Japanese Atrocities
While Japanese atrocities before and during WW2 are relatively well known around the world (see The Rape of Nanking on the booklist) they are persistently ignored, denied or — more recently — downplayed by the Japanese government angering Koreans and Chinese governments and citizens. Read the attached/linked articles and write a 700-word minimum response essay. The following are writing prompts to help you get started but feel free to engage the article in other ways.,
What was Unit 731 and what purpose did it serve?; Describe the issue of “comfort women” and wartime labor generally and describe why it still remains controversial. The author of the article on Comfort Women summarizes the research into the issue (from documents released over the past few years) regarding Japanese accountability and responsibility. He outlines 5 broad findings. What are they?; Judith Miller outlines American response to the Unit 731 issue. Discuss that response and how it changed over the years? What about Japanese culture (as discussed in the text) during the war and even after makes the Japanese government (and there are many individual exceptions) seemingly incapable of discussing these issues; Given this history and the official responses to it. What affect could recent Japanese increases in military spending on its relations with its neighbors?
