• Japan must apologise before we can forgive

Those who forget the lessons of the past are oftentimes destined to repeat them - thus the criminals of Japan and Germany should never receive any apologies.
However, it is to the veterans of World War II that monarchs, emperors, and presidents must apologise. How faded are the memories of a nation's fallen warriors when visions of economic gain cloud the memory.
A Mallory, USA

Personally I definitely would, but why? The Japanese I have met I have quite liked and as with the Germans I hold no personal ill will for WWII. However I have no particular respect for either the US or Japanese governments in this matter. Allied prisoners were treated very poorly by the Japanese and then again by our own government. I would have no trouble with the UK apologising for some of our past behaviour and I expect no less of any other country.
Chris Hann, USA

I heard and read about unspeakable acts done by some Japanese soldiers during WWII here in Malaysia (such as killing babies etc.). Will I ever forgive those soldiers who actually did that? Never. Am I the only one from Japan to feel this way? Of course not. I have also read about Japanese Imperial Army officers who were good to the locals and were respected by them. So, those who committed these crimes had no excuse. The same applies to the treatment of POWs. If someone chose to willfully harm me for no reason, I would not forgive him just because his government or a member of their royal family apologised. Why should anyone?
Haruhiko Ono, Japan

I understand that the survivors are angry about what has happened and about the way they have been treated. However, no leader should, unless they display the same characteristics, be blamed or expected to apologise for something that their predecessor did during wartime.
Fernando de Sousa, England

Most certainly I would. But I was most angry to hear that the Queen gave a similar honour to his father, an undoubted war criminal. Her actions and that of her son have changed me from a royalist to a republican. They show no responsibility to their people or for the office that they hold.
R Woollacott, England

What a joke. A country which pillaged, raped, looted, tortured and killed so many innocent and freedom-loving people all over the world is asking for compensation from Japan. I condemn Japanese atrocities. But compared to what England did to people all over the world, the comparison pales. The British are the people who shot at unarmed people; who tortured freedom fighters. The list goes on. Shame on you.
Arthur Bailey, USA

As an Irish person I can't understand why these soldiers/civilians believe they have any right to an apology. For centuries, the Irish nation was oppressed by Britain with unspeakable atrocities committed against the population. Where is Ireland's apology? Another question one might ask is: What were these soldiers and civilians doing in Asia? They were protecting the British Empire and its interests while at the same time oppressing its people. Has Britain ever apologised for its crimes against its former colonies? I don't think so. I think that these soldiers would be better off asking their own Government for an apology.
Denis A Dowling, Ireland

The Japanese Constitution forbids the emperor to make any political statements. Therefore, the only thing he could have done was make the statement he made. Instead of the emperor, the Japanese government should apologise to the veterans in the UK.
Mayumi Tsubakino, Japan

If the emperor is to apologise, the Queen too needs to apologise. The wrongful executions of British World War I soldiers and the Amritsar massacre comes to mind.
Akhbar Hussein, UK

Thousands of British and allied personnel suffered the sadistic and horrific treatment of the Japanese. Now the Japanese government seems to be waiting until there are few survivors before they will make a symbolic gesture of compensation.
The government has misjudged this issue: many of the veterans and the children of those whose parents suffered enormously before dying are insulted by the decision to decorate the Emperor of Japan. What has he done to deserve it? Many vets deserved much, much more from their own as well as the Japanese government!
Japan is a trading partner, no more than that! Tony Blair should have considered the living and dead POWs before approving such a visit!
Kevin Thompson, Peru

They (the demonstrators) surely have a right to turn their backs to the emperor. However, it looks unfair to ask for pubic apologies from the Japanese government unless your government offers its apologies to numerous countries and peoples almost all over the world for more brutal treatment carried out by your government and your people before WWII. To my eyes, neither of you, the UK and Japan, are innocent.
Sangmyeong Kim, Korean in UK

