Today was one of the hottest days in Tokyo.
However, huge crowd of people visiting Yasukuni Shrine to pay homage to the fallen soldiers enshrined there
The 25th Central Assembly of Japanese Nationals for Remembering the Fallen Soldiers
The 7th Infantry Regiment of The Great Imperial Japanese Army Paying Homage to the Fallen Soldiers
August 15 is the day of Japanese Rising Sun Flag at Half Staff
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-6 min.45 sec.-
Master of Ceremony said: Now we are going to ask Mr. Tamogami Toshio, ex-Chief of Staff of Japan Air Self-Defense Force, to speak for us. Yasukuni Shrine has been exposed to unjustified suppression and oppression since the occupation policy was enforced. One of the reasons we all know is all the issues (illegal and biased trial with the pre-determined judgment as “Tokyo Trial” was in fact revenge against Japan.) related to “International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), well-known in Japan as東京裁判 Tokyo Saiban, literally meaning Tokyo Trial. Mr. Tamogami Toshio with a strong belief in reviewing “Murayama Statement(See a note below)” and considers its review indispensable to further enhance Japanese pride and Japanese patriotism.
Mr.Tamogami Toshio said: Thank you for your introduction. I was sucked because I said in my book describing my historical perspectives that "Japan has been a good country." You just can’t find any nation in the world where a man praising his own country gets purged. I really think it is probably only Japan. In this sense, I really believe that Japan has been still occupied without presence of the occupation troops here and at the same time has been controlled without presence of the Japan Socialist Party.
Again I believe that a history is written by a victor who forces a loser to accept it. The United States of America who won just one war (against Japan) has imposed its historical perspective on Japan, thereby spreading throughout the world a fabricated story of “U.S.A. is a knight in shining armor" believing in justice and democracy while Japan is diabolical dictatorship.
The U.S. historical perspective has been cursing Japan and her people. My experience with Japan’s Self-Defense Forces shows that JSDF has been legally restricted in its move to deal with threats and not to equip itself with offensive power. In any nations, they usually secure offensive power and are ready to use it whenever necessary. However, Japan expects U.S. forces to execute its offensive force, thereby defining Japan’s position of keeping its mouth shut to U.S.A. Whenever I say "We should speak up to U.S.A. ", I will be regarded as anti-U.S.A. Japan’s national interests and U.S.A.’s national interest will never converge upon the interests conceived common to both nations. We have to say what we have to say not only to U.S.A. but also to other states for our national interests.
Japan’s politics and administration have been evasive, so as to take the easy way out, that is, not to elicit complaints from U.S.A. and China, thereby obscuring Japan’s position. It boils down to “self-preservation” of politicians. I perceive our politicians and bureaucrats as tending to focus on “self-preservation” and as lacking passion and aspiration for overcoming any difficulties lying ahead of our future, working out for the best jointly with every Japanese national to create a better future for our children and grandchildren.
We have observed the underlying distorted perception of our history. That is, many seem to be forced to perceive Japan as being aggressive after the last war was over. As stated in Murayama statement, Japan troubled Asian nations in the last war, suggesting that Japan fought against the Asian nations. However, Japan did not fight against the Asian nations. The only Asian nation Japan fought against was China; however, Japan fought against China not simply because Japan was aggressive but because Japan was forced into the warring situation; that is, the Comintern took advantage of the fact that Chiang's Nationalists force had engaged in a long standing civil war with the Mao's Chinese Communist force. However, as the Mao's Chinese Communist force was on a verge of collapse, the Comintern was to help the Chinese Communist forces headed by Mao Zedong seize control over the entire China when Chiang's Nationalists force would exhaust itself by having the Nationalists force fight against the Japanese troops. Therefore, no matter how much Japan tried to negotiate with the China over ceasefire, the Chinese troops fully controlled by the Comintern had kept attacking the Japanese troops. Other states Japan fought against in Asia were U.S.A. in Philippines, UK in Burma and India, Netherlands in Indonesia, etc. We helped them achieve freedom and independence from the white dominant nations. We would better ask China and others what’s aggressive about what Japan did in the last war.
Furthermore, regarding Japan's relations with the United States of America in those days (the white-ruled nation),many are forced to believe that Japan was punished by U.S.A. acting like "Knight in shining armor" because Japan invaded China and other Asian states. I dismiss the whole story as a complete fabrication. In the United States of America, right before the war broke out between Japan and U.S.A., there was General Albert Coady Wedemeyer
Therefore, Japan was neither aggressive nor an invader at all. After the end of the Greater East Asia war, many were taught to believe that because Japan invaded Asia, the livelihood of the Asian population was much disturbed by Japanese militarism. Again, I dismiss it as a complete distortion of the true history. In reality, many Asians lived in fear that bandits, etc. would threaten their lives by looting, etc. and their standard of living was very low; however, the fact is that Japan helped them improve the quality of their life by normalizing security, etc., coupled with investments made by Japan.
