History, and Cutural Differences

[Unkotare]

Chinese ask: Why doesn?t Japan hate America for dropping the A-bombs? ? Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion


The author of this editorial doesn't quite understand the topic upon which he is writing, but the point he is trying to make is revealing in ways he perhaps had not anticipated.

 

[Unkotare]

And in related news:

South Korea Hates Japan More Than North Korea & Loves America, Gallup Poll*Reveals | RocketNews24

 

[martybegan]

Chinese ask: Why doesn?t Japan hate America for dropping the A-bombs? ? Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion


The author of this editorial doesn't quite understand the topic upon which he is writing, but the point he is trying to make is revealing in ways he perhaps had not anticipated.

The main reason is that unlike so many other victors in war that resulted in the overall takeover of the losing side, we actually gave thier country back to them after making certain changes. Add in the fact that american wealth was used to rebuild them then you get some idea as to why they wouldnt be too cranky with us after we bombed them back into the stone age.

You see the same effect with Germany with regards to the US.

The key in both cases is that 1) the losers were beaten so bad they couldnt fathom somehow winning the conflict. Thus placated they were receptive to thier conquerors rebuilding them. 2) The US has not been around long enough to have deep rooted national animosity between them and other countries. While the propoganda against germany and in particular Japan was very virulent, this did not carry over into the post war environment. Contrast that to the Russian treatment of thier side of germany, where they basically dismanlted east german industry, shipped it east, and kept POW's until the mid 50's.

Americas wars have been basically, its not personal, its business.

 

[Unkotare]

While the propoganda against germany and in particular Japan was very virulent, this did not carry over into the post war environment.

You sure about that?

 

[martybegan]

While the propoganda against germany and in particular Japan was very virulent, this did not carry over into the post war environment.

You sure about that?

Ask a german who they would want to deal with, an american, a russian, or a pole.

Ask a Japanese person who would they want to deal with, an american, a korean, or someone from china.

The animosity in asia and europe has been going on for centuries, and is based purely on nationality.

Our racism issues stem from our own making of bringing over slave labor, then not properly intergrating them into society for 80 years or so.

 

[Flopper]

Chinese ask: Why doesn?t Japan hate America for dropping the A-bombs? ? Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion


The author of this editorial doesn't quite understand the topic upon which he is writing, but the point he is trying to make is revealing in ways he perhaps had not anticipated.

Interesting question.

I think much of the answer lies in what happened after the war. The US occupied Japan for 7 long years and US influence is still strong in Japan. During the occupation, the government was liberalized and transformed using the US as a model. Political censorship continued for years after the war. In schools and the media the US version of the war was told and blame for the war was put squarely on the military. This resulted in an article in the constitution that rejects war and banned Japan from maintaining armed forces. In essence, Japan became a protectorate.

Had the US punished Japan for the war and left it to it's own devices, as was done with Germany at the end of WWI, US Japanese relations would have been far different.

 

[High_Gravity]

Even the Vietnamese don't really hate us, we are doing business with them and Americans who go there are welcome and there hasn't been any issues.

 

[Flopper]

Even the Vietnamese don't really hate us, we are doing business with them and Americans who go there are welcome and there hasn't been any issues.

Americans having never been conquered by a foreign power, don't quite understand. Vietnam has been ravaged and divided by civil wars and invaders for thousands of years. As one farmer explained, I am not political. I take care of my crops and the government takes care of it's business, whatever that might be. In the US most citizens identify deeply with our government but such is not the case with many nations.

 

[High_Gravity]

Are Asians just more forgiving? I can't see us having the kind of relationship we have with Japan/South Korea or even Vietnam with Iraq or Afghanistan, no way.

 

[Flopper]

Are Asians just more forgiving? I can't see us having the kind of relationship we have with Japan/South Korea or even Vietnam with Iraq or Afghanistan, no way.

I agree, however it's more of religious thing. The hatred during WWII was manufactured by the Japanese military but in the Muslim countries it's tied to centuries of religious beliefs.

 

[Unkotare]

While the propoganda against germany and in particular Japan was very virulent, this did not carry over into the post war environment.

You sure about that?

Ask a german who they would want to deal with, an american, a russian, or a pole.

Ask a Japanese person who would they want to deal with, an american, a korean, or someone from china.

The animosity in asia and europe has been going on for centuries, and is based purely on nationality.

Our racism issues stem from our own making of bringing over slave labor, then not properly intergrating them into society for 80 years or so.

You missed my point. Prejudice against Japanese, Japanese-Americans, and to a much lesser extent Germans did persist for many years after the end of the war. Hell, remember the 80s?

 

[Unkotare]

If the roles had been reversed vis-a-vis the bomb, would we be willing to move on and become staunch allies?

 

[Flopper]

You sure about that?

Ask a german who they would want to deal with, an american, a russian, or a pole.

Ask a Japanese person who would they want to deal with, an american, a korean, or someone from china.

The animosity in asia and europe has been going on for centuries, and is based purely on nationality.

Our racism issues stem from our own making of bringing over slave labor, then not properly intergrating them into society for 80 years or so.

You missed my point. Prejudice against Japanese, Japanese-Americans, and to a much lesser extent Germans did persist for many years after the end of the war. Hell, remember the 80s?

Absolutely, I can remember when Japanese were Japs and in most cases dirty Japs. Anything imported from Japan was considered Japanese junk and was often labeled made in China. This persisted into the 50's but was mostly gone by the 60's.

 

[Unkotare]

Ask a german who they would want to deal with, an american, a russian, or a pole.

Ask a Japanese person who would they want to deal with, an american, a korean, or someone from china.

The animosity in asia and europe has been going on for centuries, and is based purely on nationality.

Our racism issues stem from our own making of bringing over slave labor, then not properly intergrating them into society for 80 years or so.

You missed my point. Prejudice against Japanese, Japanese-Americans, and to a much lesser extent Germans did persist for many years after the end of the war. Hell, remember the 80s?

Absolutely, I can remember when Japanese were Japs and in most cases dirty Japs. Anything imported from Japan was considered Japanese junk and was often labeled made in China. This persisted into the 50's but was mostly gone by the 60's.

But a lot of similar sentiments came roaring back all too readily when the US Auto Industry started to falter in the 80s.

 

[Flopper]

You missed my point. Prejudice against Japanese, Japanese-Americans, and to a much lesser extent Germans did persist for many years after the end of the war. Hell, remember the 80s?

Absolutely, I can remember when Japanese were Japs and in most cases dirty Japs. Anything imported from Japan was considered Japanese junk and was often labeled made in China. This persisted into the 50's but was mostly gone by the 60's.

But a lot of similar sentiments came roaring back all too readily when the US Auto Industry started to falter in the 80s.

True, but it was nothing like the 10 years following the end the war. I think the media attention on the suffering of the Japanese people due to the A-Bomb attacks created a lot of sympathy. We had slaughtered over two hundreds thousand innocent men, women, and children, over twice the number of US combat deaths. We were suppose to be the good guys. We just didn't do things like that. I think this had a lot of influence on our desire to rebuild Japan.

 

[Unkotare]

Absolutely, I can remember when Japanese were Japs and in most cases dirty Japs. Anything imported from Japan was considered Japanese junk and was often labeled made in China. This persisted into the 50's but was mostly gone by the 60's.

But a lot of similar sentiments came roaring back all too readily when the US Auto Industry started to falter in the 80s.

True, but it was nothing like the 10 years following the end the war. .

Also true, but the use of the A-bomb as a violation of who and what we are as a nation is - in some ways - surpassed by the reality of FDR's concentration camps during the war.

 

[westwall]

But a lot of similar sentiments came roaring back all too readily when the US Auto Industry started to falter in the 80s.

True, but it was nothing like the 10 years following the end the war. .

Also true, but the use of the A-bomb as a violation of who and what we are as a nation is - in some ways - surpassed by the reality of FDR's concentration camps during the war.

The atom bombs saved more Japanese lives then they took. FDR and his concentration camps are a terrible blight on this country's history.

 

[High_Gravity]

If the roles had been reversed vis-a-vis the bomb, would we be willing to move on and become staunch allies?

Wow I don't know man, that would be tough.

 

[Vikrant]

Did Japan attack the civilian population in the U.S. during WWII? If the answer is yes then therein lies the answer.