I’m sure many felt the same way about the Japanese after World War II.
The historic events are quite different. Japan had embraced a limited form of democracy in the early 20th century. Their march towards militant imperialism changed all that.
Besides, the Japanese had an violent awakening in 1945. The nuking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced serious changes in Japan's society. Today, Japan is a peaceful secular society.
I seriously doubt that anything would convince Muslim's to change their ways. The Islamofascists are heroes to many people throughout the world for killing the infidels. Maybe we could nuke 2-3 cities in the Islamic world and kill a few hundred thousand Muslim's to force a change in their society. ;^)