Customer Reviews

The Remains of War: Apology and Forgiveness: Testimonies of the Japanese Imperial Army and their Filipino Victims

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The author of this book who is Japanese should be commended for his efforts in trying to get people to remember past atrocities committed by his countrymen. He goes to great lengths to try and talk to both the victims of these deeds and those who committed the crimes. Unfortunately it seems the majority of the individuals fit into two catagories: Impoverished Filipinos who although victims are reluctant to complain, being somehow hopeful that the Japanese Government will someday compensate them for there sufferings and Japanese Veterans who always seem to be doubting the facts of the events or were just doing as ordered and therefore feeling no responsibility for the results. I would give the book five stars for its subject matter but two stars for its writting style. This work of non-fiction which was originally written in Japanese is rather poorly transposed into English. I got the feeling that the author is in the minority in Japan when it comes to feeling any responsibility for past acts or even wanting to talk about the subject. I hate to say it but the lack of remorse on the part of most of the Japanese Veterans after almost 60 years made me feel much less guilty of how the US ended the war. A recommended read for anyone interested in the actions of the Japanese Army in the Philippines and how the Filipinos suffered under the occupation.