Japan, China and the ghosts of the past on both sides

There are big problems in China as demonstrators in several cities engage in protests against Japan, calling for boycotts of Japanese products and even making threats of violence -- one protestor brandished a gun at some Japanese journalists, although it turned out to be a replica. In Beijing, thousands of protestors have been destroying Japanese businesses, wrecking Japanese cars and throwing rocks at the embassy. A big part of the issue are Japanese history textbooks which China and South Korea say gloss over the crimes of the Japanese military during World War II. I watched an interesting news report on the textbook issues which compared the eight history texts approved for use by the Ministry of Education, and explained the problem areas of each -- in general, only 2-3 pages were devoted to the issue of war crimes in each book. Chinese textbooks go to the other extreme, with half the content of one book shown devoted to the Sino-Japanese war, illustrated with many inflammatory pictures of corpses and emotional statements that have no place in the study of history. The Japanese textbook that caused the most anger is used in only 18 schools here and has been denounced by many Japanese educators, but this hasn't swayed the demonstrators. One theory about the current crisis put forth on Japanese TV is that after the Tiananmen Square uprisings, China increased "loyalty education" for children in schools, much of which focused on Japan as a national enemy. The generation that was in school in 1989 are now in their 20s, and they're the ones who are out demonstrating now.

The issue is a very difficult one to resolve. Although Japan has officially apologized to China seventeen times since 1974, it has mostly failed to show real reflection about the terrible things it did in the 1930s. Japanese are sometimes willing to say "that was a long time ago" about China and Korea, but never about Hiroshima. On the other hand, I've had American friends who dismissed American atrocities in Vietnam with the same argument, so maybe all of us are capable of a similar reaction under the right circumstances. Another problem that comes up often is the role of Yasukuni, a shrine for the remembrance of Japanese soldiers killed during the war, which wouldn't be a problem except that the Japanese military leaders most responsible for the war are also interred in graves on the shrine's grounds. In Washington D.C. there are many places where Americans can go and reflect on their own country's past, like Arlington National Cemetery or the Iwo Jima monument, but Japan has only Yasukuni to fill all of these roles. Maybe one solution would be the creation of a "secular" monument to honor Japan's soldiers without bruising the feelings of neighboring countries?

Here are today's "really cool products" that I thought were especially noteworthy. Note: the J-List links below may be for adult products and should probably be considered "not safe for work." To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Doushin - Same Heart. We've translated a lot of PC dating-sim games but this is the first game in which the main character is a girl, or rather, three girls, which you as the player "zap" into during the game, to play that part of the game from each girl's point of view. It's quite a new concept and I think the game will be a lot of fun to play.
	Miri glamour -- Miri Hanai. More and more I find I come to worship the Sabra photographic style, which is always so stylish, so minute. This is a great photomagazine for fans of Miri Hanai, one of Japan's most popular bikini idols.
	Hello Kitty Gogatsu Ningyo. This is a "May Doll" which is displayed in the month of May as part of Children's Day, although this is a special Hello Kitty version. A nice mix of traditional with contemporary.
	Domo-Kun Character Watch. This is something I did not know about -- a Domo-kun watch made by NHK's licensing arm. It's the ultimate Domo-kun collectable.
	Godzilla Complete Works *2nd* . In Japan, "candy toys" (shokugan) are very popular, and here's one of the coolest things we've seen in a while: a set of grat moments from the Godzilla movies of the past. A great item for collectors (like my wife).
	Omusubi Plush -- Yukari Chan. What's the cutest thing in Japan right now? A difficult question but my vote is for the Omusubiyasan (Rice Ball Shop) character toys from San-X. Featuring little triangles of rice with cute smiles, each type of omusubi (which is also called onigiri, sorry to have two words for you to learn) has a different flavor and name. This is the Sekihan (red rice) version.
	Natural Wood Red Raquared "Meyasu-Bako" Coin Bank This is pretty cool -- a piggy bank that looks like an offering box in a Buddhist temple. Those Japanese sure think of everything, don't they!
	An adventure story of STEAMBOY. Steamboy is the long-awaited new film by Katsuhiro Otomo, creator of Akira. One of the most well-known Japanese directors, he really poured his spirit into this film, which is a 19th century steampunky story with links to many anime series (I smell a lot of Gainax for example). The film really is a breathtaking achievement, more to my taste than Ghost in the Shell Innocence was.