Japanese War Crimes

[14chainsaw88]

The Japanese were subhumans, unlike, say, the Poles. I think it only shows that at that time America had a healthy sense, albeit moderate, of racial feeling, unlike the Axis who took it to unprecedented extremes.

You're a hypocrite joe. Subhuman is the lowest racial classification that Nazis gave to people they didn't like. If you were in charge of the US forces in ww2, what would you do with the Japanese people, annihilate them completely?

[Joe McCarthy]

It seems the fundamental difference is that you believe European colonialism in East Asia is moral whereas I believe it is immoral. It doesn't make me a fascist just because I lay blame the US. My argument could be from a mainstream leftist liberal. You're argument is capitalist and imperialist, thus my view is more moral.

European imperialism or Japanese imperialism? Those were the alternatives at the time, and even the peoples involved preferred Europeans over Japanese. The US opposed imperialism in principle as FDR believed it led to Europeans fighting over territory. In practice though the US usually supported European imperialism.

It seems to me that you think the British Empire was evil. I certainly disagree, as it helped the places it occupied, but with no empire Britain would have been rather irrelevant. Indeed, without imperialism the West would never have risen to greatness at all and another civilization, like China, might have done it instead. In fact, without British imperialism specifically, there would be no Canada. There would be no Australia. There would be no New Zealand. There would be no United States.

[14chainsaw88]

European imperialism or Japanese imperialism? Those were the alternatives at the time, and even the peoples involved preferred Europeans over Japanese. The US opposed imperialism in principle as FDR believed it led to Europeans fighting over territory. In practice though the US usually supported European imperialism.

It seems to me that you think the British Empire was evil. I certainly disagree, as it helped the places it occupied, but with no empire Britain would have been rather irrelevant. Indeed, without imperialism the West would never have risen to greatness at all and another civilization, like China, might have done it instead. In fact, without British imperialism specifically, there would be no Canada. There would be no Australia. There would be no New Zealand. There would be no United States.

Still, Imperialism over any people, against their will is immoral. Japan was reacting to European imperialism, with its own imperialism. Japanese imperialism was wrong, but they were trying to prove they were not inferior to Europeans.

The British Empire was immoral but I wouldn't call it evil. I think it's a pretty weak argument claiming that without Western imperialism the West "would never have risen to greatness at all". What about the Romans, the Greeks? Western civilization's heights exist because of European genetics that give us the creativity to express our thoughts into piratical application.

The existence of the US, Canada and Australia while immoral have been almost entirely cleansed of its indigenous peoples. It's impractical and unnecessary to leave now. Most importantly, Europe defiantly doesn't want millions of Americans moving into their lands.

Please stop bringing unimportant and incorrect claims into the argument. I feel like I'm wasting my time with you.

[Joe McCarthy]

You're a hypocrite joe. Subhuman is the lowest racial classification that Nazis gave to people they didn't like. If you were in charge of the US forces in ww2, what would you do with the Japanese people, annihilate them completely?

No, I think we handled them quite well, though I do believe we must be very careful in how we approach the matter of whether Japan is allowed to rearm.

The Japanese were subhuman, inhuman savages. The scum of the earth. They should never be trusted again, even if our alliance with them serves our purposes.

The Nazi view though just basically read whole sections of Europeans out of the white race as ideological justification for aggressive conquest and ethnic cleansing. The Japanese were the Asian version of the Nazis, just more savage.

[Joe McCarthy]

Still, Imperialism over any people, against their will is immoral. Japan was reacting to European imperialism, with its own imperialism. Japanese imperialism was wrong, but they were trying to prove they were not inferior to Europeans.

Imperialism, if it involves civilizing the savage cannot be said to be immoral as to leave them as they are means they'll be worse off. The Japanese did indeed become imperialist to defend themselves from Europeans, but unlike Europeans they didn't lift up the peoples they ruled. They just brutalized them. In any case, they challenged us and we smashed them, proving our mastery over them.

I think it's a pretty weak argument claiming that without Western imperialism the West "would never have risen to greatness at all". What about the Romans, the Greeks?

The Romans and Greeks weren't Westerners, but assuming they were they were of course imperialists, and we're better for it.

Western civilization's heights exist because of European genetics that give us the creativity to express our thoughts into piratical application.

Maybe, but the development of many advances came due to imperialism. American inventions, most obviously, wouldn't exist without it.

[The Lawspeaker]

Manila Massacre:

To avoid needless violence and civilian deaths,[citation needed] and to preserve as large a force as possible to continue defensive operations in rural Luzon, Imperial Japanese Army General Tomoyuki Yamashita had ordered a complete withdrawal of Japanese troops from Manila. However, 10,000 marines under Vice Admiral Sanji Iwabuchi disobeyed Yamashita's orders[citation needed] and remained in Manila along with some IJA stragglers.
Various credible Western and Eastern sources agree that the death toll was at least 100,000,[1] tallying to around 10% of the population of the city. The massacre was at its worst in the Battle of Manila, in which the Allies shelled the city of Manila to drive out the Japanese. By the time the Japanese were driven out, the city was in ruins, becoming the second most destroyed Allied capital city during the war, the first being Warsaw in Poland.[2] During lulls in the battle for control of the city, Japanese troops took out their anger and frustration on the civilians caught in the crossfire. Japanese troops looted and burned, and brutally executed, tortured, decapitated and sexually abused women, men and children alike, Red Cross personnel, prisoners of war and hospital patients.
The Manila massacre was one of several major war crimes committed by the Imperial Japanese Army, as judged by the postwar military tribunal. Although General Yamashita had ordered all Japanese forces under his command to withdraw from Manila, and had no control over those who chose to disobey his orders, he was nonetheless judged to be responsible and executed. The Yamashita standard — regarding a commander's responsibility for action taken by anyone under his command — is based upon his trial. This decision is still controversial today.

The February 12, 1945 massacre:

On February 12, 1945, a Japanese Army officer along with 20 soldiers forcibly made their way into the college, which was then a refuge for 70 people, including 30 women and young girls, 16 European De La Salle Christian Brothers (all the pre-war American De La Salle Christian Brothers had been interned in the Los Baños Concentration Camp) and the college's chaplain-Redemptorist Father Cosgrave CSSR (an Australian), and the adult men of two families. Two days earlier, De La Salle College Director-Brother Egbert Xavier FSC (an Irishman) were earlier abducted by another group of Japanese soldiers. Both were never seen again.

After the Japanese troops herded all the people into the school chapel, they were then subsequently shot, slashed or bayoneted. Those who did not die in the attack were left to bleed to death. The Japanese attempted to rape some of the dying women. The chapel was then set on fire but it was not destroyed because it was built of marble and concrete. Only 10 people survived including one De La Salle Brother.[3]

The 1939-built De La Salle Main Chapel is one of the few structures to survive the destruction of Southern Manila during the Manila massacres in February 1945.

[Bobcat Fraser]

The Japanese imperialists were the worst. They treated the captured American and allied troops like Auschwitz inmates. Have they ever made a movie that truly captures how evil they were? "Bridge On The River Kwai" doesn't cut it (although it's a great movie).

[Xenomorph]

The Romans and Greeks weren't Westerners,

Wut?

[Dengizik]

I'm glad our japanese friends cleaned some chinese.