All the people from the former colonies of Britain must turn their backs on the Queen for all the pillage, looting, destruction, killings and shootings, committed by the British in the past. No one else deserves this more than the Queen herself and the hypocrites who support these turn-back-vets.
L Suresh Kumar-LSK, USA/India

It is fine if the veterans want to turn their backs on the emperor, but please stop asking for financial compensations. It seems to me that it is the blood money that has actually motivated their campaigns. I personally don't think justice and reconciliation can be achieved on money's term.
I am not playing down the brutality of the imperial army of Japan. Many in Malaysia and Singapore, especially those of my parents' generation, know how many were killed within the 44 months of Japanese occupation. But the British shamelessly surrendered when the Japanese invaded Burma, Malaya, Borneo and Singapore, leaving the Chinese and the Indians to organise themselves into various guerilla forces to fight against the invaders. Should I therefore call for my people to turn their backs on the Queen when she visits Malaysia for the Commonwealth Games? After all, it was her father who as the sovereign of these countries abandoned many British subjects to their deaths.
Oops! Have I mentioned that Tony Blair hasn't apologised to the Irish for the brutality of the British in Ireland? Has the Queen something to say on this?
Josh Hong, Malaysia

I think that the British act of turning their backs on the emperor had a positive effect instead because the Japanese have a tradition of not facing their emperor because they regard their emperor as divine. So the British act is giving him "more" respect instead.
Condy Thug, Singapore

The British Queen and the Prince Consort did not apologise to the Indian public for the atrocities committed by the British colonial authorities, in general, and for the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre, in particular. Why should the Japanese Emperor make any apology to the British public? Are British lives any more precious than Indian lives?
Praveen Pillai, USA

Of course not.
Takaaki Uetani, Japan

I must agree with the many who have stated that before Japan apologises to Britain, America should apologise to Vietnam, France, Belgium and Germany to most of Africa, and Britain should apologise to ¾ of the globe. Every member of the G8 (with the exception of Canada) got as rich and powerful as they are today through acts of war and aggression.
Justin Gardiner, Japan

I've been to Pearl Harbor, Corregidor, the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, the Sentosa exhibit in Singapore of Japanese cruelty, seen Baatan and seen the cemetery in Manila stretching for miles. I remember the newsreels of my childhood movie-going: the Battle of Britain (bravo RAF!), the Blitz, the concentration camps, the battles of the South Pacific and Hiroshima. While I strongly respect the feelings of England's PoWs, maybe we can remember that England had its colonialism, the US had its slavery and Japan had its unspeakable atrocities and conduct during WWII.
I'm four months older than Emperor Akihito, and he had no more to do with the war than I did. He is constitutionally prohibited from speaking for his nation. Please, show him some respect for what he has so valiantly tried to do: apologise. To show disrespect to HRH Queen Elizabeth II and to her and her nation's guest, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko (remember: she was a commoner!?) diminishes us, as people, and the society in which we live.
Rosemary Morissey, USA

The Japanese Government/people have never displayed or shown any remorse for the atrocities they committed during the Second World War. Because of this, a lot of people have very little sympathy for the Japanese people who suffered from the world's only atomic bombing campaign. It's a sad world we live in.
Graham Garrigan, Canada

I ticked "No". However, it doesn't mean that I am oblivious to the atrocities committed by the Japanese in the name of the Emperor. I agree with Colin Pigden. I don't want to insult your Queen either. Born and raised in Japan, I'm fed up with the naive popular notion of Japan as the sole innocent victim of a nuclear holocaust. This is a good opportunity for the Japanese to look back at the suffering of their former captives. Only then will the Japanese be able to strive for peace and reconciliation with their former enemies. The victimisation theory with such familiar names as Hiroshima and Nagasaki will do more harm than good.
Toshiaki Harada, Japan

I think it's high time that these British former POWs think long and hard about what they were doing in the Far East in the first place. They were there to further Britain's nefarious empire, and they were proud. They deserve no apology at all.
Yoel Sano, England

