So Daniel Seaman of the Ministry of Public Diplomacy is sick of peace grups and their “self rightious” commemorations? He goes on to say the bombings of those two cities were the consequeneces Japan reaped by its genocide and imperial agression against much of Asia.
Well, the infamously racist and stupid Seaman should understand a few things about Japanese history. The peace groups, the socialists, anarchists, communists and pacifists suffered greatly in opposing Imperial Japan, many paying with their lives, others imprisoned for their opposotion to Imperial rule.
Also, the LDP are the ideological descendants of the pre war fascists who invaded Asia. And they are in bed with the US, refusing to condemn the country which dropped the bombs or opposing its continued posssession of nuclear weapons. The Japanese government continues to enable US mlitarism around the world with is hosting of US military bases. Peace activists opposed their nation’s barbarism and they opposed the barabarism in targeting civilians in Hiroshima. If they are anything, they are consistent.
The participation of government officials as well as US representatives at the official ceremonies is quite hypocritical. Abe did not applaud most of the speeches in Nagasaki, given that many condemned his intention to revise the war renouncing constitution and restart nuclear power plants. This includes the mayor of Nagasaki, who bravely confronted Abe on these two issues.
Meanwhile, Israel is a military and nuclear power which continues to impose an apartheid regime in the occupied territories and has killed and maimed while it claims to be the only democracy in the Middle East. Tell that to the many victims of Jenin. Tell that to the people it murdered on the peace flotilla. Tell that to Rachel Corrie, who was murdered by soldiers trying to mow down Palestinian property. Right wing Israeli militarists are cut of the same clothe as japan’s Imperial fascists. Israeli peace activists, on the other hand, are kindred spirts with Japanese peace activists who know thaty what their country did was wrong, that what the US did to their country was equally wrong, and that people like Abe and Seaman are the enemies of peace and democracy.