Army ‘deeply involved’ in the mass suicides

“Imperial Japanese Army was deeply involved in the mass suicides,” Japanese Judge rules.

Judge Rejects Defamation Suit Against WW2 Okinawa Suicides Author

OSAKA — A defamation lawsuit against Nobel Prize-winning novelist Kenzaburo Oe and a publisher over statements that military officers ordered civilians to commit mass suicide in Okinawa during World War II was rejected in the Osaka District Court on Friday.

The lawsuit, filed by 91-year-old Yutaka Umezawa, a former military commander on the island of Zamami in Okinawa; and the 75-year-old younger brother of another military commander on Tokashiki Island, had demanded 20 million yen in compensation and a publishing ban on books put out by Iwanami Shoten Publishers.

In handing down the ruling, Presiding Judge Toshimasa Fukami declined to rule on whether commanders had actually ordered civilians to commit suicide, but said that judging from the conditions at the time, “the former Imperial Japanese Army was deeply involved in the mass suicides,” and rejected the suit.

The judge agreed that the military had been deeply involved in the suicides, noting that hand grenades had been handed out for people to commit suicide, and that there were no mass suicides on islands where the Imperial Japanese Army was not stationed.

According to figures held by the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum, 171 people on Zamami Island and 329 people on Tokashiki Island committed suicide towards the end of World War II. News Report

Author Kenzaburo Oe: ‘Court’s ruling should help schools provide a precise picture of the Battle of Okinawa.’ (Photo Credit: EIJIRO MORII/ THE ASAHI SHIMBUN) - Photo may be subject to copyright. See Fair Use Notice!

Related Links: A Word for the Ryukyuans [Okinawans]

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A Culture of Bullying

Reported bullying cases hit record high in MOJ human rights report

The following report is fully consistent with the assertions made in this blog!

(Mainichi Japan) March 29, 2008. The number of reported bullying incidents in Japan surged to a record level in 2007, according to a Ministry of Justice (MOJ) report on human rights violations.

Of the 21,506 human rights violations fielded by legal affairs bureaus and other bodies across the nation, 2,152 were related to school bullying, far surpassing the 973 incidents reported the previous year, a previous record figure.

The Ministry of Justice’s human rights bureau said that the increase in reported bullying incidents was a result of efforts to assess the extent of bullying, including the creation of a toll-free hotline for child victims of human rights abuse in February 2007.

Also on the rise were online privacy violations and defamation, with 418 incidents reported, a 48.2 percent increase compared with the previous year. A total of 600 child abuse cases were reported - a 12.4 percent increase. Source: Mainichi Japan

Related Links:

• Fruits of a Repressed Culture

Scum Trinity Headlines:

• Fukuoka cop arrested for attempted rape
• Police officer charged with molesting massage parlor operator

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Scum Trinity: Politicians (and military), Prefectural Boards of Education, Police