In 1955, 10 years after the end of "The Greater East Asia War" and three years after Japan regained its independence, the first Asian-African Conference proposed by President Sukarno was held in Bangdung, Indonesia, participated by 29 nations from Asia and Africa. Those nations who participated in the conference emphasized that we must thank Japan for helping us become independent so as to make us speak on an equal footing with the white-ruled nations and that if Japan didn't sacrifice itself that much by fighting against the British, the Dutch, etc., we would still have remained colonized.
They continued to say that what impressed us most is the first Greater Asia Co-prosperity Conference held in Tokyo on November 1943, presided over by Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, in which he declared that all Asian nations would get united and would fight against the white-ruled nations with a spirit of self-sacrifice for the freedom and independence of the Asian nations. They all said that they well understood what Prime Minister Hideki Tojo declared at the conference and hoped that Japan would continue to work hard for the development of the Asian nations. There was no nation who believed Japan was an aggressor; therefore, a story of Japan being “Aggressor” is a complete fabrication. Moreover, 29 participating nations included the People's Republic of China represented by Premier Zhou Enlai.
I am so sure about the only reason why they still call Japan “Aggressor”; that is, they believe they can easily extort money from Japan whenever they need it. Reluctance shown by some Prime Ministers of Japan not to visit Yasukuni Shrine sends a wrong message to the nations surrounding Japan; that is, Japan succumbs to threats and pressures from the outside and continues to give money to the extortionists. Only when Prime Minister of Japan visits Yasukuni Shrine, Japan sends a strong and definite message to them that Japan will resolutely fight against unjustified claims over Japan’s past. Therefore, I believe that Prime Minister of Japan has been so evasive, finding an easy way out by saying that Yasukuni Shrine is a place where we solemnly pray for our fallen soldiers.
“Yasukuni Visit” demonstrates a true resolution that we will defend our national interests, our nation and our people, and think of our children and our future generations by rejecting any pressures and threats. I truly hope that every Prime Minister will visit Yasukuni Shrine. From 1945 to 1985, our Prime Ministers visited Yasukuni Shrine without fails. Since Prime Minster Nakasone decided not to visit Yasukuni Shrine in 1986 over Chinese pressures, an issue of “Yasukuni Visit” has emerged with some lasting negative impact on Japanese politics. Japan only gets snubbed by the international community over the concession Japan makes; however, nobody says Japan is good and her people are nice just because Japan gets extorted after making a concession.
Therefore, Japan must stick to its resolute determination. Only when Japan and her people gets liberated from a fallacy of “Japan as a diabolical aggressor”, deliberately coined by the United States of America after the end of the Greater East Asia War, Japan will complete its defensive system at all. Military experts always keep an eye on Japan’s military defense system and make a quick judgment on its military capabilities to see if they are superior to Japan although possibility that major military powers will exchange fires remains dim. If not completed, Japan will have to succumb to the repeated unjustified demands and will have to lose the money all hard working Japanese nationals have earned.
Japan has been exposed to real and immediate dangers. Japan must strengthen its military power now. About twenty years ago, Japan could have told China "Go ahead and take military actions against Japan!". As China has emerged as one of the major military powers, Japan finds it difficult to tell China to do so. "
Japan executed its attack on Pearl Harbor because the white ruled nations excruciated and exploited Japan and her people to the point that Japan had to resort to the military means for its self-defense. In retrospect, if Japan did not fight against the white ruled nations, they could have accomplished their objective of colonizing the entire world where all the people could have been enslaved by the whites. In this sense, we all should appreciate and respect our predecessors and fallen soldiers who fought against the whites, trying to save us from the white domination.
Note: 村山談話 Murayama danwa has been translated into English as Murayama statement as if to say it is an official statement made in 1995 by Prime Minister of Japan Mr. Murayama (the then chairman of Japan Socialist Party who always opposed Japan's alliance with U.S. , 81st Prime Minister of Japan, the coalition government formed by Liberal Democratic Party, Japan Socialist Party, and New Party Sakigake).
However, "談話 Danwa" literally means "talk" in English.
Mr.Tamogami Toshio is one believed to represent the silent majority in Japan and ex-Chief of Staff of Japan Air Self-Defense Force from March 2007 to November 2008.
For more detailed information, access The genesis No.2 (Part Two)-A Question over the Japanese Leftists' Concept of Peace at http://voiceofjapanviatweeting.blogspot.com/2011/02/genesis-no2-part-two-question-over.html
