Did You Know About, 70 years on, Japanese firm to apologize to US WWII veteran.

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 18:59:10 -0400

WASHINGTON (AP) — A major Japanese corporation will offer a landmark apology this weekend for using U.S. prisoners of war for forced labor during World War II, according to the Simon Wiesenthal Center that is hosting the event.

A senior executive of Mitsubishi Materials Corp. will apologize to 94-year-old James Murphy, of Santa Maria, California, and relatives of other former POWs who toiled at plants its predecessor company operated in Japan during the conflict.

http://www.heraldcourier.com/news/years-on-japanese-firm-to-apologize-to-us-wwii-veterans/article_de7323c0-bc16-57a8-bceb-80773f66c3ba.html?mode=jqm

Response by SGT Jeremiah B. made Jul 15 at 2015 7:01 PM

SGT Jeremiah B. — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 19:01:34 -0400

That's a pretty big deal actually. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but it's my understanding that Japanese culture doesn't really do apologies, especially for wartime conduct.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 15 at 2015 7:06 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 19:06:51 -0400

I think this is a great gesture that benefits many and hurts no one. The company will benefit from positive publicity, and some POWs as well as family members will feel closure.

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 15 at 2015 7:21 PM

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 19:21:26 -0400

A monumental gesture if it is sincere and not just a publicity stunt. I hope it benefits our WWII veterans and their families.

Response by MSgt Manuel Diaz made Jul 15 at 2015 8:12 PM

MSgt Manuel Diaz — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 20:12:36 -0400

Why, they should just give him back pay with a hardship bonus

Response by PO2 Peter Klein made Jul 15 at 2015 10:40 PM

PO2 Peter Klein — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 22:40:55 -0400

It is interesting that they waited until most Allied WWII veterans are dead before they offered their apology!

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Jul 16 at 2015 12:14 AM

SFC Mark Merino — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 00:14:29 -0400

This is huge. Japan had complete mental control of it's population during the war. Their propoganda machine shoved the lies in their own people's faces and portrayed the outsiders as barbarians and therefore dehumanizing the 'inferiors' was acceptable behavior. What scarce amounts of food designated for the POW's was often stolen by Japanese guards who in turn sold them to the Japanese people. Red Cross packages were kept away from the prisoners. It was a living hell for anyone to be a prisoner of the Japanese. They considered surrendering to the enemy the lowest form of shame to ever befall a soldier and treated them with contempt, but once Japan started getting reamed by the Air Corps that contempt turned to hate. Hitomi is stuck on watching the History Channel. A lot of this history is shocking for her to see. Japan, like most countries, educates their citizens in a way that is the least offensive. By a major corporation coming forward and publicly acknowledging what was done to the POW's forces them to do some real soul searching and we can take the next step in forgiving our past enemies and moving forward. Japan is now one of the only allies that the US can truly rely on.

Response by PO1 Glenn Boucher made Aug 10 at 2015 1:34 PM

PO1 Glenn Boucher — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 13:34:00 -0400

I am torn on this because on the one hand I don't think an apology is ever sincere enough for what happened in WWII. On the other hand I think its a big move on the part of Mitsubishi to come to terms with history and try to make it somehow more tolerable.
Everyone on here knows that war sucks, you do things during war that are unthinkable and yet no one really ever apologizes for it because it is war, its not a petty argument with your neighbor over your dog crapping in their yard. I'm not saying everyone does something bad or horrible but decisions are made for various reasons and no one really is happy with the outcome. Look at Nagasaki and Hiroshima, does anyone really believe saying sorry for nuking your country is going to be acceptable? Does anyone think that the raping and pillaging of Nanking will ever be properly apologized for? How about the Bataan Death March, is any apology going to be sincere enough?
I'm not trying to be cold hearted but I am looking at it from the outside, trying to be objective. Everyone can apologize all day, every day but in the end its kind of hollow after 70 years. Just my opinion though.