A reply to The Value of History

Mr. Ken Moore, I write in response to your letter to the editor published in the Saipan Tribune on Aug. 27. After reading it, I was disappointed that an educated and self-made man of your stature and accomplishment could belittle the Peace Ceremony held in Hiroshima every year for the past 58 years as a pity party. The statement came as a surprise since it is a term largely unused, perhaps for the sake of diplomacy or just plain tactfulness, in describing a ceremony that is rooted firmly in a sincere effort for peace since it was first held in 1947. A confusion compounded further because of the fact that in just a previous paragraph you had stated that it was representative of a horror of unimaginable and unparalleled human suffering. But, as soon as the surprise and anger had dissipated I came to a realization that the writer had written the letter based on a few misconceptions. I find it deliciously ironic that in your letter expounding the need for the government and people of Japan to follow the German government’s lead in conferring to the younger generations an unbiased account of history, you yourself engaged in the use of half-truths, incomplete accounts, and falsified events. But, before I begin, let me correct some things completely erroneous in your letter: Aug. 9 is the day that the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, not Hiroshima, and since it was dropped at 8:15am, the Peace Ceremony that you had referred to as a pity party begins well before the 3:15pm you had reported.

The 2002 New History Textbook—The textbook published by the ultra-conservative group, the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform, which is led by the two intelligent but completely misguided professors—Nishio Kanji of the University of Electro-Communication and Nobukatsu Fujioka of the University of Tokyo—that you are referring to is called the New History Textbook. True, it was, sadly, approved by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology despite the existence of a criterion introduced in 1982 for certifying books stating that the textbooks must show understanding and international harmony in their treatment of modern and contemporary historical events involving neighboring Asian countries, But, I was again disappointed and thought it a bit misleading that you had failed to mention that it was one of seven or eight textbooks approved that year by the Ministry. Or, that every single local authority had rejected its use in state and municipal junior high schools the year previous to its release. A far different picture from the Japanese government force-feeding revisionist doctrine to students throughout Japan that you had painted in your letter.

The 2004 Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony—This year’s Peace Ceremony was held at 8am on Aug. 6 and featured addresses by three dignitaries: Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and Hiroshima Prefecture Gov. Yuzan Fujita, and the Mayor of Hiroshima, Tadatoshi Akibas

Peace Declaration—Although I have yet to read the speech given by Governor Fujita during the ceremony, I have read the other two speeches and I am quite bewildered as to how you can state that Japanese dignitary after dignitary spoke during the ceremony denouncing America’s act of aggression, as there was nothing to that effect in either speech. Furthermore, I have read Mayor Akiba’s Peace Declaration and nowhere in the speech does he state anything to the effect that the bomb killed 100,000 but saved the lives of 20 million Japanese. And, by all accounts, most news organization reported something similar to that of the national English newspaper, Japan Times, which stated that the Mayor received a warm welcome by the citizens of his own city: quite the contrary to the dead silence that you had described when he existed the stage.

Lastly, Mr. Moore, I am also part of the Turning Point Committee, along with Paul Zak, Don Farrell, and many of your other friends and I apologize if I had not made my reservations clear on some of the things suggested by the other members. I am in full support of the idea to place emphasis on an American-Chinese reunion of former comrades in arms. But, I did have a problem with the idea not to include the Nagasaki Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony within the events next year. Actually, I was downright appalled by some of the comments against the inclusion of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki perspective of the atomic missions, such as the Japanese want the U.S. to pay for the damage done to them and Nagasaki and this (the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony) was a huge “pity party.” The idea to emphasize a reunion of former comrade in arms was not shelved and any idea that promotes unity and friendship should not be silenced within our committee. What should be shelved, though, are the terms “pity party” and so-called allies that have found their way into the general meetings of the Turning Point Committee.

As a final note, I did find a few points within your letter that I agreed with. I believe that the praises laid upon the German people are well deserved. Young Anika exhibits an understanding of history that is remarkable for her age, and I truly hope as you do that there are more young people like her not only in Europe but the rest of the world, as well. But, Mr. Moore, you have painted the Japanese people with such a broad brush that I fear you will never fully appreciate the beautiful details such as the efforts of individuals like historian Saburo Ienaga, who has fought against historical inaccuracies within Japanese textbooks since 1965, or the millions of people who share his beliefs. I’m willing to bet that you might have even missed a few Anikas among the Japanese when you generalized a nation of 127,000,000, and used false or incomplete information to make your points.

James Miyahara Mendiola Jr.
Tinian