would often see people being beheaded besides the docks and thrown into the seas. She recalled that the water around the docks were blood red most of the time.

[@simonchen5284]

Same my teacher once told me and my classmates about 5 ways on how the japanese soldiers killed and tortured babies...It was dark..

[@hondacivic3612]

ye, I heard older people talk about public executions as childhood traumas in Singapore,

[@ninar8688]

I did not blame the current japanese generation ... it could be because of their education on this topic almost all grandfathers & grandmothers in china, hong kong, malaysia, singapore, indonesia, philippines etc would tell the same things about how cruel was japanese in ww2

[@largelampard3721]

The whole Asia are just cruel at the time and continued to be for a long time after ww2.

[@ursmelly5668]

Its not a warcrime as long as its against China. Sorry for my bad english.

[@teamceline9712]

Yeah... Combining lack of understanding with a massive victim complex over the atomic bombs, means that a lotta people in Japan act like acknowledging Korean or Chinese suffering somehow discounts Japan's suffering. And it also normalizes all the atrocities committed with the broad brush excuse of "it was wartime." Add that Yasukuni nonsense as the garnish on top, and you get a country full of people who cannot understand why their neighbors are still mad. I've lived in Japan for a number of years now, and it still makes me facepalm.

[@limiv5272]

Who's Yasukuni and what did that person do?

[@eldavid8774]

That seems hypocritical comming from a western person in these days

[@duanesamuelson2256]

@@eldavid8774 why's that? Nothing was said about the allies being innocent.

[@viperlife914]

@@eldavid8774 dude

[@eldavid8774]

Duane Samuelson i mean isnt it quite weird?why US flags keep getting burned in the middle east, why trump piñatas are made in México ,why african nations live in poverty, why minorities are killed by the policy,why do armed militias keep getting western weapons, why is the duro war still going even though it has made things worse ,why leaders of third world nations keep getting killed by western forces only to make situations worse, these things keep hapening yet no western leader knows why, it has happened before yet they keeping doing the same things as before, miss me with tha eurocentric sense of superiority, the world facepalms And rolls their eyes everytime you fuck up again And yet dont understand why the rest of the world hates you

[@farlonglong3555]

I had a friend that moved to the states from Japan. I brought up Pearl Harbor one day and he never heard of it until that moment I was shocked

[@thenoobgamer95]

Japanese citizens: ''So when do we get to learn about the stuff we did in the war?'' Japanese educational system and government: ''That's the neat part, you don't : D''

[@mikazaki7594]

As one of the country heavily affected by the Japanese occupation, we still learn at school about all the atrocities that their army did in our countries. The kidnapping of innocent locals, the massacre, mostly those with Chinese descent, the rapes and the enslavement of men, usually the Malay and British army that they caught to build train railways etc etc. someone should make a documentary about their war crime in Japanese language and spread it to the people.

[@keithcox9554]

I believe there is already one called the rape of Nanking.

[@brentbeacham9691]

If the book “Rape Of Nanking” could be translated and distributed that would be a start. But 100% sure Japan has conspiracy nuts as well. So the book and the historical record might be dismissed.

[@Hungabrigoo]

It is not unknown knowledge to the Japanese, it's just something they like to ignore. Even if you give them japanese books written about this, they would not read it. Somewhat understandably.

[@abysswatcher9172]

Same in Indonesia

[@Eargesplitten-Loudenboomer]

2 nukes wasn't enough.

[@poorlittlesheep4098]

More people need to know about this. This is SERIOUSLY scary. p.s can't believe I'm writing this, but to the ones with reading disabilities: no, I don't mean what the Japanese did in WWII, but their alternative history.

[@Revolutionary_Fish]

I Hate Japanese Goverment Indoctrinated And Brainwash Their People,Their Use Their Own People As A Shield To Truth

[@poorlittlesheep4098]

@fred McMurray I'm talking about the Japanese denying WWII is scary. Not what they did in WWII.

[@rumelingecristescu6046]

@@poorlittlesheep4098 i'll argue that what they did was far more scarier than they do today

[@poorlittlesheep4098]

@@rumelingecristescu6046 If you compare act for act then yes.... obviously. But the potential harm that it could cause in future generations is pretty dangerous.

[@Jonahch2v9]

I agree. All history should be known, good and bad. Look at the mess America is in with the race situation. Only America itself believes the war was 100% about slavery.

[@bakedmomo5693]

when even the nazis where saying to the japanese about their human experiments "wtf, chill bro", you know that the atrocities were something else and on a different level altogether during WWII

[@elderashagall]

It’s very slowly changing. Japanese students are learning via KZbin.

[@SARUJAN5]

True story.. I had to educate my Japanese gf on her on nation's history

[@SARUJAN5]

@@115islandscompass6 バイアスない歴史あるといいですね。

[@115islandscompass6]

Saru Thilageswaran そうですね

[@SirJayington3rd]

"rook bwobby iam amwerikhan... Hello sir, do you have anything gluten free". Bloody round eye!

