Japan PM does something insignificant: China pissed

[Csonicgo]

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-08-15T030318Z_01_T137766_RTRUKOC_0_US-JAPAN-SHRINE.xml&archived=False

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid his respects at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine for war dead on Tuesday, the anniversary of his country's World War Two surrender, defying warnings from China and South Korea not to go.


Somehow this is offensive?

Bullshit. I would understand if he said something caustic, or pissed on some dude's grave, but this isn't even worth getting riled up over.

I guess you're supposed to honour only the dead soldiers that fought for the nations that WON the war. Screw all the others that were forced to fight for their country.


Apparently The PM of Japan cannot even take a shit without someone being offended by it.

[Technician]

I'm finding China is barking at every country threatening to break ties if they don't do exactly what they want. Its bullshit. IMO I think China actually believes it’s the center of the world.

"I do not go to justify the past war or to glorify militarism," he told reporters. "I go with the feeling that we should not wage war again and that we must not forget the sacrifice of those who went to war and died."

The man says it himself. Sure the Japanese were wrong, but you can't forget the men who died on the battlefield.

[Linguica]

Technician said:

IMO I think China actually believes it’s the center of the world.

It's not called the "Middle Kingdom" for nothing...

[Technician]

I think they should think about getting off their ming high hoarse.

[Csonicgo]

Technician said:

I'm finding China is barking at every country threatening to break ties if they don't do exactly what they want. Its bullshit. IMO I think China actually believes it’s the center of the world.

The funny thing is, China is about as stable as a two-legged table. They can't even control the chinese people without screwing up, yet they are a "threat" to the globe staying in, literally, one piece. I guess they think that as long as economic success is keeping them somewhat afloat, they have the authority to boss other countries around. Biting the hand that feeds you, eh?

If they're bitching to Japan about something this trivial, the rest of the world can pull the Economic umbilical cord off of them. Let's see who needs who.

[Lizardcommando]

I guess this means China doesn't know how to let go of the past.

That's like saying if the President of the United States went to a memorial service for pearl harbor and then Japan getting pissy because we dropped the two Atom bombs on them.

I mean, yeah, we did drop two atom bombs on Japan, but it's not like Japan still hates the US, right?

[Lüt]

Csonicgo said:

Somehow this is offensive?

After banning cartoons that mix with live actors or more recently anything non-chinese at all, is something like that really a surprise?

[Csonicgo]

Lüt said:

After banning cartoons that mix with live actors or more recently anything non-chinese at all, is something like that really a surprise?

"Communist authorities are eager to expand the country's animation industry and also are worried about the influence of foreign pop culture on Chinese children. "

OH SHIT THEY MIGHT FIND OUT THAT WE'RE ASSHOLES, QUICK, BAN IT!

If they're that paranoid, that's a damn shame.

[myk]

This is nothing to get excited about:

The Shinto shrine honors Japanese World War Two leaders convicted as war criminals along with 2.5 million war dead and is considered a symbol of Japan's past militarism in the two Asian countries, which bore the brunt of Japanese aggression.

Honoring the the warriors of the imperial tradition that massacred countless Chinese and Koreans in such a way is bound to annoy China and Korea. It's like putting flowers in the graves of cold war dictators. The PM is doing these honors by the religion of the japanese empire, as opposed to some other type of rememberance; the PM could well honor the dead non-criminal soldiers (i.e., excluding the condemned ones) of the war through other means that don't represent cultural and diplomatic disrespect.

[baronofhell]

Yeah, I don't think the Gernam chancellor or whatever you call their leader is paying respects to Nazis in a cemetery somewhere.

[Quasar]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanking_Massacre

Know your history. Japan has never accepted responsibility for their war-time atrocities in China. The perpetrators of these actions were offered amnesty so that the US and Russia could gain their illegally obtained research on biological weapons. Some of the things they did make the Angel of Death look like a saint by comparison.

So don't start acting like it's so insignificant.

[Job]

Man, I had forgotten how vicious the Japanese were to the Chinese.


Jerks.

[Lizardcommando]

So only Japan's government hasn't apologized for their actions in China during World War 2, right?

What about the Japanese citizens? It's not like there are people today in Japan who thought that it was a good thing that stuff happened.

What about Japanese American citizens? I don't think any of them thought what Japan did during World War 2 was a good thing, right?

[myk]

The article is about Sino-Japanese (and to a degree Korean) diplomacy, not some vague thing about what people may be feeling here or there, or about other countries.

Lizardcommando said:
What about Japanese American citizens?

