Kamikaze Special Attack Corps

     Do you know about the Greater East Asian War which Japan is supposed to have waged against the U.S. in 1945? You might wonder what "is supposed to" means.

     The Atlantic Charter was promulgated on Aug. 14th in 1941, just  before the Greater East Asian War. In the pathway, then U.S. president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and then prime minister of Great Britain, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer- Churchill had a talk on Aug. 10th and 11th on the battleship off  Newfoundland in Canada. Both leaders are supposed to have reached an agreement that the U.S. would join World War Two from the backdoor. If you are intersted in this meeting, google for it with the keyword, backdoor,  Churchill and Roosevelt and you'll know the opinions of lots of professional historians. The content of this meeting is still veiled in secrecy. If the record about this meeting was open to the public, you'd know who just wanted the war in the Pacific Ocean.

     By the way, I'll write about Kamikaze. It was the name of the suicide attack corps when the war was near its end. The chief pilot of the first attack team was a young man who had been born in Ehime Prefecture, where I live now. I'm so ashamed that I hadn't known about this hero until recent times. The pictures are of the ceremony in commemoration of him.

     I'm not going to praise the war in this blog, but the patriotism of the young pilots of the Kamikaze Special Attack Corps should be commemorated by all Japanese, but many Japanese reject it. I can easily imagine your doubtful looks. There would be no way in other countries. The Japanese spirits are getting rotten year by year.

     After the end of the Greater East Asian War, the coalition leader, Douglas MacArthur and other staff members of GHQ, made up the Japanese Constitution and gave the Japanese the wrong information that has pressed their case for the war. Their occupation policy was replaced by leftist groups and medias, including NHK,  and most Japanese are still under the influence of the U.S.'s occupation at present. I was told that MacArthur was a nice man and gave us freedom and democracy, and lots of Japanese still believe it. However, remember the address by Martin Luther King, which is well known with the phrase "I Have a Dream". There was no democracy in the U.S. when the war ended, though Japan already had it.

     I'm now reading THE COLDEST WINTER by David Halberstam. MacArthur is vividly described in the book, and he doesn't look like what I was told. I'll write the book report later. The author, David Halberstam, is a great journalist and what he wrote is absolutely true, I believe.

(Vocabulary)

special attack corps / suicide corps  神風特攻隊

the Greater East Asian War  大東亜戦争

Atlantic Charter　大西洋憲章

promulgate a constitution　憲法を発布する

both leaders  両首脳

be veiled in mystery/secrecy  なぞ［秘密］のベールに包まれている

secrecy  秘密（の状態）, 内密

absolute/complete/total secrecy   極秘（扱い）

when the war was near its end. 　戦争の末期

in commemoration of sb/sth   ＜…＞を記念して, の記念に

allied military leader / coalition commander  連合軍の指揮官

press your/the case (for sth)   （＜…＞の）正当性を主張する[訴える]

occupation policy  占領政策

press your/the case (for sth)  （＜…＞の）正当性を主張する[訴える]

The President was determined to press his case for war. 大統領はあくまで戦争の正当性を主張する構えだった．

Don't be fooled!  だまされるな！