[August 15, 2017] On this date, August 15, 1945, it was announced that Imperial Japan would surrender unconditionally, bringing World War II to a close.1 Called the Jewel Voice Broadcast, Emperor Hirohito personally announced the surrender in a recorded radio address across the Empire. Yet since that time there has been a systematic revisionism that downplays wartime atrocities and war crimes committed by the Japanese military.
The revisionism of what actually occurred during WWII differs from those who would rewrite the history of Nazi Germany or the Communist Soviet Union; much of the latter are undertaken by American and European sympathizers. In the case of Japan, it has been the Japanese government and educational institutions which chose to minimize the embarrassment of immoral wartime behavior.
Japanese war crimes have been extensively documented despite a wide-ranging and deliberate effort to destroy and rewrite evidence that specifically identifies a long list of horrific acts by the Japanese. Senior Japanese government officials are a key part of this strategy. Some say, for example, that Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzō Abe has done this on several occasions despite information that could be used to justify either way.
“I myself have not experienced the war, but it is important to look back to the past humbly and to correctly pass down tragic experiences and the history behind Japan to the generations who have no direct knowledge of the war, at a time memories of the war are about to fade…” – Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito
Crown Prince Naruhito’s comments may be the beginning of the end of revisionist efforts in Japan. Some say that Germany fully accepted its part in World War II, learned from it, applied those lessons, and is moving on. Japan has not … or so we are told.
When we teach lessons in leadership one of the more salient points is the right way to handle mistakes. Google is going through a tough time after its CEO made a serious blunder by firing an employee who disagreed with the way the company promotes “diversity” in the workplace. The most important lesson of the many is to quickly admit the error. Neither Japan (shortly after WWII) nor Google did so.
Japan is a good friend of the United States now. This and he end of WWII is as good of event as anyone could ask from the horror of the most destructive war in human history. Imperial Japan is gone and it had to go. To understand what had to be done to destroy the Empire of Japan, to accept it and to never forget it, is what real leadership is about.
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- This date is celebrated as Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day) as well as September 2, 1945 which is the date of the actual surrender ceremony aboard the U.S. Navy battleship USS Missouri.
- http://www.ibtimes.com/japans-revisionist-history-crown-prince-naruhito-calls-correct-understanding-war-1826840