Very funny title

But we see many stories of ex soldiers from Japan and the allies making friends or forgiving each other etc. etc. etc. that’s a coincidence? Nah. Many people wanted to put the horrors of the war behind them and move on. Those in power and control also had various interests including economic to move past a cultural hatred. The pacific war was a big and bloody one but in public consciousness it wasn’t the “title fight.” The Nazis and european axis were the hyped up main boss.

What’s more- speaking to that bias- many of the most heinous war crimes of Japan, and by far the largest bulk of them- happened in Asia, to Asians. At that time the most people had never seen Asia and likely wouldn’t have if they didn’t go there to fight. Asia wasn’t an economic power. Japan was the closest thing there was and back then they were known as a source of cheap labor for inferior products largely, and “exotic” goods or goods.

Germany got big publicized trials the world watched and massive attention. Japan less so. And here’s a VERY IMPORTANT factor- western governments pardoned many of the worst Japanese war criminals. Guys who vivisected pregnant women, attempted fetus transplants, froze people to death and studied the differences between how and when women, children, men, and pregnant women were effected by this and other extremes like low pressure or high G force.

Men who transfused animal blood or tried transplanting animal body parts to humans. Who used China as a mass testing ground of biological weapons, plague vectors, chemical weapons- to such a degree that these weapons are STILL being discovered in China today and still killing people. But... that was valuable knowledge we couldn’t ethically or practically reproduce. So they were given cushy government and high ranking public industry jobs with often gasified identities and records.

Many of the conveniences and advances of modern life from air travel to medicine and beyond cane from knowledge gained from these war crimes. There was a primary difference between the Germans and Japanese in that regard. The Germans had some scientific knowledge like rockets and jet air craft or nuclear physics- we pardoned many of those Germans. But by and large their war crimes had been aimed at systematically and efficiently wiping a people off the earth. They didn’t have knowledge that was worth much to us. Having a scientist who can tell you the best pesticide to use for genocide or the most efficient process for stripping human beings of their belongings wasn’t of much use in the private sector.

Plus if we wanted to kill and entire country of people we had toys to do that with like the bomb. The Japanese on the other hand achieved a level of sick “creativity” and diversity in the depth and scope of their murders that could provide useful information for many questions. It was philosophy differences largely. The Germans looked at those they murdered like bugs that needed exterminated and went “straight to business” with a cold and methodical “practical” approach. The Japanese saw these humans as “bugs” and decided to pull off their wings and play with them because they could. Because of that they learned a lot about how humans react to things that no sane and humane person would ever do.

So the West, having pardoned these same people and given them lives of relative wealth and comfort, with freedom to coexist with the public to some extent- would not be wise to hype up how truly terrible and twisted and enormous these crimes were. And those are by and large the primary factors behind why Japanese war crimes don’t get the attention that other Axis war crimes do. Bias against Asians, lack of integration of Asian cultures and relationships to non Asians (historically), friendly and beneficial relations with Japan (an ally), and the fact that they needed to have the whole thing “blow over” to avoid a serious issue with the public.