It seems that Japan has been portrayed as the villain for a long time now. Perhaps it is time for us to lay aside the sad memories of WWII. I think that Japan has been trying to do its best to repair its image and has been consistently trying make up for its past mistakes.
It is but the height of hypocrisy for the British people to point an accusing finger at Japan for its past misdeeds when in fact, Britain, in its long history of conquest and colonial misrule, is equally guilty of committing the same if not greater wrong.
Cyril Lubaton, Philippines

The Japanese Army may have committed all of these horrible crimes, but so does every army. Let me ask all these people protesting and seeking compensation from the Japanese Govt: How many times have you protested in the same way for the crimes committed by the British forces in India during their rule? Do you ever talk about compensating Indians for that? When your Queen visited India (1997) no one turned their backs on her during her visit to Amritsar where Dyer committed one of the most deplorable crimes in the history of mankind. I do not understand these double standards.
Varun Walia, USA

No-one can weigh another's suffering and judge his response. That is as true for the citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as of Allied POWs. Is there no sense of shared suffering? I will not forget, ever, the cherry tree planted by the emperor's father on his even tenser visit to Britain. The veterans who hacked it to pieces destroyed a thing of beauty. That is all.
Harriet, Canada

Absolutely no one has the right to judge those veterans and what they went through. Until you have sat for years in a prison camp, until you can see every single bone in your body from starvation, and until you have maggots crawling in your open flesh wounds from being beaten, you cannot judge. Remember that those veterans fought for the freedom that all of us enjoy today. Had the Japanese won, there would be no public forum on the BBC. Remember that, and wake up thanking those veterans every single day of your life.
Dave Loveland, United States

It's a very childlike reaction to something as important as this - it's as if they can't show their anger in any other way. Do they choose to forget the injustices to others that the soldiers of the British Empire inflicted in the name of justice, capitalism, oil, wealth, etc. The Far East, Africa, India and the Caribbean are all examples of how the west has destroyed nations and their communities through war, imperialism, and ransack.
If they forgive they'll have to learn to be accountable for this nation's crimes. I think it just continues to demonstrate the usual naive arrogance of the English.
Simon Bartrum, UK

I find it hypocritical that Britain, who, along with other European nations, made itself rich and the most powerful nation on earth by enslaving millions of Africans who it never apologised to or compensated, should now get all hot under the collar when the shoe is on the other foot.
Robert Swaby, UK

WW2 is as far in our past as any war in British history. It could be argued that it's only the technology used for modern TV, movies and radio which has allowed the events of WW2 to be refreshed for each generation, instead of having it fade into the past as the verbal tradition fades.
I understand the suffering of individuals, but I also think that the way forward is led by those who actually look to the future. In that respect, Japan presents an interesting study in the way its ministries are formulated and the way its population has been educated. Despite that, I feel the average Japanese national has at least the same depth of understanding as that of any other national, including the British.
Paul Hardy, Japan

Before the Japanese have to apologise, I guess the British government should start with their list of apologies to the countries they brutally annexed and pillaged and colonised. We are not talking about some POWs here, it is about entire nations. Do you remember that in India the Queen just 'regretted' a murder of innocent men women and CHILDREN (not POWs ?? With what face do these people ask for an apology from the Japanese ?
Ravi Sridhara, USA

I could sympathise with the English war veterans regarding their seeming disrespect and anger towards the Emperor. The Philippines were one of the worst affected during the Japanese rule of this democratic state during WWII. Though I was not born during that time, my ancestors suffered at the hands of Japanese soldiers who either raped or knifed my family ancestors. But then, times have changed and life must move on. The more fundamental issue today is not about what happened in the past but what is currently happening that would also greatly affect the future generations (i.e global warming, capital flight, currency crisis, etc.). The past is the past, there is no way we can alter that. We can only learn from it. But we can make things happen in the future.
John Angeles, Philippines