What about them? As far as can be gleaned most were evacuated and relocated into internment camps; they were technically mass-imprisoned, so irrespective of whether they liked Japan's war policy or not, they weren't in a position to say of do much about it while the war or its conditions lasted.

[Csonicgo]

Maybe we can leave China alone and let themselves self-destruct. It's gonna happen soon enough anyway.

[Technician]

Does China still have drinkable water?

[Quast]

No. The chinese don't require water.

[Sharessa]

Csonicgo said:

Maybe we can leave China alone and let themselves self-destruct. It's gonna happen soon enough anyway.

China has one of the most powerful economies in the world and is very politically stable. I don't see it falling apart any time soon.

[Csonicgo]

it would if we would stop supporting it.

[Technician]

Everything is made in China. Stop supporting cheap Chinese labor and move it to another foreign country and watch it fall apart.

[Csonicgo]

Technician said:

Everything is made in China. Stop supporting cheap Chinese labor and move it to another foreign country and watch it fall apart.

precisely.

[Technician]

I always laughed at an art student of mine that did a whole project regarding Chinas cultural heritage. Looking at all the Chinese cultural stuff for sale in stores I can't help but giggle that people are making money from something a country abandoned many decades ago.

Although the lame adoption Chinese Simpson episode made me hate America more.

[Belial]

Technician said:

Everything is made in China. Stop supporting cheap Chinese labor and move it to another foreign country and watch it fall apart.

Please do. I'd love to see the US economy follow when China decides to cash in their debt.

[Sharessa]

Yeah, that's the other thing. The economies of the US and China are so interlinked that if either fell, the other would follow right after.

[pilottobombadier]

baronofhell said:

Yeah, I don't think the Gernam chancellor or whatever you call their leader is paying respects to Nazis in a cemetery somewhere.

No offense to my fellow Jewish people, but that alone is the greatest problem with the Germans; not all German soldiers in WWII were NAZIs. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, most weren't. That was more the Schufstaffel. Even tehn, they fought for Germany, and regardless of their crimes, should be honoured.

It isn't like the Israelis won't be honouring the deaths of Mossad officers and Sayerat Matkal soldiers. I'd bet my left nut that Ehud Barak will be getting a state funeral when he dies.

So, if they can honour their war criminals, Germany should be able to as well.

[Bastet Furry]

If i knew where the corpses of Hitler are buried i would drive there and piss on his grave. Heck, i would piss on the grave of any third realm politican/soldier/whatever.
The third realm gave us Germans a bad name in history so, i cant have any respect for them.
And i think we would have the "Zentralrat der Juden" as a ruff if our channcelorette Angela Merkel would pay respect to *any* third realm soldier. ;)

No, i am no jew, i am a German who is loving his open minded country and never wants to see such shit as the third realm again.

[Technician]

If I knew where Hitler was buried I'd dig up his bones and drink bear out of his skull to gain his multi-media manipulating powers and because the ultimate graphic designer.

Teach me O' learning juice!

[pilottobombadier]

Bastet, I think you missed the point. If anyone said boo for your current leader mourning the WW2 era Wehrmacht, they really do need to be shot. Ultimately, it's you're right.

Also, your approach to the 3rd reich is hardly open-minded. It's in the past, accept it but never forget. Your country takes an ostrich approach to it; you bury your heads in the sand over it. I mean, christ, most WW2 games, if not all of them, are banned in your country (mind you, watching your nation get its ass kicked on screen isn't exactly cool, especially since those games don't exactly demonstrate a good grasp on reality), and I'll bet the show Hogan's Heroes was as well.

Japan committed many atrocities in WW2, especially to China. But as someone said, they're not really pissed, just flexing their muscle, and they can do that to Japan because Japan has practically no army, like Canada (that's we bend easily to our southern neighbours, eh?).

Of course, Japan's an island, so they're probably viewing China with a laughing eye.

[baronofhell]

Oh, and Bastet, it's third REICH, not realm.

[Sharessa]

pilottobombadier said:

Japan committed many atrocities in WW2, especially to China. But as someone said, they're not really pissed, just flexing their muscle, and they can do that to Japan because Japan has practically no army, like Canada (that's we bend easily to our southern neighbours, eh?).

Except that Canada actually has an army. A pretty decent one. Japan, however basically just has a well-armed police force.

baronofhell said:

Oh, and Bastet, it's third REICH, not realm.

I think he knows that seeing as how he's German and all.

I've always translated "Third Reich" as "Third Kingdom" though. Literally, it means "Third Reign" which makes more sense than mine actually, since only the "First Reich" had kingdoms.