win, his popularity among young voters was partially due to what many call “Japanese

Revisionism” of 20th century war crimes. Many Japanese youths refuse to shoulder the

burden of World War Two atrocities, while some politicians openly deny certain events.

So, what war crimes is Japan trying to hide?

Since the 1950s, government officials have repeatedly apologized for crimes committed

during World War Two, primarily authorized by Emperor Hirohito during the Showa Era.

However, in recent years, the government has attempted to downplay the severity of these

crimes. The most glaring examples of revisionism are in government-approved historical textbooks.

War crimes are rarely mentioned, and when they are, it is in a detached, inculpable

tone. Most school districts outright refuse to use these textbooks.

Internationally, Japan’s mass killings have been referred to as the Asian Holocaust. Some

estimate that during World War II, the Japanese military killed up to ten million people,

nearly 4 million of them Chinese. In one famous atrocity known as the Nanking Massacre, the

Japanese Army executed hundreds of thousands of civilians and prisoners of war over the

course of a month. Facts about this event have been widely disputed by Japanese officials,

despite international acknowledgement.

Another horrific crime was the Emperor’s establishment of human experimentation camps,

the most famous of which was Unit 731. Prisoners were infected with diseases and cut open while

alive and without anesthesia. Some subjects had their limbs removed and then reattached

on opposite sides. Some had frostbite intentionally induced, others were used as weapons testing.

Most women were raped. After the war, nearly all the researchers were given immunity by

the United States in exchange for the information they gained from these experiments. Furthermore,

records about the unit were destroyed, leaving only survivor testimony, giving weight to

denier claims.

Although there were many other war crimes committed, including faking surrender, reports

of cannibalism, forced labor, and torture, the most notable was the use of “comfort

women." Original Japanese occupations saw mass rape of locals, so brothels for soldiers

were established. However, there were not nearly enough women to fill them, so as many

as 200,000 women and girls were kidnapped or coerced into sexual slavery. This issue

is particularly contentious for Japanese officials and journalists. In 2007, a number of surviving

comfort women demanded an apology from the Japanese government. Initially, the Prime

Minister said there was no evidence of these horrific crimes. However, several weeks later,

the Japanese parliament officially apologized. Japanese nationalists have since pushed to

rescind the apology.

Many Japanese youths consider the issue of 70-year-old war crimes to be unfairly lumped

onto them, pointing out that they were not the perpetrators of these events. However,

the push to whitewash history in order to appear blameless is in no way an appropriate

method of dealing with historical atrocities.

Japanese officials’ denial of comfort women is one of the saddest modern dismissals. See

this video by Seeker Daily to learn more about the lives of these enslaved women, OR if you

want more of the shocking history behind why China hates Japan, watch this video. Thanks

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