View Full Version : Yasukuni Shrine
Ichigo
06-03-2005, 09:42 AM
I believe I spelled the name of the place correctly. Supposedly theres a big controversy in Asia about the Prime Minister of Japan visiting the Yasukuni Shrine to honor Japan's war dead from World War 2. I just wanted to know what everyone thought about it. Personally I think that every country's soldiers in World War 2 deserve to be honored. No matter what their country's government did or supported, they still shed their blood to defend what they thought was right and to protect their homelands. So I honestly think its garbage that modern day Asia is so PC about this whole issue. Thats just me i guess. :mad:
MitsueNeko
06-03-2005, 10:55 AM
I believe they should be honored also. My resaon for feeling that way is because I feel that all life should be valued, even if you did something really horrible. The people that served in the war did as you said, "fight for what they believed in." They sacrifriced their lives because they thought they were doing the right thing. Right and wrong is based on what morals standards are. In this society, most of them are based off the ten commandments. In the holy bible it also says to love thy neighbors, which includes you enemies. I am not a chritsian, but I based my right and wrong on what I see around me, which is what is happening aroud the world. Society is what shapes us because we are the society, the people that make up it. We learn from others that influence us the most to act and behave like them. In the old days, our rights and wrongs were different. Now it has changed and recorded in history. I believe history is there to tell us not to do this again or it can inspire new ideas to create the ideal perfect world that many so called want. The soldiers should be honored because to me because it's accepting our history or acknowleding that it happened before and we should not make this mistake again. It's the same as honoring your loved ones or important figures like the pope. Tragic deaths is another reason to honor these soldiers because knowing they died a certain horrible way tells us to be careful what we do. It reminds the world of mortality. Life comes once or many these times so you should value it. Thus, the dead be honored.
ShininShado
06-03-2005, 11:19 AM
I can sorta see both sides of this. Japan's alliance with the Axis powers during WW II made some of their actions and policies questionable in today's eyes. I also think as a country you could should always honor your fallen soldiers, elsewise you disgrace your country and its past. I think "remembering" the soldiers might be a better solution.
SunWuKong
06-03-2005, 08:11 PM
I think "remembering" the soldiers might be a better solution.Nice statement. I concur.
Japanese forces did do some nasty, nasty things to the Chinese. (Read "Rape of Nanjing")
I can only assume that similar acts were done in Korea and other places.
Kuraku Hideaki
06-03-2005, 10:03 PM
In any war, there is no good side, no matter what the circumstance. War is, and will always be, a battle for power.
Either way, men and women should always be honored. In WW2, all countries did bad things to the enemy once captued. I think its just because at the time, America had a greater media scale and was obliged to spread propaganda.
War is not the fighters fault, but the economies.
Kingsama
06-07-2005, 03:02 PM
In any war, there is no good side, no matter what the circumstance. War is, and will always be, a battle for power.
Either way, men and women should always be honored. In WW2, all countries did bad things to the enemy once captued. I think its just because at the time, America had a greater media scale and was obliged to spread propaganda.
War is not the fighters fault, but the economies.
i have to disagree with you here, in cases of genocide ala the nazis, and the horrific treatment of the chinese, philipino, and various other groups there is a bad side. Is there a perfect side? no, but to say that the only reason the alied forces are only percieved as better due to propaganda is rediculous, and dispicable. The japanese in some ways made the Nazi look like lil school boys when it came to massacring people.
That being said i have mixed feelings about the memorial. It isnt like every soldier who fought had the choice not too(though you could always argue you always have a choice), but on the other hand visiting the memorial is in a way honoring what they fought for, which is despicable.
In the end i would err on the side of caution and not visit the memorial...