Posted on 06/11/2007 2:21:42 PM PDT by james500
Every morning for the last three months, Yuko Tojo has prayed at a war shrine for Japan's fallen soldiers including her grandfather, Gen. Hideki Tojo, the executed World War II premier who ordered the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
Yuko, 68, will fight her own battle in July, when she competes as an independent in elections for parliament's upper house. An ultra-nationalist, her mission is to restore Japan's honor by scrapping its pacifist constitution and enacting a full-fledged military, giving the country the clout she says it deserves.
"I was born as Hideki Tojo's granddaughter, and as a Japanese national. I cannot see Japan go on like this, with no confidence or pride," Tojo told The Associated Press. "I do not think the war dead gave their lives for a country like this."
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
"Japan did not fight a war of aggression. It fought in self-defense," she said. "Our children have been wrongly taught that their ancestors did evil things, that their country is evil. We need to give these children back their pride and confidence."
Tell that to the survivors of Japan’s rape and pillage in China.
She may manage all of 3% of the votes in her district if she campaigns really, really hard.
you never know she could win. Mussolini’s Grandaughter is a political leader in Italy
Tiger I didn’t know Tojo offspring was politican???
I wonder if Robert Oppenheimer’s grandkids have any aspirations for the next few years.
oh yeah she is a real babe ;) she could make the grannies edition of playboy
Ms. Tojo, The people of Japan have much to be proud of in their history and they can still be proud of their country's accomplishments and still acknowledge they did some really despicable things, particularly to the people of Korea and China.
To deny your country's despicable actions towards other nations will not give future generations any pride in their country.
His granddaughter has defended the general's legacy, contending he reluctantly took Japan to war after a U.S. oil embargo threatened the country's survival.
No, Ms. Tojo. Japan's warmongering in China and its horrible occupation of Korea threatened your country's survival and it certainly paid a price for its arrogance and war crimes.
Was that oil embargo before or after the "Rape Of Nanking"? /rhetorical question.
Japan was already at war long before the US embargoes, they didn't declare war on the US until we stopped supplying needed war materials.
"Japan did not fight a war of aggression. It fought in self-defense," she said. "Our children have been wrongly taught that their ancestors did evil things, that their country is evil. We need to give these children back their pride and confidence."
I believe the Japanese are taught precious little about WWII that doesn't involve the bombing of Japan, but I'm not sure of that, I did not go to school in Japan. I have spoken with a Japanese fellow who felt that by using the atom bomb, Harry S saved his life. His job during the invasion was to dive under a tank and detonate the satchel charge he was to carry.
Appears that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
The belief is probably strong among Koreans and Chinese that the Japanese, in their current we-were-victims-too attitudes, are a pack of unrepentant racist murderers.
You're right! The popularity of Korean media & culture in Japan have a lot of Koreans scratching their heads a bit as well (and hauling all the yen to the bank, LOL!)
The Japanese are fortunate that the United States did not treat Japan like they did when they conquered a nation.
Anytime Japan moves towards increasing its military, China screams about pre-world war II atrocities all the while building an army/navy to dominate Asia and compete with the US.
In that picture she is standing in front of the Yasukuni shrine, a monument to Japan’s World War II “martyrs.” Tojo’s ashes are interred there.
rape of nanking was dec 1937. oil embargo was jul 1941 after the japanese “took” all of indochina from the vichy france government. they were warned after moving into northern indochina the embargo could happen if they moved south and they did anyway. i think they had one year of reserve oil stored in japan. they were going to ship oil back from the dutch east indies but, of course, didn’t build additional tankers to do this. by 1944 half the fleet was based in the singapore area because that was where the oil was. two of the three fleets attacking the us at leyte gulf came from the south.
the japanese in ww2 (as in starting in 1931 in manchuria) were vile people and probably worse than the nazis. dropping the bombs saved even more japanese than allied soldiers and sailors.
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