Boojatta
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Sat May-03-08 01:52 PM
Original message |
| Fallout of two decisions: enacting Hirohito's conscription legislation versus nuking Hiroshima |
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Edited on Sat May-03-08 02:00 PM by Boojatta
Some questions:
What did the legislation authorize the government of Japan to do to Japanese men who refused to serve? What kind of men were they and how do their life stories compare to the stories of victims of the two atomic bombings?
How many conscripted Japanese men were killed or injured and how many foreigners did they injure or kill? In estimating the size of the catastrophe caused by Hirohito's conscription legislation, should we make an effort to include an estimate of the total harm, both direct and indirect, to non-Japanese people?
How did the number of foreign women kept as sex slaves in the cities that were chosen as A bomb targets compare to the number of foreign women kept as sex slaves in places that are alleged to have been "legitimate military targets"?
Note: The title space was too short to point out that I'm not claiming that Hirohito invented the idea of the conscription legislation or that he felt confident that he had the option of both opposing the legislation and retaining his official position as emperor. On the other hand, what moral right did he have to be emperor and for what purposes did he hope to use his authority as emperor? I could have used the word "Meiji" because conscription legislation was enacted then, but it would seem unfair to blame Japanese government authorities of 1912 for later policies associated with conscription.
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