and always remained very suspicious of them because of what happened. They felt that the US had befriended and trusted the Japanese and were stabbed in the back. Pearl Harbor, Tokyo Rose, Kamikazes, Iwo Jima, Unit 731, Bataan Death March. For a culture that vaunted honor, their relations with the US and other nations at the time was anything but honorable. Their treatment of prisoners was even worse than the Nazis IMO.

While I don’t think we should hold any of this against modern Japanese people, I think it’s important to never forget how dangerous of a society it had become. We were the ones in the position to forgive, and have done so generously. Any misfortune that befell the Japanese post-war was the result of their leaders, not the United States. The US went on to not only forgive Japan but re-build it into an economic power within a half-century.

I’m grateful that so much has changed since.