Auschwitz Museum in Japan

What do they associate it with?

Japanese associate Poland with a number of reasons.
1. They know that the previous pope was Polish.
2. Associated with former President Lech Walesa.
3. They know music like F. Chopin and believe me, they know that he was the Polish.
4. They are fond of sweets especially our Wedel and cheese. Not to mention alcohol.

You probably ask how I know. I know couse I spoke with several about my country.

“If you can’t find it for life of you, what makes you think there is a Nanjing Massacre Museum in Tokyo?”

I was being facetious to make the point that Japan should think of establishing museums commemorating her own war deeds before building more Holocaust exhibits. Not because the Holocaust should not be remembered, but because Japanese youth do not know about the horrors of the war in China (and Southeast Asia) to the extent that they are familiar with Nazi Germany’s wrongdoings. To answer your question, I am well aware there is no such museum in Tokyo, or Japan for that matter.

“If you want to know historical facts about Nanjing in Japanese, you can find plenty of them on the internet as well as at the book stores.”

Unfortunately, most of these “facts about Nanjing in Japanese” are from revisionist blogs or other sources that claim that Nanjing was a lie and Communist propaganda. Check for yourself, anywhere you would think of finding information on this topic (Japanese wikipedia, Yahoo chiebukuro, oshiete.goo.ne.jp, videos on youtube, google search hits) is dominated by information that sides with the Japanese minimalist/denialist view of Nanjing. So no, I would definitely not regard the Japanese internet as a reliable source on war crimes issues–unless you can explain to me how the heck Japanese youth can somehow find objective sources on the internet despite its dominance by nationalist websites (regarding historical topics). Or how they know which sources are truly factual if they are subjected to the media’s and politicians’ often distorted views on history.

“Speaking of which, could someone kindly direct me to the place in Korea where Korean sex slaves exploited after the colonization by Korean government are supported to get apology and compensation?”

As I am not Korean, have never been to Korea, and have never claimed that Korea was a better example than Japan regarding historical issues, I don’t know where you’re coming from. Also, when someone accuses your country of not taking full responsibility, it doesn’t help your defense by deflecting the blame and the topic of conversation to another country. Germany didn’t shirk around the issue of her war crimes by making the excuse “but Japan did it too!”, but gained the respect of her neighbors by confronting the issue head on, building museums, compensating victims, teaching the Holocaust in-depth to students. So my question of why there are no such museums in Japan has nothing to do with Korea.

“I guarantee you can spot the right-wing publications by the ratings.”

As James said,”The Nanking denial books you mention are usually published by smaller publishing companies that specialize in right wing literature and tend to be written by well-known right wing authors”

(1)Let’s　take a look at 新書 a paperback pocket edition　from popular publishers because they are most easily available for average readers.

○南京事件―「虐殺」の構造 (中公新書) 秦 郁彦
○南京事件 (岩波新書) 笠原 十九司
○「南京事件」の探究―その実像をもとめて (文春新書) 北村 稔

These are representative books on N massacre. They are not by deniers.

○南京の真実 (講談社文庫) ジョン ラーベ、エルヴィン

This is a translation of Rabe’s account

○ザ・レイプ・オブ・南京（同時代社）… アイリス チャン

This is a translation of Iris Chang.

○　南京事件「証拠写真」を検証する 草思社　東中野 修道.

This is the representative denier’s book by by higashinakano.
There are several other books by him and other minimalists.

○南京大虐殺否定論13のウソ 南京事件調査研究会

This is a book refuting the deniers.

I don’t see why you assume only denier’s book influences Japanese when the most available books on N massacre are by non-deniers and non-deniers web sites are on the first page if you google.

Now if you look at the denier’s book above by higashinakano, you’ll notice that he is not really denying that there were massacres. He admits that there were mass killings but he claims that it was legal just as some claim mass killings at Tibet and Hiroshima etc. were legal.
Kitamura refutes his claim in his book above and Japanese historians agree.

