[ichabod1]

we began calling them "Japs"

I don't know that calling them that was invented by the WWII folks, after all it's just an abbreviation for Japanese. What they did was turn it into an epithet, a dirty word, if you will.

[farmer18th]

It's widely understood as a de-humanizing pejorative. We don't use the term anymore, because the Japanese have adopted western values and ethics. I believe MacArthur even requested Bibles during the occupation.

The point is that unless you are willing to call an enemy an enemy, and stop dabbling in moral ambiguity, it is difficult to win.