hidingout's past comments

  • -3

    hidingout

    That, my little friend, is called condoning.

    No it is not. It is called recognizing the historical context. It was an attempt to explain how something so terrible could happen with government sanction. War (the stated purpose of which is to kill as many of the enemy as possible) allows for people do outrageous things and feel justified in doing so at the time.

    Furthermore he clearly said that the military was wrong to behave like unprincipled brutes and that an apology was absolutely in order. It beggars belief that you can still be here, three days after those comments were broadcast, airing your tired little version of what he said. Like I said above, your motivation has to be called into question at this point.

    Posted in: Defiant Hashimoto says U.S. troops abused women during occupation

  • -3

    hidingout

    @zichi

    so you agree that some of the comfort women were sex slaves, you just disagree about the numbers of them?

    Exactly. Everyone agrees that some of the women were forced and abused daily against their will. Mr Hashimoto agrees with that, and said so during his interview. The comments by the Japan haters and communist apologists on this site are just an attempt to make it seem like nobody agrees with what you posted. When in reality everyone recognizes it to be true.

    Now was it 200000 or 20000? And are we going to blame everyone involved (including the brokers and agents who sold many of these young women down the river for cash) for the crimes or just the convenient scapegoats? These are the only questions remaining.

    All posters pretending that Mr Hashimoto condoned or denied the fact that women were used a sex slaves by the Japanese military are being dishonest. At this point one has to question their motivation for repeatedly posting falsehoods.

    Posted in: Defiant Hashimoto says U.S. troops abused women during occupation

  • 0

    hidingout

    Well, you're either living in a gaijin bubble or you don't speak Japanese, it's inferred all the time, especially on the annual Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing days.

    I speak Japanese just fine and certainly don't live in a gaijin bubble. I question your sincerity on the topic if you can tell me that you have heard people say, as the original poster suggested .... ."Japan did nothing wrong ...... US just dropped 2 atomic bombs for no reason ...... all our neighbors are just angry over nothing ....

    These are ridiculous statements which as I said earlier can be dismissed as the hyperbole of someone not interested in a meaningful discussion.

    Posted in: Abe defends right to visit Yasukuni Shrine

  • 3

    hidingout

    ^ The western press are amateurs compared to the commies. Nobody does indoctrination and propaganda like the communist chinese. Its an art form. A truly pitiful commentary on the society.

    Posted in: China trying to strengthen its claim to Okinawa

  • -2

    hidingout

    HASHIMOTO IS TRYING JUSTIFYING SEXUAL ASSAULTS. AN THE FACT REMAINS, ANY SEXUAL ASSAULTS WHETHER COMMITTED BY US GI'S OR JAPANESE SOLDIERS IS NEVER ACCEPTABLE.

    No he is not. In fact he said rather plainly that it was deplorable that ANYONE got raped. And that Japan had every reason to apologize to the victims (as they have done time and time again). I can't see how so many people missed that section of his comments ... its almost like they are willfully ignoring it.

    What he is trying to say is the following;

    • Not all the women in the WW2 sex trade were forced. Some were.

    • Of those that were, many were forced by entities other than the Japanese military - including some of the very entities now complaining about Japan's conduct.

    • Finally, he attempts to point out that as the loser in the war Japan gets to accept the definitions of the court for things like "aggressor", "war criminal" and "comfort woman". As such, I think he pretty much admitted that a certain number of women (likely some number far less than the upper threshold figure of 200K when one allows for those driven to the work by economic hardship or recruited/bought outright by "agents" among their own countrymen) were forced into sexual servitude by the Japanese military.

    • Today he added that there sure are a lot of people living in glass houses with a penchant for rock throwing.

    Fair comments all.

    Posted in: Defiant Hashimoto says U.S. troops abused women during occupation

  • 2

    hidingout

    meanwhile in Japan we teach children Japan did nothing wrong, US just dropped 2 atomic bombs for no reason, we are the victim, all our neighbors are just angry over nothing,

    I've been in Japan a long time and I have never heard one person say anything remotely like that. This is precisely the kind of hyperbole that adds nothing to the discussion.

    Posted in: Abe defends right to visit Yasukuni Shrine

  • 0

    hidingout

    Let him go as a private individual, if his beliefs are so strong. Take off the suit, or at least don't ride there in the company car and sign in as PM.

    You'd find some other reason to quibble about the visit and you know it.

    Besides, doesn't the article specifically state that Abe has stayed away from Yasukuni? Oh looky, yes it does.

