[LETTERS TO THE EDITOR]Japan’s gruesome acts

The 86th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement against the Japanese colonial occupation by Koreans reminds me of a recent German TV program broadcast by Deutsche Welle. The story, titled “In-depth report on 60th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz,” surprised me.
Germans openly showed what the Nazis did during World War II. Such historic disclosure requires courageous decisions by German leaders and deserves attention from the peace-loving souls of the world.
To remember is to keep themselves as well as the world from repeating such inhumane and appaling acts in the future. This coverage may quietly draw attention to Japan’s past acts.
Korea and China in particular suffered much from the Japanese occupation that lasted until 1945. Their notorious experiments on living humans, the massacre at Nanjing, and the conscription of local girls as sex slaves for their troops are all the facts denied by Japanese government and leaders.
They have whitewashed “the holocaust in Asia.” Asians now do expect Japan not to distort history anymore to protect themselves.
Above all, Japan needs to be welcomed by its Asian neighbors as a reliable and responsible future partner of the free world rather than just by the West. Japan needs to learn from Korea’s anniversary events.

by Seung-jae Yu