Not as much has been made of the war crimes trials conducted which resulted in many, many Japanese concentration camp officers and enlisted soldiers being convicted and hung by the neck until dead. But the post-war military war crimes tribunal for Japan was every bit as severe and thorough as was the Nuremberg tribunal, which accomplished the same mission but involving Nazi war criminals. It would hardly be consistent policy for Japan to pay compensation to Western POWs if the Germans were not required to do so, though of course Germany yet and rightfully pays special compensation to Israel and to Jewish victims of the Holocaust (because the Jews were noncombatant civilians persecuted for the duration of the war plus an additional six years previous to that, and both countries are still paying down reparation debts for WW II to the former Allies (though, interestingly, Russia has not got a dime from either. This more than any single factor was the cause of the so-called Cold War, as if Malaysia and Vietnam were not shooting matches every bit as fierce as Burma or Singapore). If Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not sufficient "payback" in addition to the above to satisfy the most vengeful of Western combatants, no amount of compensation, monetary or otherwise, is ever going to suffice to create a spirit of forgiveness and of the war being over. In light of the horrors inflicted on Asia by such marvels of colonial policy genius as the Opium War, the Boxer Rebellion's aftermath, and the years of economic isolation Red China suffered, we in the West are very lucky that the dice of cosmic justice rolled to a stop in our favour. Shortly put, if I won the war, and I am still alive, I am not a victim. I am a victor.
Walt O'Brien, USA

I have visited the Bridge over the River Kwai at Kanchanaburi, Thailand. The "JEATH" museum that commemorates the prisoners who built the Thai-Burmese railway by the sweat of their brows showcased terrifying examples of inhuman cruelty by the Japanese. The conduct of those Japanese guards and military commanders bore no resemblance to that of a civilised society. Such barbaric acts in the 20th century are true anachronisms.
K.R. Manchester, Hong Kong

I would not turn my back....and yet I understand how the veterans feel. I have heard my grandfathers speak enough about the war to know what heartaches it brought on....what deep emotional pain lives on, even after all this time. Time is slow to heal, just as pride is very hard to swallow. The veterans will continue to ache, just as the Japanese will find it hard to apologize now for something they did a long time ago. The longer the pain exists, the deeper the bitterness becomes. The greater the procrastination, the harder the apology when it comes.
Wru, USA

It's high time to forget these old issues as they are meaningless and they insult the Government of England more. If we insist on apology, then the US should apologise for the black slavery they started, to the local Indians who were 'cleansed', the Japanese to the Koreans for sex-slavery and to the Chinese for using them as guinea pigs in germ warfare (1930s), Indians to the lower caste people, the British to India for the massacre in Punjab in the 1920s in a public meeting, and Hutus and Serbs and.....on and on. Let's stop these acts of owning and disowning apologies and try to build this world a better place to live in where we don't have the starvations, ethnic cleansing and human rights violations.
Subod, USA

Just imagine if the murderous, torturous Japanese had won! Shame on Blair. He'll further demoralize Britain, like his idol, Clinton, has done to America.
Toxie Myers, USA

In my humble opinion as a third party, I would suggest that the British Government take an official position and attitude on the matter; one that would take the veterans out of the awkward position of demonstrating against the guest of their symbol for which they have sacrificed themselves: her Majesty. You do not invite a neighbour, only to expose him/her to your family's internal miscommunication. The British government should explain to the veterans how similar the Emperor's position is with the one of her Majesty's when she visited India. No old wound will heal with apologies but new ones may open. We must go on with what we have today and make sure that WWII's tragedies will not be repeated again.Ever. Christos N. Kyrou, U.S.A.

I am a WWII veteran, of the US Woman's Army Corps. My husband served in the European TO, under General Patton. I was living in the state of California, on the Pacific Coast of the USA, at the time the Japs attacked Pearl Harbor. Anyone who was not alive at the time of "The War" cannot express with any sense of reality the feelings of WWII vets. Bully for the British veterans who turned their backs on the "Head Jap"!!!!
Phyllis Munsey, USA

The British should first apologise to their former colonies (esp. non-white). There is nothing more barbaric in recent history than the pillage and destruction of India and other unfortunate countries by the British. Do you remember that the Queen just 'regretted' the massacre of men women & CHILDREN in India ?? Why double standards ?? Ravi, USA

I lost an Uncle in the Fukuoko camp in Japan. He died from starvation and Beri Beri. Many of the Men of his unit who did survive had health problems and died quite young. It is an insult to these men for the Queen to honor the Emperor!
Harry H. Cross, U.S.A.

