A Japanese Virtual Christian Full General
Nowadays, most of young Japanese do not know the name of the greatest Japanese military hero during WWII.
Indeed, no American historians must have ever realized Full General Imamura was virtually a Christian.
( http://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/7andy/31079204.html )
Truly, today, there must be millions of American citizens whose parent or grandparent did not experience WWII as a U.S. citizen.
SECTION I: Not Hypocritical But Rather Hierarchical
Protestants account for 51% of US citizens, while Catholics 24%; yet those believing no religions account for 16% in the US society, according to a survey recently conducted in the U.S. (as reported in a Japanese newspaper this morning).
In a Japanese way of thinking, it is ideal for any American to adopt good elements of both the Protestant teachings and the Catholic teaching to be loved by God.
In order to fight against religious criminals who are making money by selling knowledge and words of Christianity, you may be allowed to declare non-religious if so encouraged by the God’s Angels.
Even if an American proudly asserts that he or she is a Christian, while making money in connection with Wall Street and supporting a policy to make war without minding thousands of Arab and Afghan children being killed collaterally, I believe that Jesus Christ would deny it.
So, pious Americans must stop using an old title such as a Protestant or a Catholic but adopt a new title such as a “Follower of Jesus Christ,” which however needs a religious revolution to come true.
In my view, a hierarchy must be introduced in one’s religious identification: the follower of God or Allah with the cultural origin of Judaism, Christianity, or Islam in the worldly association with Jerusalem, the Vatican, protestant churches, or Sunni mosques or Shiite mosques.
And one should only refer to the highest state, namely “the follower of God or Allah,” when identifying his or her religion.
Ideally, it must be “the follower of God or Allah or any holy teaching by saints including Buddha.”
If you can be rich while your neighbor is poor, you cannot be a Judaist, a Christian, or a Muslim. If you identify with one, you cannot be all the more a Judaist, a Christian, or a Muslim.
Asking anybody about his religion is the rudest and most arrogant act. Otherwise, will you ask anybody how much money he has or how many times he has ever lied or bullied somebody?
SECTION II: Yasukuni Fallen Soldiers’ Shrine
Western media like to use the term "Yasukuni War Shrine."
But, the sad and silly fact is that now most of churches in the U.S. and the U.K. are "War Churches," since no churches in the U.S. and the U.K. are organizing demonstration in Washington D.C. and London with the slogan “Stop the War in Iraq and Afghanistan” just like “Stop the Vietnam War” decades ago.
The Empire of Japan before WWII was under the military threat which could be comparable with the 9/11 Terror-type threat on the United States in the early 21st century.
So, the Empire of Japan ventured into preemptive wars like the War on Terror by the U.S. in these years.
But, before the then Prime Minister Mr. Junichiro Koizumi went and paid his respect to fallen soldiers in past wars at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on August 15, 2005, only 50,000 or so Japanese citizens had visited the shrine on the very day which is nationally commemorated as the final day of WWII for Japan.
Yet, on August 15, 2005, along with the then Prime Minister Mr. Junichiro Koizumi, about 260,000 Japanese citizens went and paid their respect to fallen soldiers in past wars at Yasukuni Shrine.
This year it was reported that some 150,000 citizens visited the shrine on the day very peacefully.
( http://dogma.at.webry.info/200808/article_6.html )
Labeling Yasukuni Shrine a “War Shrine” is the real conspiracy by the Chinese Communist Party and the anti-Japan Western media, which the God Almighty would not condone in my humble view.
SECTION III: FULL GENERAL HITOSHI IMAMURA
There were many full generals in the Empire of Japan during and before WWII.
But, the most respected must be Full General of the Imperial Army Hitoshi Imamura.
English Wikipedia’s account on him seems contaminated by an anti-Japan conspiracy, so that you have to refer to Japanese Wikipedia’s account.
( http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BB%8A%E6%9D%91%E5%9D%87 )
In English Wikipedia, they do not even mention that Full General Imamura was virtually a Christian.
They also made a mistake by writing "He was tried by an Australian military court at Rabaul on May 1-16, 1947; convicted, and sentenced to imprisonment for ten years. Imamura served his imprisonment at Sugamo Prison, in Tokyo, until he was released in 1954."
