Pearl Harbor visitors now get Japan and US view

Associated Press ^ | April 30, 2011 | AUDREY McAVOY

[Wuli]

In a part of the article that comes from an interview of a surviving former Japanese military pilot:

"Abe told The Associated Press in an interview before his death in 2007 that Japan's aviators took off from their aircraft carriers that morning believing their government had delivered a declaration of war. He said it was dishonorable and went against Japanese traditions of "bushido," or the way of the samurai, to strike before declaring war.

"Even if you are executing an early morning attack, you may not hurt your opponent if he is sleeping. You must make him stand and then go at him with your sword. This is bushido," Abe said in 2006. The assault "violated our nation's ideals. I felt bad," he said.

If you read the above material to someone of the WWII generation from Korea (which had already been made a Japanese colony for nearly 40 years), the Philippines, or many of the other nations and Islands invaded by Japan in WWII, they'd probably, with anger and sadness, laugh their heads off.

[DesertRhino]

Not really that disgraceful. Since that attack, we wiped em out, nuked em twice, and have had 65 years of first class friendship. And i’ve seen numerous US veterans interacting with Japanese Aircrews from that day. They seemed to be getting along fine.

As another aside,,, After World War II ended, Fuchida who lead the Japanese planes became a evangelist Christian preacher and frequently traveled to the United States to minister to the Japanese expatriate community. He became a United States citizen in 1966.

If you actually read the article, it doesn’t seem to make any excuses. It is a gallery describing the deterioration of the relations from the Mid-30s on. Newspaper headlines from both countries, etc. Lots of photos of coffins from the attack, burn victims, etc. Sounds like they told the story right IMO.