The USA helped Japan to hide war crimes in World War II

Japan tries to rehabilitate the role during World War I. I. that causes growth of intensity with neighbouring countries. The deputy director of the Institute of Asian and African Countries of Moscow State University Andrey Niyazovich Karneev answers the questions of the Internet portal «The world and we».
—Do the mass media, scientific works pay sufficient attention to a role of Japan in unleashing of World War I. I., large-scale aggression against the countries of Southeast Asia, first of all, China in your opinion?
There is quite numerous literature on this subject. For example, in our country in Soviet period a lot of scientific and popular scientific literature was published in which the role of Japan was rather detailed revealed. To some extent it was connected with that in the years of Cold war Japan was on other party of barricades and, of course, the Soviet historians and publicists had a task, having shown not really plausible role of Japan in the first half of the 20th century, thereby to strengthen our positions.
Certainly, it is necessary to speak about this subject because in Japan these events are still treated as Japanese see it correct. Even thus that in Japan there are different approaches, but in general they try to rehabilitate a role of the country in World War I. I. and even to show that Japan, allegedly, was not responsible for war in which tens of millions of people were killed, but nearly suffered itself, that is the absurdity, naturally. But many Japanese politicians and even teachers of elementary grades perceive this absurdity as the truth. It is the reason of the long conflicts between Japan and its neighbours who negatively influence the modern relations between the countries.
For example, in Germany it is impossible that some serious politicians acted with a justification of Hitlerism or all that fascist Germany did. But in Japan it occurs pretty often.
— Is it true that the forced rearmament of Japan and its transformation from the feudal state into the militaristic was conducted with direct participation of the USA, Great Britain and other western countries?
There is some simplification in such treatment. It is impossible to say that the USA slightly deliberately made of Japan such militaristic monster in the region. Of course, in due time, when Japan was the feudal country which, by the way, pursued the policy of self-isolation, the USA played a key role in imposing new rules of the game to Japan, opened Japan for the outside world.
It is about events of 1854 when the Treaty of Kanagawa between Japan and the USA was signed that really gave a huge impetus to the development of Japan. And all decades which followed it, the role of such countries as the USA, Great Britain and others was in stimulating modernization of this country. But at some stage Japan could learn those lessons which were taught to it and already since the end of the 19th century began to copy methods of colonial powers with the doubled eagerness. It became the country which sharply increased the armed forces, sought to seize new territories — to create the own colonial empire on a sample of British one and others. But in this sense such succession of events wasn’t initially planned in Washington or in London — so there were historical circumstances of the development of this country.
— Do you think that close attention and condemnation is necessary to war crimes which were carried out by Japan during aggression, including, for example, in Nanjing so much as to crimes of fascist Germany?
It can’t be told this subject is spoken a little in China, Korea and other countries of Southeast Asia. Recently China even began to celebrate the day of capitulation of Japan at the state level — on September 3, 1945. Of course, China knew there is such date before, but never celebrated on a substantial scale. And at the current head Xi Jinping it is started celebrating with such big solemnity and information maintenance for the first time. He visited the museum in Nanjing and the well-known Marco Polo Bridge with which 8 years' anti-Japanese war of resistance began. The huge significance was attached to these events in China before, but now it became the most important element of patriotism promotion and other measures which are intended to strengthen positions of China in disputes with Japan.
In particular, the dispute of these countries concerning Diaoyu Islands or Senkaku in Japanese is widely known. And the Chinese party uses the events of those years to strengthen the position. But Chinese do it completely reasonably because the Chinese people paid the huge price during Japanese aggression. Historians have no one point of view, but, at least, there are tens of millions people.
— Do the crimes of fascist Germany and Japan comparable by number of the victims and the shown cruelty?
Still the Soviet historians argued on character of that regime which was in Japan at the time of aggression since 1931. Then Japan, having crushed all international obligations, began aggression in China. And during World War I. I., continued it concerning other countries. And this dispute still then consisted in can the regime which was in Japan be compared with fascist. After all Hitler’s regime is unique in the sense that Nazis also conceptualized the defiance to the principles of humanity, created the corresponding ideology.
In this regard in Japan there was no so cynical and open declaration of the principles of the law of the jungle on a global scale. Japan generally said about uniqueness of Japanese race that it is pure and there is no any impurity in it. This concept originates in the feudal period and in the 20th century it was upgraded in political goals. But its many elements were similar to Nazi promotion and practice. For example, brutal experiences on people are known which the so-called «Group 731» made in Manchuria. The tested the biological, chemical weapon on people or simply threw them into boiled water.
But after all among specialists in Japan there is a discussion that it is impossible to put these two regimes on the same plane. But it is obvious the crimes of Japan weren’t so seriously condemned by the world community as crimes of fascist Germany.
It is known that after defeat of Japan the analogue of the Nuremberg tribunal took place — it was the Tokyo trial of Japanese war criminals and many of them were hung up. But subsequently the USA on behalf of allies occupying Japan for the reasons of the started Cold war with the USSR tried to soften and shade some aspects of Japan’s crimes during World War I. I. It was necessary to tie this country to the interests effectively. But a consequence was that Japan didn’t repent for those events completely.
If in Europe the fascist Germany was the main aggressor, so Japan was the main aggressor in Pacific Rim the actions of which led to the incalculable victims. Only in China it is 20−30 million victims according to different sources. And, besides, it was the residents of the countries of Southeast Asia who were captured during World War I. I. too and a quantity of the English people, Americans, Dutch people who were also killed. It is known that Japanese treated prisoners of war very badly. Many of them were lost.
— Is it possible to compare Nanjing and other places of mass destruction of people by Japanese army, for example, to the German Auschwitz on degree of the shown cruelty and brutality?
If Auschwitz is the systematic destruction of these or those people, the concentration camp which already turned destruction of people into some industrial process so Japanese didn’t do that. According to various estimates about 300 thousand people were lost in Nanjing — the vast majority were the civilians but there was no that Japanese systematically exterminated all Chinese as the nation, burned them in furnaces. In Nanjing there was an act of intimidation more likely which lasted for some days. Some western historians consider it was desire by means of such cruel, bloody slaughter in the capital of China of that time to break the resistance of the Chinese people and government.
—Are any differences in number of the victims of Japanese aggression in different sources, for example, Chinese and Japanese historians?
In this question the historians never will completely agree with each other because there are fighting and civilian losses. The part of the victims can’t be counted directly — these are the indirect victims connected with a humanitarian disaster in the region. These are all factors because of which it is very difficult to count. But the range of number of the victims fluctuates from 30 to 40 million people. Though we never get to know the exact figure.