The fact is that after the surrender of the Imperial Army and Navy Full General Imamura was brought to a military court in Australia and started to serve the sentence in a prison in Tokyo in 1949, but in the next year he appealed to General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, the top of the Allied forces, for sending him to a prison in the Philippines where many of his former subordinates were serving war-criminal sentences.
Full General Imamura wanted to carry his responsibility to former officers and soldiers who had served him during the war by staying with them in the punitive prison in the Philippines instead of serving his own prison time in a relatively comfortable prison in Tokyo.
General of the Army MacArthur granted the petition directly issued by Full General Imamura, reportedly, through his wife.
Full General Imamura moved to the prison in the Philippines in 1950 so as to share pains and hardship with his former subordinates. Following the closure of the prison, he was sent back to the prison in Tokyo in 1953.
( http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E8%B2%AC%E4%BB%BB-%E3%83%A9%E3%83%90%E3%82%A6%E3%83%AB%E3%81%AE%E5%B0%86%E8%BB%8D%E4%BB%8A%E6%9D%91%E5%9D%87-%E3%81%A1%E3%81%8F%E3%81%BE%E6%96%87%E5%BA%AB-%E8%A7%92%E7%94%B0-%E6%88%BF%E5%AD%90/dp/4480421513 )
After he was released from the prison in 1954, he confined his life in a small cottage he built in his home so as to show his remorse for the tragedies and victims of the past war.
He published a memoir. The royalty of the book was given to wounded veterans and families of fallen soldiers. Whoever visited Full General Imamura identifying himself as a former subordinate and asking for financial aid could get any money from Full General Imamura.
Even when somebody who was actually not his former subordinate pretended to be a former subordinate and asked for financial aid, the poor liar could get any money from Full General Imamura, even if Full General Imamura could see the truth.
SECTION IV: Rabaul, Another Possible Iwojima
After the major battle of Rabaul around 1942 where hundreds or more fighter planes and bombers of the Empire of Japan were lost through fight against U.S. planes ten times more, Full General Imamura still kept about 100,000 ground soldiers and officers to defend military bases of the Imperial Navy and Army at Rabaul of New Britain Island, northeast of Australia.
Full General Imamura prepared for the full-scale landing of US and Australian troops on the Island.
He ordered to strengthen the military facilities, like Iwojima Island where 7,000 U.S. soldiers fell later, including total 450km underground cells, paths, and complex with full of weapons and ammunition.
As Iwojima was defended by 20,000 Japanese soldiers, Rabaul could have taken 35,000 U.S. and Australian soldiers, though the Allied forces wisely avoided the direct attack on Rabaul and decided to advance troops to the Central Pacific Ocean and further to the Philippines, Iwojima, and Okinawa.
http://www.pacificwrecks.com/history/rabaul/rabaul-end.html
In this sense, the formidable fortification of the Rabaul base commanded by Full General Imamura saved tens of thousands of the lives of Japanese, American, and Australian soldiers, since Full General Imamura never issued attack orders but had his troops wait patiently.
( http://wp1.fuchu.jp/~zenshoji/d_rabauru09.htm )
After the surrender of the Imperial Army and Navy on August 15, 1945, 500 officers and soldiers among 100,000 Japanese troops stationed at Rabaul were arrested as war criminals and brought to military courts.
Among 500 indicted, 145 Japanese officers and soldiers were executed to death, though as there had been no invasion by U.S. and Australian troops there could not be any war crimes at all at Rabaul.
http://sidenkai21.cocot.jp/m464.html
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That is all for today.
Tonight, the late-night TV news program in Japan might also report that Mr. McCain has started to muster more support than Mr. Obama.
(Accordingly the song for today:
http://www.fukuchan.ac/music/j-senzen/rabaurukouta.html )
2Co 8:21 Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
2Co 8:22 And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, upon the great confidence which I have in you.
2Co 8:23 Whether any do enquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellow helper concerning you: or our brethren be enquired of, they are the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ.
2Co 8:24 Wherefore shew ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf.