Japanese police officers stand on guard as pro-China supporters wave Chinese national flags before the start of the Olympic torch relay in Nagano, central Japan April 26, 2008.
Posted on 04/26/2008 11:11:44 AM PDT by charles m
Japanese police officers stand on guard as pro-China supporters wave Chinese national flags before the start of the Olympic torch relay in Nagano, central Japan April 26, 2008.
Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cui Tiankai, left, looks at Olympic flame attendants charged with the flame during the starting ceremony for the Olympic torch relay in Nagano, central Japan, Saturday, April 26, 2008.
Pro-China supporters cheer as a police officer stand on guard before the start of the Olympic torch relay in Nagano, central Japan April 26, 2008.
Holding small Chinese flags and a placard welcoming the Beijing Olympic torch relay, women line a street of this central Japanese city of Nagano
A pro-China supporter cries during the Olympic torch relay in Nagano, central Japan April 26, 2008
Blue tracksuits with white caps = Chinese security guards (paramilitary)
White tracksuits or blue uniforms with red caps = Japanese Nagano police
Japan's Olympic baseball team manager, Senichi Hoshino, the first torchbearer in the Japan portion of the torch relay, carries the torch during its relay through the streets of this central Japanese city of Nagano, on Saturday April 26, 2008.
A supporter of Tibet shouts as they scuffle with Chinese supporters before the start of the Beijing Olympic torch relay in Nagano, Japan, Saturday, April 26, 2008.
A pro-Tibet protester clenches his fist as he shouts slogans during a rally in Nagano
Japanese double Olympic breaststroke champion Kosuke Kitajima runs as he bears the torch during the Beijing Olympics torch relay in Nagano, central Japan
A Pro-Tibet participant holds flags before the start of the Olympic torch relay in Nagano, central Japan April 26, 2008
Japanese police officers apprehend a man after he threw an egg towards a Beijing Olympic torch relay runner in Nagano, central Japan April 26, 2008.
A man, carrying a Tibetan flag is seized by Japanese policemen during the Beijing Olympic torch relay in Nagano city
A Japanese police officer stands guard in front of the Chinese national flag during the Olympic torch relay in Nagano
Popular Japanese ping pong player Ai Fukuhara carries the torch during the Beijing Olympic torch relay through the streets of this central Japanese city of Nagano, on Saturday April 26, 2008.
Japanese Olympic marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi, the last runner of the Japan torch relay, lights the Olympic cauldron with the flame after completing the relay that passed through the streets of this central Japanese city of Nagano, on Saturday April 26, 2008.
Picture Caption: Leave me alone. I want to kill more Chinese. We did not commit nearly enough atrocities against the Chinese. Give me back Nanjing. Give me back Nanjing I tell you!
Any Japanese protesting the Olympics in China should apologize first for their war crimes in China.
The Chinese supporters at the torch relay were bussed in by the Chinese government, PAID by the Chinese government, and had all their flags and paraphernalia provided by the Chinese Government.
The Tibetans and their supporters made it their at their own expense. Some of them were Japanese, of course, but I am pretty sure that most were foreigners. I wish I could have been there.
I highly, highly doubt that the Tibetan supporters made it on their own expense either. There are very rich Free Tibet organizations across the world that can easily pay the tab.
Calling a spade a spade here.
You could have been. Why didn't you go? And what would you have done there if you had gone?
The fellow in the photo doesn't appear old enough to have been involved in WWII.
He appears old enough and otherwise motivated enough to lobby his government to issue an apology and restitution.
Me thinks old habbits die hard and his father merely passed along the hatred of his grandfather. I think my earlier point stands. Your's, on the other hand, seems to suggest that so long as a new generation comes along, a county need never apologize for atrocities.
Can’t afford it this month. What would I have done? Showed solidarity with the Tibetan protesters and taken lots of pics. If it had been in Tokyo I would have, but Nagoya is a bit too far off.
