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7 decades after WWII, many praise Germany, scorn Japan

Discussion in 'WWII General' started by LRusso216, Aug 13, 2015.

  1. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    I read this article today. It was both interesting and provocative.

    Both nations brutalized continents. Both slaughtered and abused tens of millions of people. But while Germany is held up as a paragon of post-World War II reconciliation, Japan is mired in animosity with its neighbors seven decades later.





    In many ways, the stunning economic and political resurrections of both countries since the war ended 70 years ago Sunday have been a windfall for their respective regions. Both have largely been generous in aid, both, for the most part, sterling examples of liberal democracies.
    But talk to Europeans and Northeast Asians about Germany and Japan and you'll often find stark differences in perception.
    http://news.yahoo.com/7-decades-wwii-many-praise-germany-scorn-japan-051445635.html
     
    LRusso216, Aug 13, 2015
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  2. Skipper

    Skipper Kommodore

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    Among the uneducated maybe. Japan is the only nation in the world that underwent two nuclear bombings and yet, they recovered better and faster than her neigbours. See the Hiroshima ceremonies speeches to see how Japan can teach many a nation about peace and democracy. One should not forget the past, but the present shows Japan will be a reliable ally in the future too.
     
    Skipper, Aug 14, 2015
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  3. CAC

    CAC Ace of Spades

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    Ive always had the "feeling" that Japan is at the point Germany was after WW1...feeling hard done by and "if only we did this or that..." - Ive long been expecting a PT2 from them...And i dont get the feeling of "reliable" from them either...reliable if you want what they want...reliable if they need you...otherwise very self serving...just my impressions...
     
    CAC, Aug 14, 2015
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  4. Skipper

    Skipper Kommodore

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    Well, it's good to have them facing north korea for a start. .
     
    Skipper, Aug 14, 2015
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    CAC likes this.
  5. TiredOldSoldier

    TiredOldSoldier Ace

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    With the North Korea madhouse and the fast growing Chinese close by today's Japan needs allies badly, actually the greatest threat to stability is close cooperation between China and Japan, mix Japanese high tech know-how and Chinese numbers and you get something really scary.
    I don't see many similarities with post WW1 Germany, Japan has an emperor and had no aborted revolution like Germany did so is a lot more stable than 1930 Germany was.

    After 70 years it's better to leave the past to historians, and historically Japan has a lot of "justified" grievances against the west, starting with a certain Perry :). Nationalsm in small amounts is self respect, and an absolute necessity for a working society, too much of it and you get a threat to peace, especially if you add racism to the mix, but it's an on-going balancing act,.

    IMHO there is no such a thing as "reliable" in international relations, everybody is looking at his own's interests and that's how it should be unless you are thinking in terms of "vassal states". What you have is "goodwill" and "inertia", that will allow for some tolerance of unilateral actions, and diplomacy to transform "unilateral" action into agreemnts.
     
    TiredOldSoldier, Aug 14, 2015
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  6. mac_bolan00

    mac_bolan00 Member

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    there was more revisionism over at japan than in germany. that makes some people mad.
     
    mac_bolan00, Aug 24, 2015
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