Granted the deniers’ claim that photos are not authentic and Chinese estimate of the death toll is impossible and there are testimonies to the contrary to the Chinese claim, it does not follow that there was no massacre and the circumstance made it necessary and it was legal .
The point is not there are many sites and books by deniers but which argument is more convincing.

And it is in Japan that this is most hotly debated and it is difficult for average readers who start studying it not to notice that historians as well as Japanese government acknowledge “the fact that there was the massacre and that the basic responsibility was on Japan”. I am afraid you underestimate it.

(2) The films are not banned.
In case of “City of Life and Death 2009″ according to wiki, the director said he found the distributor in Japan.

“陸川監督は日本国内での上映を強く希望しており、2009年9月21日、スペインで開催された第57回サンセバスチャン国際映画祭における公式会見の席上で、配給会社が決まり、日本公開されることが監督によって明らかにされた。”

Besides, you can view “City of Life and Death 2009″ on Youtube; Japanese government does not censor google nor youtube.

In case of “The Rape of N＠anking” by Rhawn Joseph, it was “Paypal that has demanded that the producers of documentary stop selling the DVD of this film because this film “generates hatred, thus ” completely unacceptable and cannot and should not be sold,”
(Xinhua 13/9/2007)

I guess you are taking about the film “Yasukuni”. It might be true that there were pressures from some right wingers, It was not necessary and it was deplorable. But according to wiki, it was
released after all.

“最終的に、当初予定よりも3週間遅れとなった5月3日に東京の独立系映画館で公開された[26]。続いて全国各地の映画館で順次公開された.”

You seems to overestimate the power of J right wingers.

And as you must know, some right wingers organizations called for watching the film.

ロフトプラスワン ( =東京・新宿区 )で右翼系団体の活動家らが呼びかけ人となり、ドキュメンタリー映画「靖国　ＹＡＳＵＫＵＮＩ」（李纓監督）の試写会が開かれた.会場には100人を超える参加者が集まり、その様子を多くのメディアが取材をした。(2008年04月19日07時39分 / 提供：PJニュース)

I have an impression that the media in English tend to focus more on Japanese right wingers than neo nazi when the violent crimes of neo nazi are much larger than that of some of Japanese nationalists.

It is really regrettable that the massacres in the past are often used for politics by nationalists on all sides.

Herbert P. Bix said as regard N massacre,

“N@nking 1937 needs to be read in a way that highlights the universal within the particular. Set it against the background of the Russian rape of German women in postwar occupied Germany (1945-49), or the French torture of civilians during the Algerian War (1954-62) or the American atrocities at No Gun Ri hamlet early in the Korean War (1950-53).・・・・（Remembering the N@nking Massacre Japan focus)”

It might be better that the massacres at Tibet and hiroshima etc. are also mentioned;that make it easy to see the perspectives from other sides and make it easy to see the inconsistency if someone use a double standard and make it difficult to abuse history for politics.

In this sense, ideally the museum should be about all the massacres in history all over world but the museum in question was set up through the experience in Germany by an individual, Aoki. It is too much to ask for that.

Sure, some young people are ignorant of history but most of young Japanese people know that the war brings the worst of us wherever it happens. Just as some nationals of other countries don’t know much about their own country’s dark side, some Japanese are ignorant. But the attitude of Japanese toward their own nation’s past are not particularly different from other nationals.

Someone might be irritated by the ignorance about, for instance, sex slaves exploited by Koreans and Germans or be frustrated by the views on Hiroshima or Tibet by some Americans or Chinese, but it does not follow that their attitude toward the past are particularly different from people of the rest of the world. (It means that we have a lot of dialog to do together without using a double standard, highlighting the universal within the particular. That is more constructive.)
I am saying this because I have a feeling that you took the trouble to bring up the Japanese attitude toward N massacre under the thread about Auschwitz, assuming— mistakenly in my opinion— that Japanese attitude toward the past is particularly problematic in Japan,

I hope this answered your question.