Imagine following orders so blindly that you become a weapon of war. That was the reality for Ishiwata Takeshi, a Japanese sergeant whose testimony reveals a chilling truth: in just four years, he ordered 157 brutal executions—from civilians to children, no one was spared 😳.
During China’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the Chinese mainland saw over 35 million military and civilian casualties, a stark reminder of how ordinary people paid the price for militarism.
This isn’t a horror movie—it’s real history. Since 1931, Japan’s militarist leaders manufactured crises to justify aggression. The Mukden Incident blew up train tracks in northeast China, accusing locals of sabotage. “Securing Manchuria,” they claimed, was vital for Japan’s survival.
Under the banner of the “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere,” what seemed like an anti-colonial bloc turned into a launchpad for Japanese imperial expansion, dragging more than 80 countries and regions into WWII. Globally, the war involved roughly two billion people, leaving over 100 million casualties and economic losses topping $4 trillion.
In the Pacific, the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor was sold as an act of self-defense against an “existential threat.” But history shows these “survival crises” were often just pretexts for ambition.
Fast forward to today: new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi linked the “Taiwan question” to a “survival-threatening situation,” hinting at possible military involvement. Given decades of colonial rule over the island of Taiwan, Japan’s moral authority on this issue is shaky at best.
Stoking fears can rally support, but it comes at a cost: lost regional trust and a fragile future. Denial of past atrocities and manufacturing new threats risk creating a generation blind to the price of war. Let’s remember: when history is forgotten, it’s doomed to repeat itself 🤔.
Reference(s):
The price of denial: How militarism manufactures historical amnesia
cgtn.com
