On 10/19/2004 6:55 PM, Eric Takabayashi wrote:
> Scott Reynolds wrote:
> 
>>The Japanese government has a serious public relations problem
>>internationally, and this is certainly related to the prevailing
>>domestic views on the war. My hope is that this issue will eventually go
>>away of its own accord when younger generations, who have no personal
>>experience of the war or its immediate aftermath, come to the fore. The
>>way Japanese attitudes toward Korea (and vice versa) are changing is a
>>case in point. I think there is definitely some cause for optimism.
> 
> No, you are explaining how young Japanese may be so ignorant, and can't
> understand why people in other countries might still be angry at Japan or
> Japanese in general. They should know. It's not a simple matter of the Chinese
> government promoting anti-Japanese propaganda or Chinese nationalism.

No, I am saying that in another decade or two it may not matter much to
people throughout Asia who was the aggressor in WW2. You may call this
historical ignorance and a bad thing. My point is that forgetting the
past may have good aspects as well as bad ones.

> It would also help if other Asian countries thought of Japan as an important
> trading partner or possible political ally instead of a simple unrepentant former
> enemy. I'm pleased to see the US has changed its view considerably since the
> bubble economy.

You mean since the Japanese economy has been in the toilet and Japan is
no longer seen as any sort of threat?

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Scott Reynolds                                      sar@gol.com