The Japanese Soldier Who Fought WWII for 30 Years
todayifoundout.com
The Japanese Soldier Who Fought WWII for 30 Years
1–10 of 80 posts
Re: The Japanese Soldier Who Fought WWII for 30 Years
#2I love this story. I remember reading a very abridged version of it in one of my Super Fact Books when I was 8 or 9 (it omitted the fact that he murdered dozens of people, for instance). Still, he's an amazing (if very, very dumb) character.
Re: The Japanese Soldier Who Fought WWII for 30 Years
#3I love this story. I remember reading a very abridged version of it in one of my Super Fact Books when I was 8 or 9 (it omitted the fact that he murdered dozens of people, for instance). Still, he's an amazing (if very, very dumb) character.
Winners never quit and quitters never win but if you never win and never quit...
Re: The Japanese Soldier Who Fought WWII for 30 Years
#4The power of indoctrination is strong.
Re: The Japanese Soldier Who Fought WWII for 30 Years
#5Now there was a man who needed to learn how to lose.
Re: The Japanese Soldier Who Fought WWII for 30 Years
#6I love this story. I remember reading a very abridged version of it in one of my Super Fact Books when I was 8 or 9 (it omitted the fact that he murdered dozens of people, for instance). Still, he's an amazing (if very, very dumb) character.
With soldiers this dedicated to the cause though you have to think had there been no atomic bombs the world may have been a very different place.
Re: The Japanese Soldier Who Fought WWII for 30 Years
#7Now there was a man who needed to learn how to lose.
Sly reference to your fanfic, I see. For those who missed it when it was on HN, I'm referring to http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_M...
Re: The Japanese Soldier Who Fought WWII for 30 Years
#8Turns out Step 3 is 'Live on coconute for thirty years and then get back pay'. Step 4 remains Profit.
Re: The Japanese Soldier Who Fought WWII for 30 Years
#9I love this story. I remember reading a very abridged version of it in one of my Super Fact Books when I was 8 or 9 (it omitted the fact that he murdered dozens of people, for instance). Still, he's an amazing (if very, very dumb) character.
With soldiers this dedicated to the cause though you have to think had there been no atomic bombs the world may have been a very different place.
Yes, but maybe in a different way than you'd think. There was a divide in Imperial Japanese politics - the Emperor wanted to end the war and was looking to surrender pre-Hiroshima. The heads of the military were split on a course of action - some wanted to fight to the end, but a more common position was trying to fight enough to get more favorable terms than just unconditional surrender.
It's common enough to fight a losing effort to get better surrender terms, and that's probably what would have happened. The United States never wanted to land invade Japan - the second option to bombings was a blockade to starve the army out. Do the Japanese still unconditionally surrender if they go that route? Could the Imperial Japanese Army be enough of a menace that the U.S. leadership takes less than unconditional surrender for terms? Maybe.
The most interesting question is what happens if Japan doesn't unconditionally surrender, become occupied, and have the MacArthur transition government put into place. It was hell at the time for Japan, but then Japan became an American protectorate and was able to run their government with one of the lowest military expenditures in the Western world. They were also well-protected from the various brutal Communist regimes in the area. Could Japan have been invaded by Red China or the Soviet Union if the Empire had kept more sovereignty and wasn't an American protectorate?
Interesting questions. After the Battle of Midway, the Japanese had already lost to the American forces and it was just a matter of time. The war was going to end, nuclear bombings or not. The question is when and on what terms. Japan got the worst possible terms - unconditional surrender, full disarmament, dissolution and loss of all colonies, and foreign military occupation - but then it works out that it becomes the most prosperous place in Asia. Funny world.
Re: The Japanese Soldier Who Fought WWII for 30 Years
#10Blind conviction to your country is nationalism. I don't see how he can be seen as a hero for that. Sure what he did was amazing, but I wouldn't encourage such patriotic behavior.