[@helmyadnan1163]

@@115islandscompass6 the truth was japan invaded china , your soldier wont die if you din land your foot into china. Malaysia also innocent but you guys land your fucking foot at our land and kill our people

[@elijahcatacutan2641]

@@115islandscompass6 actually they were but since their colonization brought many good things to their countries the things they did were overshadowed

[@shermanbrown419]

Germany: our doctor mengele is very sadistic. Japan: ok, but have you tried inhumanely dissecting a man alive?

[@NebulousCreature]

This implies there’s a humane way of dissecting someone alive 🤔🤔🤔

[@Kain5th]

@@NebulousCreature “hey just go ahead and dissect my body while I watch you do it. No big deal” lol

[@NebulousCreature]

@@Kain5th Ok 🔪

[@87frontside]

technically if they're still alive it's vivisection!

[@jansettler4828]

Mengele burned children alive. That is about the most evil act possible

[@sebastianmineo1313]

I was lucky enough to go to Japan multiple times on business for weeks at a time. A few trips took me to the region of Hiroshima, where I went to the Peace Memorial Museum a few times. I was surprised at how truthful they were in their culpability for their part in the war. They talked about the use of Korean women as concubines and men as slaves and how brutal their pre WWII history was. There's a Memorial to the Koreans who died during the bombing as well. I once met met an older gentleman, and he owned a restaurant that I frequented. He remembers the bombing raids when he was about 10. His dad, who played the accordion at the restaurant, fought in WWII. The owner once told me, "That was our father's and grandfather's war." His dad, who I'd always buy a short beer for (they don't accept tips), would come to my table and play something like Yankee Doodle Dandy for me with a smile. His kids were in US universities at that time, BTW. I experienced zero negativity during any of my stays in Japan. The Koreans do still hold a bit of a grudge on their Japanese neighbors. I've been there and learned very quickly, not to mention my like of Japan and its culture.

[@shaun5239]

It's still cheap in terms of a holiday destination. Yes prices have gone up but look at places like Bali... the increase there is crazy. I traveled to Thailand a bit in my younger days and recently took my young family there for 3 weeks which cost the same as a 1 week pacific island getaway.

[@waterlily3161]

You need to get Japanese subtitles put on this.

[@user-vy3rg6og6q]

But they have a lot of excuses. They'll deny the content of the video itself

[@nippononna]

Please watch a video titled ”Untold truth of Japanese annexation of Korea PART1”

[@devenstephens5435]

It'd probably just get banned in the country

[@ywfbejqfwd5745]

@@devenstephens5435 they dont censor info or anything else on the internet besides child corn

[@justmeagain7]

@@ywfbejqfwd5745 drawings are allowed though

[@mboeddy]

Unfortunately, my education, 45 to 30 years ago, neglected the war crimes of Japan. Thanks for this video, as it makes people of all nations consider what has and has not been taught to them.

[@lyndsaybrown8471]

Feel the same way. I had heard a little about the Japanese invasions into China/Korea, but not all those horrible experiments. Makes me so glad Simon and team are covering subjects like this.

[@Dennis-nc3vw]

I would have had no idea if I didn't take a World Studies class in High School. I know about the Holocaust when I was five, didn't know about Nanking until I was 15. And SJWs have the nerve to complain about "white washing."

[@jessegillespie9140]

I lived in Japan for 3.5 years. I was fortunate to be able to visit the atom bomb museums/parks in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The narrative in Nagasaki, as I recall, was a little less biased than the narrative of Hiroshima. The Nagasaki narrative admitted there were tangible military targets but stops short of admitting Japanese occupation and provocation. Whereas the Hiroshima narrative largely pushed a victim narrative.

[@TiagoDinisSilvaPT]

And here I though I knew a lot about ww2 and Japan... Both subjects which I love... Guess u have a new follower

[@dobypilgrim6160]

In my opinion, based on a LOT of study, Japan's actions in the war were every bit as bad as Germany's. In many ways, they were worse. I also believe my opinion on this is shared everywhere in Asia except Japan itself.

[@SeraphRyan]

the main reasoning that we focus more on what Nazi's did compared to what Japan did was because unlike Europe, none of the allies actively liberated China/korea. We went straight for the heart of japan through the ocean and islands, and forced them to surrender and give up what they took. We didnt see the horrors and atrocities like we did in Europe, so they will be less known about in history. The rape of nanking was literally overshadowed by the holocaust. If the holocause never occured, we would be studying more about what happened in China then what happened in Europe.

[@DaKillerChipmunk]

I live in Belgium and hadn't I educated myself on the matter, I hadn't even known 99% of the shit Japan did prior to and during the war... It's a bit sad, that history books here show Nazi Germany as the big bad, when Japan was just as bad...

