Advances without atonement

I read with interest William Pesek's Dec. 6 opinion piece, "Japan's media needs to act as a watchdog, not a lapdog."

The failure to understand and address painful national issues has been on my mind. I am a frequent visitor to Japan. Recently, for the first time, I visited the Yushukan war museum in Tokyo. I was particularly interested to see "Locomotive No. 31," which I understand was one of the first (if not the first) vehicles that used the Thai Burma Railway. The accompanying description may be accurate, but it is not the whole truth.

This locomotive is not symbolic of a war effort; it is concrete evidence of the completion of a wartime atrocity, its presence meaningless in a museum without reference to the depravity and death among Allied prisoners of war (and other slave labor) without which there would be no railway. The text displayed next to it — without mention of the railway itself — was puzzling. It only describes the locomotive's service history.

It seemed that the most militaristic exhibits were conspicuous in their lack of non-Japanese translation. Japan has achieved so much since reconstruction in engaging with its former enemies, providing for its people, striving for peace and demonstrating largely model global citizenship (whaling being the exception).

International goodwill and understanding, however, are undermined when visitors from countries, such as mine, which were former victims of Japanese expansionism (and are now firm allies) are left to ponder what is really meant to be communicated at the Yushukan as well as at Yasukuni Shrine.

I left with the uncomfortable thought that among the many things that this fantastic country has achieved, sadly, universal atonement is not one of them.

The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.