Japan must acknowledge its past

Comment on "More talking would stop the bickering" (China Daily, May 2)

Many politicians and right-wing groups in Japan still cling to the Japanese superpower concept of the early 20th century. The biggest problem with this ideology is that it attempts to place Japan among the elite group of colonial powers and is deeply rooted in concepts of racial and national superiority.

While these hardliners are probably not the majority of the Japanese people, it is easy for them to garner support because many Japanese people are patriotic, even nationalistic, and Japan is trying to demonstrate its ambitions to be a top leader in Asian affairs at the expense of neighboring countries.

Denying war atrocities and rewriting history only narrows the views of the Japanese public, making them even more susceptible to the stance of the hardliners.

To me, as long as it insists on its own version of history, Japan is alienating itself from its neighbors.

Asian, on China Daily website

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(China Daily 05/25/2012 page9)