    Abe, who was also prime minister from 2006 to 2007, has stayed away from the shrine after China and South Korea angrily denounced predecessor Junichiro Koizumi’s annual pilgrimage. But a growing number of Abe’s ministers visit it.

    So if this article is to believed then its been at least six years since his last visit to the shrine. Still not good enough ?

    Posted in: Abe defends right to visit Yasukuni Shrine

  • -3

    hidingout

    Once again I'm at a loss .... Hashimoto is getting criticized here for suggesting that American servicemen may avail themselves of the services of one of the maaaaany brothels in Japan? Heaven forbid ...

    Whether they do or not is not really the point. The point is that the brothels exist, in abundance, and Masako Ishimine needs to stop living in denial of that fact. The brothels exist precisely because the (mostly) male customers wish "to use women as a tool (to let out sexual frustration)". That may indeed be "intolerable” as Ishimine says, but to deny that we may find such establishments, and such men, all over the world since the dawn of time, is to deny reality. Hashimoto is telling it like it is ... are we really all so naive here at JT that we can't see the hypocrisy of trying to track down and straighten out and apologize for eighty and ninety year old crimes while the same crime is getting carried out fresh just down the street as we speak?

    Posted in: Okinawan women demand apology from Hashimoto

  • -2

    hidingout

    I don't get the fuss over what Hashimoto said.

    1) He clearly admitted that the Japanese military had participated in the sexual exploitation of women. He stated that he deplored that behavior in principle, and said the Japan bears the responsibility to apologize for that behavior.

    2) He rightly pointed out that its would be incorrect to say that the all the women who ended up in a "comfort station" were forced and raped - or for that matter that they were all forced, coerced, recruited etc by the Japanese military.

    3) He raised the issue of historical context which is a valid point imo. It was a different era. The worst battles/attacks of WW2 saw more people die than have been lost in a decade of the "war" on terror. These days the liberal media will go crazy if a drone strike takes out one wrong house in Afghanistan while in WW2 swaths of cities were just obliterated. Erased ..... and the media cheered it as a great victory. The perspective that we have today is not an appropriate one with which to judge the violence of the era in which the "comfort women" existed.

    In addition, lets not forget that in the 1940s (even in the West) the lot of a woman was pretty much "servant of husband" ... imagine then how far along "women's rights" had progressed in the Asian countries in question here. I place women's rights in quotes because I doubt that the concept had even been considered. I suspect that many many Asian women in the 1940s who never went anywhere near a "comfort station" were still living lives that would today be judged as borderline slavery. Its not making an excuse to recognize that the exploitation of women (sexual or otherwise) was a lot more acceptable in that era.

    I found Hashimoto's comments to be frank and realistic. Way more balanced than the hysterical rants representatives of the governments of ROK and PRC are known to make on this issue.

    Posted in: Hashimoto offers to meet 'comfort women' to apologize

  • 1

    hidingout

    This is factually inaccurate. Japan's German Allies have never stopped apologizing for the war, and still bear the burdens of it today (ie; subsidizing much of the rest of the noncompetitive EU).

    Japan has never stopped apologizing for the last twenty years either. And they pretty much subsidized the growth of communist china. What's the difference? Let me give you a hint ..... the difference is the European victims of German aggression have the good sense to accept an apology and realize that the Germany of today bears no resemblance to the Germany that spawned Nazism. Meanwhile in Asia, the victims of Japanese aggression still nurse their wounded pride and teach their children that Japan hasn't changed at all in the last eighty years.

    Unlike the Japan Government which can not bring themselves to even mention war atrocities in their own history books on the subject, Germany has a number of museums dedicated to various atrocities and has even banned the public display of symbols and groups associated with the extreme right... a bit of a contrast there.

    I'm sick and tired of Germany being held up as some sort of paragon on this board. I have no idea why the mods let this sort of comment stand while dutifully deleting any rebuttals.

    First of all your contention that Japan "can not bring themselves to mention war atrocities in their own history books" is both absurd and false. They may not use the word atrocity, but I've looked at plenty of textbooks and for the most part (I obviously haven't seen all textbooks) they are accurate.

    Second, your contention that just because Germany erected a few museums they have rehabilitated their image is spurious. There are plenty of far right extremists in Germany. In fact just a few years ago the hard right (neo-Nazi) NPD party successfully escaped an attempt to ban it, and actually increased their support among Germans. Their support among voters was high enough to allow the NPD to qualify for government grants (at least $1.5 million per year) in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. So that is in fact the government of Germany sponsoring a hard right hate party because the party had enough public support to qualify. Please point to anything similar on the Japanese political landscape if you can.