My uncle was on the Burma railway. He came back a broken man. I have lived in Australia for 30 years coming from Birmingham in the UK. I have always kept my citizenship as British as I was proud to be British but now, if the Queen and Blair think so little of the men and women who suffered and died for Britain I think it is time I became Australian and turned my back not only on the emperor but the Queen and Blair as well.
Jan Ward, Australia

In as much as I sympathise with the veterans, time has moved on and all the apologies given must suffice. The POWs feel that they are the only ones who have had inhumanity unleashed on them, Africans suffered over 300 years of brutality in the slave trade, entire Inca and Aztec tribes were wiped out in the name of kings and queens, should these ethnic people now hold the Elizabeth II personally responsible for these acts?
Mike Sutton, UK

Call me cynical but is not strange that all of these people are protesting now (when they are retired and probably living off a state pension), for compensation, rather than 50 years ago. Also Japan has probably paid more than its fair share in the BILLIONS of £ invested in the British economy.
M Ridcully, UK

Having just read the Daily Yomiruri article, I cannot help but feel angry at the double standards that exist. The History of the British Empire is full of shameful acts, no worse or better than the Japanese Empire. Forty years, or 400 years past, it is now history. The Japanese Emperor was but a boy at the time of WW2, and asking him or indeed his generation for an apology makes about as much sense as asking the French President for an apology for Napoleon's actions. It's not that I don't feel for the pain that the POWs - I feel for any man or woman who has been subjected to the state of war, and the inhumanity that war brings. We should move on from the events of 40 years ago, and work towards peace in our time.
Paul Rushworth, London, UK

Time to forget.
Alalken, Scotland

Although time has passed, somethings should never be forgotten especially the miss-treatment of these heroic men in Japanese hands. That said, and on that basis, I would probably turn my back on her Majesty as well over passed deeds of our British government.
Gary Leeson, Ireland

No, but I would be "coldly polite" were I to be in his proximity. Also, I find the matter of him having been given the Order of The Garter extremely offensive. It degrades the Order and insults other recipients. I suspect that it is a political move to degrade all orders of chivalry before doing away with them completely. A great pity and a great loss. The fact that the Emperor of Japan has been recognised as the medium by which the chivalric orders can be degraded also demonstrates the Machiavellian nature of those who ask us to give him a "warm welcome".
Barrie Martindale, Canada

I was raised in England during the war and many men from Lancashire died undergoing atrocious treatment by the Japanese. The Japanese have never really accepted responsibility for their actions and now I hear they are trying to whitewash Mr Tojo in a movie. I personally find it difficult to deal with these people as if nothing had happened. At least the veterans are reminding us what it takes to defend freedom.
Tony Whalley, USA

I can only guess at what those POWs had to endure. We hear so much about the atrocities committed by the Nazis during WWII, but rarely anything is said about the Rape of Nanking, where easily a million civilians were brutally executed. War is hell and those POWs walked in one door and came out the other side. Now they are expected to swallow their dignity and "be nice" once again. Maybe my generation can forgive someday, but we should never forget. These vets are a living reminder for us all. Hats off to them.
Faye, USA

I spent 18 years in Nanjing China, the city where Japanese brutally killed 300,000 people within two weeks. I think they will never be forgiven!
Yuanxing Zheng, China

I am a Japanese who grew up in Britain. During my time in Britain, I met a few old people who would either turn away or turn hostile at the mention of my nationality. I then had the chance to watch BBC's TV series "Tenko", which enlightened me to the cause of such attitudes. As for the issue of turning their backs to our Emperor, ever since the row over the 'Enola Gay' exihibition in the Smithonian Institute, ordinary Japanese have negative images of Allied War Veterans, and yesterday's action only served to reinforce this image. A better strategy would have been for the BBC to arrange for "Tenko" to be broadcast in Japan. This may still be the best way to let the Japanese public see what made the veterans turn their backs.
Hiroki Negishi, Japan

