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Unit 10—Handout 6
Efforts at Redress
The Japanese Position
The Japanese do admit that some atrocities and murders happened, for example, at Nanking; however,
they dispute the numbers and will not proffer a formal, unambiguous apology nor will they pay reparations
to the victims. Their prime ministers continue to go to the Yasukuni Shrine, a symbol of Japan’s militaristic
past.
Why?
• The Japanese claim that they were assuring their self-preservation and the stability of East
Asia.
• By admitting to atrocities they place the emperor, the state, and the ruling government in
a bad light. Some of the current Japanese leaders are relatives of the wartime leaders.
They do not want to shame the emperor or the state.
• The Japanese see themselves as victims—the U.S. and Great Britain cut off their oil
supply and especially because of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
What have the survivors done to seek redress?
They have demonstrated and law suits have been fi led:
• By comfort women
• By survivors of germ warfare
• By survivors of the Nanking Massacre
• By POWs forced to work as slave laborers
Other Efforts Seeking Redress:
Global Alliance and NJ-ALPHA
• Efforts to educate about the Pacifi c War and Japanese atrocities
• Study Tours to China to study the massacre sites and germ warfare units
• Conferences and workshops
Rape of Nanking Redress Coalition
• A multicultural group that includes Japanese Americans
• Japanese soldiers who served in China during this period have come forward to testify
about their crimes. Some have allowed access to their wartime diaries.
• Japanese have put together exhibits to show their fellow citizens what happened in China.
• Japanese citizens have demonstrated along with Chinese, Koreans, and American POWs.
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