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Here's an interesting if only tangentially related bit of information. Every year on Hiroshima bombing anniversary Japanese activists (of some faction) hold a p

Here's an interesting if only tangentially related bit of information. Every year on Hiroshima bombing anniversary Japanese activists (of some faction) hold a protest next to an embassy. This includes anger tantrums, shouting, throwing empty bottles into the wall and some such. Here's the fun part. The embassy is Russian. Apparently the logic behind their anger is that it was Soviet Union who caused the bombings by silently agreeing to it when they had a chance to stop them. Americans however did nothing wrong, they merely showed Japanese how caught up in the war they were and helped them to see the light. This is clearly not a widely shared opinion, but it just goes on to show how really contrived the subjective part of the issue is.

dicemoose 15y ago
Actually, the demonstrations are usually held by right wing Japanese organizations on August 9th, the day of the bombing of Nagasaki. This was also the day that the Soviet Union broke the neutrality pact with Imperialist Japan and invaded Manchuria and other parts of the Japanese Empire. The protests are usually against this invasion and consist of calls to get the Northern Territories of Japan returned. Also, there are angry tantrums and shouting, but there are no throwing of empty bottles at the walls of the embassy because the riot police do quite an impressive job not letting any of the protestors through. It's a bit of a charade and an annoyance when you're trying to conduct business in the area, but the reality is different from the story you're sharing.
- huhtenberg 15y ago
  It is a charade, and you are right about Nagasaki/Hiroshima mixup on my part. The bottle throwing I witnessed myself though it was in mid-80s, and it was a part of the same charade. Police let that happen, but things generally remained under control. People who worked in the embassy not long ago said the same show was still being put on, but finer details I don't know. The Soviet Union inaction with the bombings angle -- this also comes from the embassy people and I have no reason not to believe them. Not that it means it was/is a central part of these protests.
nandemo 15y ago
That story sounds fake. Do you have a citation? Those Japanese extreme nationalists might be crazy, but I'd be surprised if they were to blame Russia for Hiroshima. Their main peeve against Russia is due to USSR's annexation of a few Japanese islands at the end of World War II.

dicemoose 15y ago

Actually, the demonstrations are usually held by right wing Japanese organizations on August 9th, the day of the bombing of Nagasaki. This was also the day that the Soviet Union broke the neutrality pact with Imperialist Japan and invaded Manchuria and other parts of the Japanese Empire. The protests are usually against this invasion and consist of calls to get the Northern Territories of Japan returned. Also, there are angry tantrums and shouting, but there are no throwing of empty bottles at the walls of the embassy because the riot police do quite an impressive job not letting any of the protestors through. It's a bit of a charade and an annoyance when you're trying to conduct business in the area, but the reality is different from the story you're sharing.

huhtenberg 15y ago
It is a charade, and you are right about Nagasaki/Hiroshima mixup on my part. The bottle throwing I witnessed myself though it was in mid-80s, and it was a part of the same charade. Police let that happen, but things generally remained under control. People who worked in the embassy not long ago said the same show was still being put on, but finer details I don't know. The Soviet Union inaction with the bombings angle -- this also comes from the embassy people and I have no reason not to believe them. Not that it means it was/is a central part of these protests.

nandemo 15y ago

That story sounds fake. Do you have a citation? Those Japanese extreme nationalists might be crazy, but I'd be surprised if they were to blame Russia for Hiroshima. Their main peeve against Russia is due to USSR's annexation of a few Japanese islands at the end of World War II.