[@jacobhuff3748]

True, The Japanese actions were less discriminatory while the Nazis targeted various groups for reasons. The British and Australian POWS suffer worse than American POWS, google Sandakan Death March less than 10 survivors and they had to escape.

[@jacobhuff3748]

@gothicancientalien I'm referring to treatment of POWs, that doesn't invalidate the literal and figurative rape of Manchuria and Nanjing.

[@jacobhuff3748]

@rudiger891 Bataan death march was Americans and the Filipino POWS in the Philippines, Sandakan death march happened on Borneo.

[@leedavis7508]

I've watched a ton of videos asking Japanese in their 20's and 30's and they know NOTHING about WW II, and in particular their part in it. They've done the opposite, as in example, the Germans. The Germans have owned up to their behavior in the War, while Japan has not only never apologized, but has taken an attitude of acting like it never happened.

[@Yoloseriously]

Japan has Apologized to multiple countries including China, South Korea, etc. however they keep denying certain atrocities such as slavery

[@jd1655]

Yes Germany is an open book on WW2. The former SS HQ in Berlin, a ruin site with little more than the original foundations, is a holocaust museum with photos and readings about the nasty concentration camps, Final Solution and so on.. (at least it was like that in 2003) . This impressed me enormously that they put a humiliating past on full display like that

[@mingyuanhu6514]

@@Yoloseriously If you know Japanese you’ll realize the so-called apologies are like “I am sorry for your sufferings” rather than “I apologize for my wrongdoings”

[@leedavis7508]

@@Yoloseriously They "apologized" that it happened. THE WAR. But they have NEVER apologized for the atrocities they committed, actually they have argued that they either never happened or extravagations.

[@This_is_my_face]

Frostic Flames Sexual slavery

[@daviel1005]

In fairness, I took history in school until I was 18 here in the UK, and I can't say I remember ever learning about any atrocities committed by any side during the war. It was really just about learning the timeline of events that led up to WW2.

[@RappingNinja]

Thank you for exploring this in such detail for both Germany and Japan; but now, of course, I hope you cover Italy :)

[@Ray-dv1md]

On my honeymoon I visited Pearl Harbor with my wife. While there we sat though a video presentation that showed actual footage of the Japanese attack. As we were leaving the presentation a Japanese couple approached us and commented on the movie. My wife is Chinese and was often mistaken as Japanese. I advised them it was not a movie but real footage of the actual Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, their face went white with shock. They had no idea.

[@mixie5751]

First of all, everyone should recognize that history is made by the victorious nations. Japan started the war because of the racism from the whites. Whte people invaded many countries and treated blacks, Indians, Africans, Indonesian as badly as cattle and fed them like feeding pigeons. Japan submitted a treaty on the elimination of racial discrimination at the Paris Peace Conference, but the U.S., Britain and Australia rejected it. They stopped all resources, including oil, to Japan, and life for the Japanese was at a breaking point. This is why Japan started the war. Japan first attacked bases in countries colonized by whites. After WW2, Douglas MacArthur said that Japan only fought a war of self-defense. His Japanese interpreter Faubion Bowers, said he was impressed that Emperor Showa was a gentle man who cared for his own people. People ignoring the aggression of their own country, and criticize only Japan are shameful racists.

[@mixie5751]

The Nanking Mas*acre is 100％ lie created by China and the US Democrats. They framed Japanese who did nothing wrong and executed them at the Tokyo Trials. Japan has tons of evidence, but the US is not interested in the truth. In Battle of China, the number of victims of the Nanking Mass*cre is 40,000, but now China claims 300,000. Why? Because the Nanking Massac*e is completely lie. The proof is that the Democrats, led by Biden, are still terrible Liars today. Japan never invaded Korea. During the Japanese rule, the life expectancy of the Korean peninsula increased by 20 years, the population doubled, and industrial production increased sixfold. Do you know that recently Korea fabricated the history of Vietnam and Netflix stopped from distributing it? Korea is a lying nation and Japan is suffered by them.

[@gymshoe8862]

Did they not look out the window and see the outline of the Arizona on the bottom? Did they not see actual photos of the ship burning? How did that ship sink? Did they think it was all a Hollywood production?

[@ysk2083]

The theater us not showed on the memorial. You need to take a ferry to the memorial because the memorial is on the water in the harbor. The movie is shown before you take the ferry to the actual memorial. The Arizona Memorial is the most emotional memorial because it also serve as a tomb stone to all the sailors still trapped in the ship. The oil from. The ship still seeps to the surface of the water like tear drops as if the ship is still weeping in sadness. I have gone to the memorial three times and I left the memorial with such sadness everytime.

[@GiangNg320]

And Japanese are surprise to see even docile Vietnamese often react badly when hearing Japanese Empire was the victim of WWII, they’re not.

[@wazzup233]

That's because Vietnam was under a French colony during World War II & when France had surrendered to the Nazi Germany in 1940, Japan had occupied Vietnam immediately without firing the guns & cannons since both Japan & Germany was allied during that time & the Vichy French gov't allowed an occupation of the Japanese on their French colony of Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia and there was no bloody invasion had occurred unlike other Southeast Asian countries.

