+1 I agree, apologies now are mostly meaningless. Frankly, no apology by Hirohito (or any Japanese) was needed. What WAS needed was for the Emperor to stand trial for war crimes, along with every senior Japanese commander who violated the Hague conventions. (on treatent of PoWs etc, which Japan had signed & ratified) Then they should have been given the execution which they so richly deserved. I'm appalled that Macarthur & various others bent over backwards to prevent real justice, men like Shiro Ishii walked away unpunished after committing horrific crimes.
I just say there is no part of forgiving........that requires forgetting. I don't remember the post but someone else has already expressed this and probably stated it in a better way. As I have seen solders in re-unions with the enemy forgive, I am compelled to follow that example, having known how much they suffered in personal losses.
More garbage Japanese Politicians. One day Japan will be teaching there children that the big bad Americans descended from the sky to rain nuclear hell upon them for no reason other than we thought it would be funny. You can read more hear: Tokyo governor backs Nanjing massacre denial - Yahoo! News
This is why apologies are important. An official apology is tantamount to an official acknowledgemnt that the event actually took place.