The Chinese Communist Party killed more people during the Cultural Revolution and Great Leap Forward than the Japanese ever thought about killing in Nanjing or even over the entire course of the war.
You don’t even know if the person in that photo was Japanese or Tibetan and probably wouldn’t care if you did.
People want to bash Japan left and right on this. They want to say Japan is kow-towing to the Chinese by providing excellent security for the torch, but you want to blame the protester and are basically calling him a WWII-type militarist.
There something else you probably don’t know. There is a quite large number of Chinese people — mostly from Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan but including some mainlanders — who are strongly in support of the Tibetan protesters. The guy in that picture could have been one of them.
All in all, I find your original post to be extremely offensive and stupid.
If you are so offended then call out the Mods. What is stupid is to say that the Japanese should feel free to criticize China. But don't let the details get in your way.
Six weeks after the Japanese occupied Nanjing, they had killed over 200,000 people, most were tied up before being killed. And that is only the ones they can account for.
Just like with the atrocities in Germany, some Japanese deny the event ever took place.
You can point to atrocities the Chinese have committed but that does not excuse what the Japanese did and have never fully apologized for. In that light, sensitivity says they have no place to criticize.
There is nothing stupid and childish about bringing up what took place in Nanjing at the hands of the Japanese and expecting them to temper themselves in light of it. That the protestors may have been from Singapore or elsewhere as you speculate - highly doubtfull - does not dismiss the fact that they picked bad soil on which to conduct their protest.
Save you cheap theatrics. Offended indeed. Give me a freaking break.
How about if you and I see who can go the longest without buying anything made in China. What do you think?
What is the airfare from Tibet to Japan these days?
What makes you think I don’t boycott all Chinese products. I do.
I bet I can go a lot longer than you because I always check.
And as to your statement that Japan has never apologized for its war crimes. You might want to look at this page.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_war_apology_statements_issued_by_Japan
But it’s not enough, is it?
No matter how many times Japanese political leaders apologize to China or other nations because of the war, it will NEVER be enough, because war guilt is too convenient of a club for others to use in bashing Japan and extracting trade and other concessions for them to give up.
Impossible to boycott all Chinese products. You are BSing.
“It is indeed regrettable that there was an unfortunate past between us for a period in this century and I believe that it should not be repeated again”
You’re right, that ought to be enough.
And even reading all the rest of the apologies that are more serious you still miss the point so I will ask directly.
Do the apologies you think are enough and that I do not make it alright for Japan to now protest China? Simple question. Happy to have your answer.
Everyone I can identify, I can. And yes, I know what the characters for China look like in Kanji — it’s one of the more simple character combinations.
Japanese-made products are usually far superior anyhow, even if they cost more. They make up for it by being far more durable.
I admit it took quite a long time for me to find my last briefcase, I finally found one made in India. My cell phone is Japanese, my computer is an NEC, my monitor is an EIZO — all domestically made.
Ok, now I am going to have to ask you where you are living? Should have looked.
There has been more than apologies, there has been reparations, billions of dollars in aid and even more billions of dollars in low-cost government guaranteed loans, etc. — many of which are ongoing.
But as to your question. Yes, I believe that Japanese citizens have a right to protest China’s brutal and inhumane treatment of Tibet, even though they’re fathers and grandfathers may be guilty of atrocities against China or other nations.
Not only do they have a right to protest, as civilized human beings they have a strong duty to protest.
Or, are you going to argue that Japan’s war guilt is somehow hereditary and that every Japanese born since the war is guilty of war atrocities and thus has no right to speak?
Officially, please note that the Japanese government’s position on Tibet has been much more accommodating towards Beijing, although they admit to being uncomfortable with the way things are developing.
And finally, once more returning to what I said above, you have no idea if the person in the photo was Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Tibetan, Thai or even American. No name or nationality was given, and the policemen who subdued him in an effort to prevent his protest were definitely Japanese — which is why I found the snide nature of your post offensive.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.