[@brianjc720]

Hoàng Nguyên Woah there, I know many viet families that still to this day dislike and even hate the japanese. Mostly the older generation but where tf have you heard that viets have forgiven japan?

[@GiangNg320]

Hoàng Nguyên but we are here talking about how Japanese deliberately denying their war crimes. It is not about we forgive them or not but about how Japan try to paint itself as a victim not the other way around. To be fair, other does it too, even us but if you read actual history accounts, not the BS stuff we learn at school the it is really hard to hear some Japanese try to say that 2 Atomic bomb drop is not necessary when his country are all nut case back then.

[@duitk]

@Hoàng Nguyên for vietnam what I have heard is that you guys have fought many foreign would be conquerors and after they are gone, like the french, Japanese, Americans you are ok with them, but China is always a danger that never leaves.

[@dbergerac9632]

@Hoàng Nguyên Very well said, and well done.

[@dabigchina]

Ive spoken with japanese friends who didn't even know who Winston Churchill is.

[@jessicasousa5709]

Well that happens

[@Dana-nv4ej]

How many Americans know the years Franklin de Roosevelt was president

[@bryanewyatt]

I was recently at Pearl Harbor, and I wondered at the large amounts of Japanese tourists in Hawaii. I wondered what they thought of the whole presentation.

[@kevnkaygregory]

if you ever go to the Hiroshima memorial you'll find a hundreds of displays about the horrors of the atomic bomb and 2 sentences about Pearl Harbor. They definitely paint themselves as the victim

[@novemberecho3899]

Where can I see or read about it?

[@dbergerac9632]

When I was young, I knew a man who had survived the Bataan death march and years of captivity. He had a different point of view.

[@hanahale2553]

Isn't it because it's wholly dedicated to the bombing of Hiroshima and lives lost rather than a result of war? Never in history has an atomic bomb been used to that level, so it was a very significant event. In the end of the day, those civilians that were vaporised were victims and it is right to display those images to remind people that a weapon of mass destruction should never be used again. The focus should be on the education surrounding history in Japan to include the atrocities of Imperial Japan and how they affected other countries as a result.

[@tripwire3992]

I blame the prime minister

[@plzleavemealone9660]

Yes, that's what we're taught in school in Japan. In 6th grade the bombing and it's horrible impact was taught for over 3 months, while my teacher never said why Japan got bombed in the first place. When I asked him why he told me it was an ''accident'' and that it wasn't supposed to hit Japan. There were also only 2 bombs according to my teachers... I only found out in high school that Japan even took part in the war. And not in history class, but because of a youtube video. It's absolutely crazy how they deny history over here.

[@garysantana7906]

I had dinner with Japanese student in the UK some years ago, he asked what the English thought of Japan and its people, So i said the young will think about Japanese horror films (popular at the time), technology, cars etc. The old will think about WWII and what happened to the troops who surrendered at Singapore. He had no idea what i was talking about and as i explained bits of WWII history he had the look on his face that i was lying. Being a Brit, my history is pointed out to me on occasion so i cant blame him to much for not knowing.

[@manashdb]

Well you are not taught about India in school, are you? It's the same thing.

[@Tattle-by-Tale]

@@manashdb In America we're taught a bit about every country. It's a class called World History

[@stol3nexe901]

@@manashdb India is a different countries that has nothing to do with it. That was people executed by the Japanese why would they not discuss it

[@danoconnor3720]

@@stol3nexe901 The point he was making was that the British have a long history of oppression toward many other peoples.

[@manashdb]

@@Tattle-by-Tale American kids can't locate earth on a map of earth so please don't try to brag about world history. Your education system is a joke.

[@ryanmcbride159]

How many channels does this bloke have? And how many videos does he upload a week? Great work ethic

[@anthonypfannenstein4894]

I'm a History lover. Particularly the time period from the Crimean war to today wit an emphasis on WWII. WWII is what really influenced my decision to join the United States Marine Corps. Because all of it shaped the world we live in today. Realistically, all history has. But the massive changes we live with today are from events that took place the years 1853 to present (to include our own Civil War 1861-1865). I include Crimea in there because it was the beginning of the end of the wars started and dictated by and between the old monarchies. This is 100% accurate. Just forgot to mention the Flying Tigers in WWII. My wife is Japanese. She knew next to nothing about WWII before we met. She actually views Pearl Harbor as Japan's first direct strike on us after the United States starting attacking Japan before formally declaring war. Japan teaches about the U.S.A. allying with China and organizing the "Flying Tigers" to bomb Japan and attack their aircraft and ships under the Chinese insignia. That's true, Roosevelt knew what Japan was doing was wrong and wanted to formally declare war on them but congress wouldn't allow it. So, he did what Biden is doing now in Ukraine as a matter of fact, and that's disconcerting. It actually is, for real, what lead to Japan and the U.S. in all out war. We may not view ourselves as being at war with Russia. But I am pretty sure Russia does. Anyhow, Japan teaches that the United States chose to be deceitful and cowardly by attacking them while hidden under a different flag. So they decided to attack us as they were certain we would be in open war soon and they wanted to land the first blow. A decisive one that would force the U.S. to negotiate. Well, we stopped making refrigerators, cars and designer clothing that very day and started making bombs, tanks, fighter planes, ships and everything else we needed to kick their ass. For the first time since the war of 1812, we were actually one and there was no nation on the planet who stood a chance against us. Japanese students know nothing of the Battles, they know nothing of the treatment and torture Japan's military inflicted upon POWs and civilians. They don't acknowledge the fact that Japans Imperialist ideals to rule over all of Asia as criminal behavior, in fact some even view Japan as the savior of Asia as they meant to liberate Asia from the oppressions European and U.S. Colonialism. One could still make an argument for that, because The UK, the US the French and several other countries in Europe taking land and colonizing it was a crime as well. We are guilty of that in the Philippines and the Banana Republic. in fact we were headed to full scale war with the Philippines because after we chased Spain out, we never gave it back and PI mounted a military force and did fight us. But Japan invaded PI and they and the U.S. had a common enemy and a far more cruel and brutal one to fight off together. They make relations between PI and the U.S. appear as though they were so tight, like brothers. But the truth is, it was a case of mutual benefit. Japan was ruthless. We were greedy and way out of line by occupying them after liberating them from Spain, but we weren't raping, killing and enslaving their people. We were stealing however, but at least we acknowledge it and have apologized for it. Japan has not and likely will not, ever. The Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Well, what else can I saw except, that was unfortunate and could've been avoided if Japan had accepted our terms of surrender. Of course they were to be gilded. The Warrior ethos for Japan at the time was about as fucked up as it could get! That shit needed to be stomped out it's entirety and most Japanese today agree. The Brutality was barbaric. Sinister, lacking compassion of any kind for civilians or soldiers alike. No surrender, fight to the death. Damn near literally to the last fucking man and that's just ridiculous. They behaved like savages, straight up prehistoric sociopathic psychopaths, but with modern weapons. Of course they needed to be stripped down completely. It would have maintained an existence today if we had not. To sum up the mentality of the Japanese army, they were pretty much Nazis. The regular German soldier, was just a soldier. A man of duty and honor. Brutal, as a soldier needs to be if you expect any chance of living and emerging victoriously, but they weren't necessarily sinister, or psychopaths, or murderers. the Nazis were those things, the Nazis were murderers, mass murderers and as such, that organization was not allowed to exist. The Japanese, Imperial army was like the Nazis. It was one of the biggest cult indoctrinations ever assembled, they worshiped the Emperor as a living God. It was madness and that's why Unconditional Surrender was the only way we could accept it. That madness had helped create possibly the worst time in human history. That mentality could not be allowed to live on after Japan was defeated. There were 3 options: 1: Japan admits defeat after losing Okinawa and surrenders. -this is what everyone was hoping for because it was obviously the best possible option. 2: Japan refuses to surrender and the United states invades the mainland. -The worst option -As bloody and awful as Okinawa was, it would have been nothing in comparison to invading Japans mainland. Our projected losses were in the area of 500,000-1,000,000 soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines. That's a loss that is unfathomable with a huge margin of guessing. That's more losses than we lost in the entire war between fighting Germany, Italy and Japan. And it was actually a lie. The military suspected over 1,000,000 wounded and KIA. The Public heard 500,000. Over a million was just too much for the people in America to process so they downplayed it to half that. And imagine being a Soldier or a Marine knowing you'll be on thee ground, and that you'll basically have to kill everyone on the mainland with your own hands if you have too, and the likelihood you'll live to see the end is almost non-existent. You have like, no chance of making it off that island and all you want to do is go home. 3. Japan refuses to surrender and we use our New Atom Bombs, Fat Man and Little Boy to persuade them. -The 2nd worst option -And if they still don't surrender, I guess we invade because those were the only 2 A-bombs we had and Japan's standing orders to all the Emperors subjects were to fight to the death. Never surrender. Now put that into perspective when passing judgement on Truman for approving the use of the Atomic bombs. Japan had given us no reason to suspect they were bluffing when they said they would fight to the death. Every single battle had ended that way with maybe a hand full of prisoners who were still deemed as cowards when they returned home after the war. Even the soldiers who didn't surrender, were looked at as having no honor. i could talk about WWII all day. I started reading WWII history when I was 18 years old, a Marine Private first Class on Camp Lejeune, NC. in the base library, there was a WWII veteran, a Marine who fought on Tarawa with 3/2 (3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, 2nd Marine Division). which just happened to be the Battalion and Regiment I was assigned to. I mostly ready about the war in the Pacific. I have read quite a bit more than your average Joe about the war in Europe but the Pacific always had my interest just a little bit more. in Europe, it was war. it's all bad. Bad bad bad. Africa, Italy, Anzio, the Hurtgen Forest, Bastogne, the Battle of the Bulge, etc. So many, it was all bad. But the Pacific was so different. It was a different battle field entirely. Your battlefield always included the sea which in and of itself is more than awful. Then you get to shore and start actually being able to fight back. Tarawa...fuck an A.... Peleliu! New Britain, Guadalcanal, The Philippines, OKINAWA. And the enemy was different. Far worse than your average German soldier. Fuckin Fanatics! I mean fuck! One Japanese soldier held out until 1972! How fucking crazy do you have to be to do something like that? Like I said, it was like fighting an entire army of Nazi SS. Just fucking insane. But unlike the SS, the Japanese soldier will NOT surrender. You're going to have to kill all of them. Great presentation. Japan needs to teach it accurately. It's not right that they just pretend it really wasn't a big deal because it was. The world has never been the same. It thrusted us into the age of weapons of mass destruction and that alone warrants teaching with 100% accuracy what lead us here.

