Years later, Japan still mired in animosity
Print Edition
BOTH nations brutalized continents. Both slaughtered and abused tens of millions of people. But while Germany is held up as a paragon of post-World War II reconciliation, Japan is mired in animosity with its neighbors seven decades later.
Protected by US forces interested in establishing a regional military bulkhead, Japan’s Emperor Hirohito, the public face of the troops who ravaged Asia, was never held accountable. Nor were many war criminals, including the grandfather of current Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
There’s also criticism that frequent whitewashing of history by senior Japanese leaders, including Abe, nullifies Tokyo’s repeated attempts to display remorse.
Perhaps the crystallization of abysmal Japan-South Korea ties can be found in the veneration of Ahn Jung-geun, who shot down Japan’s former top official in Korea, Ito Hirobumi, in 1909, the year before Tokyo annexed the Korean Peninsula.
A young Ahn, cradling a hand disfigured when he sliced off part of a finger as an expression of patriotism, can be seen on banners and posters throughout Seoul. A musical about Ahn’s life, “Hero,” has been staged every year since 2009.
“Japan will never be another Germany,” said Doowon Heo, 36, a South Korean teacher, referring to the postwar German reconciliation efforts. “The number of people who have experienced the colonial era will continue to decline, but Japan continues to refresh our memory about what it was like then.”
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