Japanese air force chief fired over WWII essay

[Burnsie]

I was just reading in the Washington Post that the chief of the Japanese air force was fired on Friday over an essay he wrote which stated among other things that Japan was "not an aggressor" in WWII and that Pearl Harbor was attacked because of a "trap" set by FDR. Needless to say China was not pleased and commended the essayists sacking.
As time goes by I worry that as the numbers of surviving WWII veterans decrease we will be free to practice revisionist history - in recent years we've seen Japanese textbooks changed and then re-corrected regarding forced suicides and there's seemingly no shortage of Japanese nationalists attempting to downplay WWII atrocities....
Makes the first hand eyewitness accounts ever more important to record!

 

[LondonLuke]

Thankfuly there is still a national consciousness in Germany that won't allow revisionism. I think a far more significant worry is of the war being forgotten, in the same way that WW1 is almost unknown to many people.

 

[Story]

A related thread, with some history recently brought to light.
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=20335

 

[LaMedicine]

Well, I can tell you that the majority of the Japanese are disgusted :rage: :rage: :rage: with his essay. Good riddance, especially since he was a trouble maker of sorts before this. What is disgusting as well is that the Self Defence Ministry allowed him to resign prior to his firing :rage: :rage: :rage: by our Prime Minister. Can't trust the buddy buddy system

 

[Sunny]

Good grief. Well I'm glad for you, La Medicine, that he finally did something stupid enough that he had to be gotten out.

 

[PADDY]

Saw that.

Interesting one.

 

[Edward]

Absolutely agree that such atrocious comments should result in censure. I do think it important that the true horrors of the World Wars should not be forgotten, lest we allow something similar to happen again. I do sometimes though think that a good dose of revisionism in relation to some of the allied conduct (Dresden, etc) would not go amiss, but I guess history is always written by the victor. [huh]