[@Dana-nv4ej]

What I think of the atomic bomb being used on Japan, I heard two quotes by Truman, postulated by other people one was a conversation between he and the secretary of worse Simpson, where Simpson asked Mr. President, what are you going to tell the mothers of American soldiers at your impeachment hearings next year when they hear you had a doomsday weapon and refused to use it and the second was “attributed to Truman that a whole bunch of people were gonna die in the next few months at the time it was better them than us

[@Dana-nv4ej]

By the way, the above paragraphs are very excellent in their research and delivery. If you were one of my students I would give you high marks for the semester.

[@ScreaminEmu]

As an American who has visited Japan several times, I found it particularly interesting the way their museums presented the war. For example, while the atomic bomb museum in Hiroshima presents events in a relatively straightforward and factual way (the goal being to prevent similar events in future,) the national war museum in Tokyo presents it as “we just wanted some oil for our beautiful nation and the colonial powers weren’t sharing; we HAD to attack them! They gave us no choice!” Said museum also punches up prestious Japanese projects, like the battleship Yamato. They don’t mention that the Yamato barely left port and was quickly sunk by aircraft…

[@DerekDavis213]

But isn't it true that Japan was deprived of oil, their *life* *blood* , and that's why they attacked Pearl Harbor? Japan was provoked, and then attacked. Right?

[@mixie5751]

The Nanking Mas*acre is 100％ lie created by China and the US Democrats. They framed Japanese who did nothing wrong and executed them at the Tokyo Trials. Japan has tons of evidence, but the US is not interested in the truth. In Battle of China, the number of victims of the Nanking Mass*cre is 40,000, but now China claims 300,000. Why? Because the Nanking Massac*e is completely lie. The proof is that the Democrats, led by Biden, are still terrible Liars today. Japan never invaded Korea. During the Japanese rule, the life expectancy of the Korean peninsula increased by 20 years, the population doubled, and industrial production increased sixfold. Do you know that recently Korea fabricated the history of Vietnam and Netflix stopped from distributing it? Korea is a lying nation and Japan is suffered by them

[@eddiekulp1241]

Not surprised

[@nahuelleandroarroyo]

A non compliant treaty Battleship builtbin secret, totally not to project power, i swear it was western lies

[@georgetsokanis3542]

Ignorance is bliss. The Matrix

[@YM-gs6uk]

As a Japanese, I would like to sincerely apologize for our government's behavior and our ignorance. What we have been doing to other countries is beyond cruel, heartbreaking, and embarrassing. I would like you to know that there are many people here who believe these things(historical education, apology, discrimination, hate, etc.....) must be changed. We never forget what happened, and we believe in making wrong things right for our beautiful and loving future. Sadly, I have to admit this is going to take a long time to fix, and I might be gone before I see these improvements because of our political situation, and hate around us(Perhaps you will see what I mean in this comment section....I'm so sick of it), and current society(I'm 21 years old now. I don't want to live the rest of my life without seeing bright future on these things). We still can't talk about Japan's past openly without getting hate, and losing friends or even family, and this is heartbreaking and fearful for us. Many history teachers know these things happened, but they are afraid of being attacked so they don't teach them(I have seen this a lot). We will work to get things right even if it is going to take a long time, we promise. Everybody wants love and peace not hate or ignorance that tears us apart, we have already learned that so many times. If you are Japanese reading this, WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS! Sorry for my bad English. I love you all! Take care!