    There's more ... German statistics show an average of 1000 hate crimes a year. In 2011 neo-Nazis were implicated in eleven murders. In 2011, the Verfassungsschutz reported a total of 25,000 right-wing extremists in Germany. In 2010 .... 15,905 crimes were classified as far-right motivated, compared to 18,750 in 2009; these crimes included 762 acts of violence in 2010 compared to 891 in 2009. While the overall numbers have declined, the Verfassungsschutz says that both the number of neo-Nazis and the potential for violent acts have nevertheless increased especially among the growing number of Autonome Nationalisten ("Independent Nationalists") who gradually replace the declining number of Nazi Skinheads.

    So really, Germany is nothing to emulate ... and lets not forget that their crimes were far worse than anything the Japanese did. I'll repeat, the reason Germany gets along with her neighbors and Japan doesn't is down to the kind of neighbors, not the valiant efforts of Germany or the lukewarm efforts of Japan.

    Posted in: Japan says it will honor apologies for World War II atrocities

  • 0

    hidingout

    Wow, dunno why I got all those thumbs-down.

    Maybe its your repeated use of the term "walkies"?

    Posted in: City's poop patrol making slow progress against negligent dog owners

  • 1

    hidingout

    Don't get me wrong. I am not the only person with a b/s detector that can sniff out the difference between a real apology and a half hearted apology.

    Yeah you are pretty much the only one tony. Well I guess there's smith, but his ability to read hearts and minds is legendary on this board. Compared to him you are just a grasshopper. I liked what the other poster said about you embarrassing china (like those communists even know the meaning of the word shame) with your nonsensical posts here at jt. Might get fired form the fifty cent army soon if you don't pull up your socks.

    Posted in: Japan says it will honor apologies for World War II atrocities

  • 5

    hidingout

    Communist china should be ostracized and shunned by the international community since it is clear that they have not the slightest clue of how to work and play well with others. All joint ventures and capital investments should be terminated immediately.

    Let the communists receive no assistance or cooperation from any democracies around the world. And if they think they stealing other peoples land is as easy as stealing technology and pirating products that don't belong to them, let them come and try.

    Posted in: Japan protests to China over Okinawa claim

  • 1

    hidingout

    I feel sorry for people who spend their lives in front of a slot/pachinko machine. What a waste of life.

    Posted in: Japan casino lobby prepare for legalization push

  • -1

    hidingout

    A shrewd move from Abe and one I was calling for on this board two months ago. Of course the usual Abe-sceptics scoffed and said Abe would never take any action.

    @Nippon Nation

    Mr. Putin is a clever guy. I think he's interested in developing the islands, and this may be why he's in negotiations with Mr. Abe. It's a way to redirect revenue so that Russia doesn't have to pay to make the place more profitable. If Mr. Putin makes concessions by allowing Japanese venture capitalist to come in and develop the place then this could become a huge draw for both countries. So it's not about the energy per se. Mr. Putin keeps his enemies close for a good reason.

    I agree completely. And with the communists in China actively pursuing closer economic/energy cooperation with Russia, Mr Abe should be highly motivated to compromise and see a deal with the Russians concluded once and for all . Not only is a deal important to establish an official peace treaty and to resolve the island issue in a mutually beneficial way like NN suggests above, but it would also be a massive blow to the communist's agenda and further evidence that the Japanese government is perfectly capable of negotiating in good faith with those of her neighbors capable of doing so.

    I believe both Putin and Abe are pragmatists and can see how important this issue is for the stability and economic development of the region. Putin has the advantage here for sure, it will be interesting to see what he does. Should he offer to split the territory and pursue regional economic development together, I really think that's a deal Abe has to take.

    One of the best moves Japan could make right now is to establish eminently friendly relations with Russia.

    Posted in: Abe arrives in Moscow for first top-level Russia visit in a decade

  • 1

    hidingout

    I absolutely agree with your observation. What China is doing is basically to LEAN on all the countries that disputes with her in the China Seas, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam etc

    To what purpose Tony? Is it really as Nathaw and Robert Tan suggest above - that PRC believes "it's time to settle the ancient wounds" resulting from an eternity of having "been bullied and humiliated"? If so, how can you or any communist claim in sincerity that PRC is interested in neighborly relations? I actually applaud these two posters because they are so forthright about their feelings regarding Japan. We can learn from the words they post here at JT just how bitter and vengeful the communists are. And as unpleasant as that reality is, it is much preferable to that in which posters pretend that the communists feel somehow threatened by a few war games an entire ocean away from their territory, or gravely insulted every time a J-politician makes a visit to a shrine. So I ask again Tony, to what purpose are the communists "leaning on" all their (much smaller) neighbors?

    negotiate sincerely

    negotiate respectfully with her and take her seriously

    negotiate seriously

    I know you take the party line very seriously (as evidenced by the way you keep beating that "respectful negotiation" drum), so maybe you can explain something for me. I've never quite understood what the communists mean when they prattle on in their state controlled newspapers about "respectful negotiation". The first thing that puzzles me is that "respectful" is a subjective term. and one can easily imagine that short of rolling over and taking the shaft, there is no degree of "respect" that would be seen as appropriate by the communist leadership. That is particularly true if, as posters above suggest, the communists are motivated by a desperate desire to avenge old scores. I think the communists say "respectful, sincere and serious" when they mean to say "grovelling capitulation".

    The second thing that I have trouble understanding is how the PRC imagines these "respectful and sincere" negotiations progressing and concluding. There is no middle ground to be found on issues of sovereignty, freedom of religion etc. The Japanese are not suddenly going to start getting communist approval for their cultural/religious observations. Nor are they likely to cede territories, or offer the communist party censorship power over Japanese educational materials. So I wonder if you could check with the higher ups and maybe run a scenario or two by me whereby the PRC would be satisfied with the outcome and cease, as Robert Tan put it, "babbling any nonsense".

    Posted in: China calls Japan-U.S. island drill off California provocative

  • 8

    hidingout

    Get lost America, let us have our war with Japan, don't get in our way. It's time to settle the ancient wounds. if Japan wins, we Chinese have no right to babbling any nonsense anymore. if we wins, we'll take over Japan and make a Rape of Tokyo. what's the big deal? Americans, please mind your own business.

    Sickening stuff right here folks.

    "let us have our war" - showing that the thirst for war is alive and well among the communists.

    "its time to settle ancient wounds" - showing that the communists true motivation for all their provocations and threats is in fact a burning desire to avenge the beating Japan laid on them a hundred years ago.

    "we'll take over Japan and make a rape of Tokyo" - showing that the mentality of the people Japan is trying to deal with is in no way 'neighborly' but is rather sociopathic and downright dangerous.

    The only thing restraining these nutjobs from acting out their fantasies is the existence of defense agreements between Japan and the United States. I hope Japanese people are starting to realize this. Furthermore I hope Americans are starting to see how wrong they were to outsource all their manufacturing to communist china and thereby help this grotesque behemoth rise up from the abject poverty it was wallowing in - a poverty that assured peace in the region.

    Posted in: China calls Japan-U.S. island drill off California provocative

  • -1

    hidingout

    A truly atheist, humanist society wouldn't allow such barbarity.

    You say that as if its the goal every society should aspire to. How arrogant.

    Posted in: 2 inmates hanged, bringing number of executions to 5 under Abe

  • 22

    hidingout

    You can bet Tokyo is footing the bill big time. You can also bet Tokyo want the drill nearer, perhaps off Japan smaller islands but Washington disagree to Japan's aggressive stance. As usual, all these are instigated by Japan.

    Three totally unfounded assertions. Care to post some sources there Tony, and no, your imagination doesn't count as a source.

    Asians should all be fearful!

    Yes we should all be fearful of the communist chinese who see the boogeyman behind every action and are constantly "warning" their neighbors who are simply conducting their own affairs of state.

    I think its about time for the commies to start minding their own business.

    Posted in: China calls Japan-U.S. island drill off California provocative

  • 1

    hidingout

    How would the Japanese people feel if S Korea built a memorial to President Truman and the pilots who dropped the Atomic bombs? And every year the korean politicians would pray for their souls. I would image the Japanese people will demand S Korea to stop and rightly so.

    Your analogy is flawed in so many ways but anyway ...... I don't imagine the Japanese people would like it very much but I do believe the vast majority of the citizens would just think it was Koreans being Koreans. I seriously doubt that they would bleat on about it year after year for the next hundred years. Its called having some pride.

    Posted in: S Korea summons Japan envoy over Yasukuni visits, Abe remarks

View all