Regaining Japanese Pride (8) / India
In this eighth installment, we have collected the words of the people of India.
“Since the beginning of the Greater East Asia War, the unparalleled victories of the Japanese military have impressed the people of India and made it possible for them to participate in the struggle for freedom. The Japanese government is not merely fighting for its own self-defense, but is aiming for the eradication of Anglo-American imperialism from Asia and is further assisting in the complete independence of India. Now, the Indian National Army has launched an offensive, and with the cooperation of the Japanese military, both armies are standing shoulder to shoulder, advancing a common front against our common enemy, the Allied powers of America and Britain. Unless the foreign invading armies are driven out of India, there will be no freedom for the Indian people, no freedom or security for Asia, and no end to the war against Anglo-American imperialism.”
“This recent defeat of Japan is truly painful, and I offer my heartfelt sympathy. However, one defeat does not necessarily mean one should be disappointed or discouraged. Especially for your excellent people. I am convinced that Japan will recover and prosper again as a great power in Asia within ten years. India will soon be independent. It was Japan that provided the opportunity for that independence. India's independence was accelerated by thirty years thanks to Japan. This is not limited to India. It is common to all peoples of Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Vietnam. The 400 million people of India deeply engrave this in their hearts. The Indian people will spare no effort in cooperating with the Japanese people in their reconstruction. The other peoples of East Asia feel the same.”
“They (the Japanese) have done nothing to us that requires an apology. Therefore, India will not participate in the San Francisco Peace Conference. Nor will we sign the peace treaty.”
Japanese soldiers who fought against the British in Imphal said to the Indian soldiers,
“It is your job to rebuild India after defeating the British. You must not die in a place like this.”
They then moved the Indian soldiers fighting alongside them to the rear and stood on the front lines themselves.
I have completely forgotten the original source of this story and could not find it even after searching through materials, so here I can only say 'it seems such a story existed' rather than calling it 'testimony'.
However, given the fact that Japanese soldiers who remained in Indonesia participated in the Indonesian War of Independence, and the actions of Lieutenant General Takeo Nakagawa (then a Colonel) on Peleliu Island to protect the islanders, one can infer that this story in Imphal was likely true.
And if it were true, Japanese soldiers who lost to the British army in Imphal would never boast, 'We fought in India like this,' even if their lives depended on it.
If that is the case, I think it makes more sense to believe that the Indian soldiers spread this story to inspire the Indian people.
Also, for a Prime Minister of a country like Mr. Nehru to make such a statement, it must have required considerable resolve.
It seems there are no politicians in Japan with the resolve of Prime Minister Nehru, and the media is working even harder to cover it up.
Is it something they don't want the Japanese people to know that much?
It is clearly strange that while such stories are ignored, when neighboring countries criticize Japan with cherry-picked or fabricated claims about 'comfort women,' 'wartime laborers,' or the 'Nanjing Massacre,' the government immediately admits and apologizes without even verifying the facts.
Well, since the anti-Japanese Science Council of Japan and the deeply red-dyed anti-Japanese professors at the University of Tokyo call themselves 'experts' and feed fabricated history to the government, perhaps politicians who have never studied history at all are being brainwashed, but from our perspective, neither brainwashing nor lack of study is an excuse for those who are entrusted with the country.