[@gryn_iq]

Your English is good! I do understand there are conflicted within Japan discussing about history, and they do need to own up and move on. USA and European countries do know Japan was aggressive and stubborn country, but the present is what matter as we perceive how our past become who we are today. We forgive, we grow economy together, and find interests in your and my cultures! Well, not at this moment, the border is closed 😅 Anyway, I believe it is right to learn the past without getting hurt because the current generation is living in the modern Japan that have no fault to what they did in WW2. If they keep hiding it, are the minds truly in 21th century? Are they holding grudges and shame that international world doesn't bother much today? Medieval Japan and Japan are different beings. Thank you for telling us what's happening in Japan. It's must been difficult! ♡

[@YM-gs6uk]

@@gryn_iq Thank you for replying!

[@benstine2480]

If people don't know the truth then what will stop it from happening again?

[@YM-gs6uk]

@@benstine2480 That's the point. You are absolutely correct. Sadly, we still have to work to START our journey for change. Thank you for replying! Take care.

[@joshuaderungs8792]

You didn’t do anything so you shouldn’t be apologizing. That was many years ago, and the world is very different now. I appreciate your attitude, but please remember this was our grandparents war, not ours.

[@uynayr]

I can’t speak for everyone else in Japan, but I went to public school in Kanagawa prefecture in Japan from grade 5-12 back in the 90’s. It was a large school in an urban area near Yokohama. We were taught about WWII and some of the atrocities committed during this time. I specifically remember a drawing in my text book of a Japanese solder ripping a baby out of a pregnant woman’s stomach in Nanjing. It was so shocking that I remember to this day. Maybe some of your Japanese friends and spouses didn’t pay attention in class? But at least for my school, they taught us the correct history.

[@Gotwired]

This is 100% the case. You can teach people all you want, only a tiny percentage will remember any details after the test is over.

[@touchoflight124]

I mean you can say that but results speak for themselves. The difference between Germany and Japan in how they approach history is night and day and it shows in the knowledge level of the public and the positions that the government takes in each country. The fact that you're implying Japan is "doing okay" with regards to education is disturbing

[@roedere]

Sat on a plane to Narita with a young school girl doing an exchange tour in US. She said her folks were ok with her doing it, but her grandparents didn’t due to..”You know, the bomb.” When I probed her knowledge of WWII, I realized she had none. That began my 30min history of Japan in WWII. She was shocked. Even discussed topic with a senior Japanese Naval Officer who had no idea we had plans to invade home island but deemed too costly in civilian and military losses. In fact, good thing we didn’t invade, initial estimate 500,000 mil and 1mil civ losses was probably off by a factor of 2 due to forces there we didn’t know of at the time.

[@darinliu4017]

Germany: Ok ok, we did something wrong, let's move on Japan: Huh, we were just having a walk in our neighborhood and we got bombed, wonder why...

[@kobekazu9717]

Well for the innocent families that were killed they were just walking in the neighborhood.

[@rozgesey8281]

@@kobekazu9717 Japan was told to surrender or the bomb would be dropped, pamphlet were dropped warning the people to evacuate before the bomb was dropped. America would have lost thousands of lives if they had to invade.

[@tsiffpyc7882]

@@kobekazu9717 If America had to invade with soldiers, there would be more deaths on each side then the nuclear death toll combined.

[@donsevcik4317]

@@kobekazu9717 The Tokyo firebombings killed more than the nukes.

[@donsevcik4317]

@Nat20 Damage About the nukes? The American drop plenty of pamplets about an incoming nuclear strike to Hiroshima. But sadly those civillians didnt believe the pamplets

[@putteslaintxtbks5166]

As a Marine, I spent 1977 in Okinawa, Japan. One weekend, I and a bunch of fellow Marines watch an old WW2 movie on a local TV station, staring John Wyane(sp?). The whole way though, it was the US winning acrost the pacific, but at the end, it was dubbed in that the war was over and Japan had won as the American were jumping for joy. We just all broke into laughter, almost rolling on the floor.

[@jameseast7966]

Same here. In 76 when TORA TORA TORA came out in the SNCO club in Iwakuni all the Japanese staff would cheer when their side was winning, but strangly silent when they lost. Semper Fi Marine.

[@putteslaintxtbks5166]

@@jameseast7966 Semper fi back to you too!

[@ThatGuy40640]

Semper fi, brother!

[@mixie5751]

First of all, everyone should recognize that history is made by the victorious nations. Japan started the war because of the racism from the whites. Whte people invaded many countries and treated blacks, Indians, Africans, Indonesian as badly as cattle and fed them like feeding pigeons. Japan submitted a treaty on the elimination of racial discrimination at the Paris Peace Conference, but the U.S., Britain and Australia rejected it. They stopped all resources, including oil, to Japan, and life for the Japanese was at a breaking point. This is why Japan started the war. Japan first attacked bases in countries colonized by whites. After WW2, Douglas MacArthur said that Japan only fought a war of self-defense. His Japanese interpreter Faubion Bowers, said he was impressed that Emperor Showa was a gentle man who cared for his own people. People ignoring the aggression of their own country, and criticize only Japan are shameful racists.

