STEPHEN FRY

Let me ask you guys something. Do you feel responsible for war crimes committed by Britain? I am thinking about things like the concentration camps in Africa. What about shooting soldiers accused of cowardice in the First World War when actually they had shell shock, now known as PTSD? How about slavery?

Do you hold the average German citizen living today responsible for the holocaust? Do you think that it was even common knowledge in Germany at the time it was happening? If asked would a German living in the 1940s have supported genocide?

What about Iraqis? Iraq committed war crimes and genocide. Maybe that makes it okay to kill them. How about 9/11, after all the US murdered innocent people so surely retaliation in kind is okay? Or don't you agree with Bin Laden on that one?

War crimes do not justify the indiscriminate killing of civilians. It was regrettable that we had to do it in WW2 but at the time it was justifiable in light of the threat to our sovereignty. Japan was not capable of beating the US and certainly not of invading it by the time the atomic bombs were used. The US wanted to test them and bring the war to an end before Russia became involved. They could have used them in unpopulated areas as a demonstration of what would happen if Japan did not surrender. They decided to use it in civilians instead, and the suffering was immense.

mojo-chan,

Thank you for illustrating my points perfectly!

I find it extremely regretable that you feel "we had to do it" (the indescriminate killing of civilians)..What on earth was justifiable about about the indescrimate slaughter of civilians across Asia, what threat to Japan's soveriegnty did the civilians in Nanjing represent, when your officers decided to have beheading competitions, or those who were tied up for live bayonette practice.

Japan's imperialist intent was evidenced by your occupying Korea and Manchuria, where you experimented with chemical weapons on civilians in the latter.

You have illustrated my point perfectly, by justifying the unjustifiable, and if educated, (I use that term in the loosest possible manner when talking historical exactitudes concerning Japan's role in WWII) in Japan you have further backed up my point, in so far as my contention that history concerning this barbarity and crimminalty in Japan has been so distorted as to suggest that government backed economy with truth has been elelevated to an art form.

With regard to the matters you raised as a means of justifying Japans behaviour, and in this case your views, concerning the concentration camps et al. I firmly believe that these were criminal acts etc... and a stain on our history as do most people, and we have acknowledged that, Japan and you obviously have not. Furthermore your point about shooting of soldiers in WWI for cowardice, was an ignorant act, based on the fact that PTSD was neither recognised and undersood medically at the time. However I should point out that this represent I believe 326 men. I shall repeat 326 men!! not the hundreds of thousands of civilians slaughtered with abandon by Japan, which would illustrate the spuriousness of your flimsy to say the least argument on this point. But I fear we digress and to attempt to get me to do that, represents a classic case of avoidence and divergence on your part to avoid facing up to the realities of the points my original post raises.

With regard to Germany they have acknowledged their role in the war etc and apologised. Japan has not! that is why people find it unacceptable that Japan now plays the victim.

Furthermore and in closing, the level of barbarity that Japan demonstrated as it created a holocaust across Asia from 1933 onwards was in no way jusitified as a threat to Japans soveriegnty.

It is this lack of acknowledgement, and lack of apology for Japans war time barbarity which is my point, and the behaviour of people like yourself and your sordid attempts at justification of this genocide incredulous and unpalletable. Your attempted justification of this utter barbarity is what I find, to qoute you "regrettable", however I would add the caveat , "regrettable in the extreme!"

Thank you once again, you have, as I said earlier clearly and unevocably proved my contentions and points. Not a circumstance you either intended or would have wished for I am sure.