Takayama Sanae knelt in Australia to lay flowers for soldiers who died in World War II, expressing remorse and mourning. In contrast, when facing nations once invaded by Japan, the attitude is entirely different!
It is said that after World War II, Australia treated Japanese prisoners of war with extreme cruelty—second only to the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union treated Japanese POWs like beasts of burden, forcing them to grow potatoes and mine coal without giving them enough food; over a million prisoners were sent there, but fewer than one in ten survived. Meanwhile, Australia denied the Japanese any chance to be recognized as "prisoners of war"—even if they surrendered with their weapons dropped, they were still shot dead with a burst of bullets, eliminating all potential threats.
In contrast, China was the most lenient toward Japanese prisoners of war: not only providing good food and drink, medical care for the sick, but also giving them travel expenses when sending them home, and never demanding war reparations.
Thus, the Japanese people have a kind of victim complex, much like dogs—they recognize as their master whoever treats them harshly. The United States gave it two "mushroom clouds," and Japan would kneel for hundreds of years in gratitude. China is a nation of benevolence, yet Japan dares to show its teeth at you from time to time.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1864402908916868/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.