[@mixie5751]

The Nanking Mas*acre is 100％ lie created by China and the US Democrats. They framed Japanese who did nothing wrong and executed them at the Tokyo Trials. Japan has tons of evidence, but the US is not interested in the truth. In Battle of China, the number of victims of the Nanking Mass*cre is 40,000, but now China claims 300,000. Why? Because the Nanking Massac*e is completely lie. The proof is that the Democrats, led by Biden, are still terrible Liars today.

[@617michel]

Thank you!

[@realthematt1467]

The Australian education system is pretty focused on what we did wrong as a country. Every ANZAC day we learn about how we lost on the beaches of Gallipoli, I had to look suprising hard to find out Australian soldiers were acually regared as quite good soldiers and didn't lose every battle they fought. And also anouther thing we are tought about is the stolen generation, (not shore if people from other countries know abou that) which often times makes a few people start to hate the country their growing up in.

[@hamaljay]

For eight years I've lived in Japan, I built a school there and part of what I did was teach Japanese people Japanese history. The look of awe and amazement when they find out what their country did was profound. Most were saddened. Some got angry and one told me I was a Chinese propaganda agent.

[@dac545j]

What do you mean you built a school there? It is the third largest economy in the world.

[@georgemitchel23]

@@dac545j do you even know what rural japan is? Have you ever been in japan? I have... and even if tokyo is huge you'd be surprised how many areas look like ghost towns.

[@boycottnok1466]

Why would you behave like an anti-japanese spy?

[@noticemesenpai69]

Do you teach balanced view or do you just focus on their negatives to make you feel better about all the evil your people did?

[@shellyhill6804]

That sounds like a scary pursuit. Look how much shit you’re getting even from the people on this thread.

[@JaelaOrdo]

I asked my uncle about it once (he was born and raised in Japan), he was also homeschooled though and so he told me what my grandparents taught him and my mom, which is “America was the aggressor, we did nothing wrong.” I really don’t like my grandparents.

[@craigh5236]

@Mycel Don't you know? Standing up to bullies makes you the bigger bully. Just look at what is going on in america right now.

[@EllPro]

Unit 731 on its own makes our nukes look reasonable.

[@Hier00]

I understand where that interpretation can come from. You have to keep in mind that back then radio was really the only way information was attained on a mass scale, with the government broadcasts telling you everything is normal and that the country is prospering. So, if you're a rice farmer in a tiny town you have no clue what's going on abroad. Maybe you hear about some military confrontations here and there, but that's it; that wasn't anything unusual given that war in some manner wasn't a terribly unusual occurrence. The next thing you know American planes are dropping bombs on a town a few kilometres away.

[@don_5283]

@Mycel I think they would point out that American aggression went back much further than ten years. From Perry's expedition forcing Japan open for trade favorable to European colonial powers, to American imperialism in the Philippines and Hawaii, to German involvement in China and Russian territorial ambitions in Mongolia, to British and Dutch and French control of the East Indies and Indochina, Japan would claim that it had been hemmed in by those countries that had already industrialized, and unfairly prevented from using imperialism and colonialism to supply resources to its own growing industrial base, like everyone else already had been, often in Japan's own back yard and to Japan's detriment. Then, in a period of general neglect by the European great powers, when Japan simply sought to use the same sorts of methods of territorial expansion that all those other powers had been using for decades, suddenly there was a problem? No one in the West cared enough to even try to carve out pieces of China any more, so why shouldn't Japan clear out the warlords and make a colony of China? This culminated in the United States issuing Japan with a flatly untenable ultimatum: Face an oil embargo that would cripple its industry and military, unless they renounced all those colonial ambitions and accept relegation to permanent subservience (which would also guarantee the fall of the current government, and possible societal destabilization). In that context, the embargo reads as a pretext for war. It's the United States telling Japan to accept vassalage or face starvation, or fight if they dare. There can be only one answer to that, so why would the Americans claim to be surprised when Japan chose to fight? Hopefully this makes it all look a little less bizarre. I can see how each step on the path looked quite rational, especially given the cultural and educational and historical contexts. That being said, I officially still view Japan as an unjustified and horrific aggressor, and am glad that the world has generally moved away from colonialism compared to the past 300 years. One of my personal favorite exercises in alternate history is imagining that the navy and merchant marine factions were more organized and aggressive in the Japanese government in the interwar years, and overpowered the army faction, leading to a Japan committed to acquiring its needed resources via trade rather than conquest. One can imagine how this could lead to a strong trade partnership between a resource-rich but depression-stricken America, and a resource-poor but industrializing Japan. Ah, well. We're still such a young species.

[@Stoppskylten]

Yet in Vietnam the US administration was so unimpressed with the infamous orieantal savagery they decided to send CIA to educate their allies in terror tactics. Incidentally 731 type things, only not even for science.

[@jayyoutube8790]

Learned more about Japanese during WWII from history channel than school. How brutal they were and details about occupied land wasn’t spoke of when I was in school.. (1998)