November 14, 2003

Still fighting WWII?

Japan's war past sparks Chinese rage | csmonitor.com

Riots, beatings and a simmering rage break to the surface in China and these are the focus of the first part of this story. But the second half of the article focuses on more long-term issues and the changing diplomatic scene.

All these factors were present, but the one cause that did not make headlines or talk shows in Japan was the issue that Chinese students themselves consistently described as the No. 1 reason for unhappiness: Japanese unwillingness to own up to the past. Many Chinese believe that Japanese do not see the war as wrong, but as a mistake - a distinction quite different in their moral calculus.

. . .

owever politically skewed China's history teaching, most Chinese have been exposed to far more details and facts about World War II than Japanese - who come from a presumably open society. With standard Japanese history texts only offering two to three pages about the entire war, Japanese schools seem as diligent about not bringing up the facts of the war as Chinese schools are about raising them, experts say.

Posted by Greg Stone at November 14, 2003 07:52 AM | TrackBack
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