I can fully understand the reasons why the war veterans have done this, but I believe that it is time to move on. Having lived in Japan for 2 years I have discovered how wonderful and kind the Japanese are. They often talk about the dreadful things that happened during this period and they are truly sorry. I have visited Nagasaki and Hiroshima where the atomic bombs were dropped and I have never been snubbed or treated badly because I am from England. The Japanese have learnt from the Second World War; they are not bitter about it; instead they use it as a way of achieving things for the future, like world peace.
Catherine Prince, Japan

No the time has not come yet in my opinion to forgive the brutality inflicted upon unarmed defenceless POWs by the empire of Japan.
Peter Kennedy, Canada

I was a child in England during and after the war - the japs treated our captured soldiers worse than the huns treated the Russian POWs or the Jews - torture and slave labour to the point of starvation and death.I SHALL NEVER FORGET.
Brian Lucas, USA

I don't think Japan has anything to apologize to the world. Japan has committed no more crime than the USA and UK for years in the name of war. The brutality and support of brutality by UK and USA far exceeds that of Japan. Jews are doing the same brutality in Palestine and to the prisoners. UK and USA silently supports this. Sanctions killing thousands in Iraq, UK and USA supports this. Why should Japan be the only one to be sorry. All involved in a war crime should come forward and apologize.
Kamal, USA

If I remember my history lesson correctly, the WWII that caused European soldiers, including many of the British, to become Japanese POW was precluded by Europeans' unlawful occupation of many South East Asian nations as colonies. Although I do not condone what the Japanese did to their POW, I think it is important to look further back in history and see the reason why the British were in the South East Asia in the first place and remember that their treatment towards the colonized people during that era could not be condoned by any standard either (What about their rights to apology from the Queen or other European leaders?) War itself is inhumane (whether you treat your POW viciously or not), therefore we should cherish the peace that we have and forgiving is always a step in a right direction towards achieving that peace.
H. Wibisono, South East Asia

The Japan of today has felt the scarring of the Second World War. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are momentos of continuing suffering. Everybody should forgive and remember never to do it again.
Llinos Alun, Wales

Japan was not only the country who took British POWs there were Japanese POWs held by the British as well so the best thing would be to apologise to each other and America to the Japanese for their dropping of the atomic bombs on Japanese cities. It is really strange that people including the Japanese, expect Japan to apologise for all the atrocities of WW II when the truth is that Japan was the biggest sufferer of this War through the continued attacks of the western media - maybe this is what is called propaganda.
Faisal Malik, Pakistan

Call me cynical, but I keep hearing alongside the word apology, the phrase "adequate compensation". What is this issue really about? A lot of people have suffered in all sorts of wars all over the world. Should the Germans have paid compensation to all the families of allied soldiers that died. Then of course the allies killed many more Germans. Should we then also pay compensation to their families? I know these POWs suffered terribly and there is nothing that can change that. How does money compensate for this? It's a long time ago and the level of investment in the UK by the Japanese has contributed enormously to the economic revival of some "dead" areas in Britain. No one would ever condone what happened but it's over half a century ago, let go of it, like many before you have had to do.
Kieran McCarry, Singapore

Maybe next time Clinton visits Japan, the Japanese premier should turn his back on the American President for not only dropping bombs but also creating them in the first place. Everyone can see who murdered more between America Japan and Germany. The UK POWs were not defending UK but their enslaved territories, so if Japan apologises then Pakistan, India and other former slaves of the once great empire should thank Japan.
Ahsen, Pakistan

The veterans should claim to their Government for War instead of to Japan. If their government thinks the compensation made by Japan after World War II was not enough, the discussion should be between their country and ours.
Katsuya Fujimoto, Japan