It seems Japan has decided it is time to express remorse for starting WW2 years before Hitler got around to invading Poland. Its war crimes in China shocked the world and set a standard for barbarity unmatched until the Third Reich. But it appears the Japanese will not apologize, there being a distinction between apology and remorse there that is not grasped in the West. I remember back in the '70s when Japan seemed to be achieving economic superiority articles appeared in places like the New York Review of Books saying that for a variety of linguistic and cultural reasons it would never be possible for us to understand the Japanese mind. Japan has fallen back to the middle of the pack economically, but I think we are still on the outside looking in when it comes to understanding what makes them tick. The Chinese and Koreans seem to know, however. Unlike us, they have never forgiven or forgotten the cruel ferocity of the Japanese war machine. http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/japanese-leader-express-remorse-world-war-ii_822711.html And here is some other reading: http://www.amazon.com/Great-Liars-T...=1420472479&sr=8-1&keywords=jerry jay carroll
Sorry, but Emperor Hirohito expressed contrition for Japan's loss of WWII. Late in 1945 in full military dress uniform he went to the Shito Shrine for the memory of fallen heroes and appologied. Three US Officers were among the witnesses. I've met one. He was a junior member of MacArthur's staff tasked with the job of overseeing the de-militarization of Japan. Hirohito was never again seen in public in military uniform.
When Hirohito addressed to the nation accepting the terms of surrender as per the Potsdam Declaration, the word 'surrender' was absent in his speech! The speech was broadcast on 15th Aug'45.
