A message to an American conservative radio talk show host, Dennis Prager.
Dear Dennis,
I am impressed with your Town Hall article “Trip to Vietnam Revives Hatred of Communism” and I agree a hundred percent with you that communism was the single most destructive cult in 20th century. Here is my take on communism with regards to history of our own and yours. America’s war against communist North Korea and communist North Vietnam were of noble cause. You are right that all those died in fighting with America for their own communist regime died in waste. It was just unfortunate that your Left did not allow America to come out winning in those wars. As Japanese, I feel more saddened that I have to remind you of the fact – if America didn’t pick a fight with us Japan, there would have been no communism in East Asia, or at least not in the size that we experienced.
Japan knew threat of communism well before America did. In the era of Soviet Union’s inception, it was real and present danger for us. In order to protect itself, Japan secured Korean peninsula. Then, in order to secure Korea, we secured North East China by helping to build an independent country called Manchuria. Manchuria’s population grew steadily, which was a sure sign that civil life was protected, law and order was settled and economy was booming. Then again, In order to secure Manchuria, we had to fight with Chiang Kai Shek’s nationalist party and Mao Zedong’s communist party who were trying to subvert our legitimate efforts. Chiang Kai Shek’s nationalist party was largely infiltrated by commies that were manipulated by Moscow.
Unfortunately, FDR allowed Harry D. White, a communist to influence his foreign policy and gave direct military support to Chiang Kai Shek. He also collaborated with Europeans to cut off our entire supply line to suffocate us to death. We all know the rest of the story.
Douglas McArthur after coming to Japan found out Japan was merely fighting communism for their self-defense. What he did in Korea was exactly what Japan did well before. What he tried to do to China in the process of the Korean War but was prevented by Truman was exactly what Japan did. That’s why Douglas McArthur testified in Congress that Japan went to war because of security of its own.
I thank America for fight against communism and now against Islamo-Nazism. But, this is the history that we should not deny and forget.
Excerpts from “Military Situation in the Far East” Page 57
Committees on Armed Forces and the Committees on Foreign Relations
United States Senate
Thursday May 3, 1951
Quote
Senator Hickenlooper. Question No. 5: Isn’t your proposal for sea and air blockade of Red China the same strategy by which Americans achieved victory over the Japanese in the Pacific?
General MacArthur. Yes,sir. In the Pasific we bypassed them.We closed in. You must understand that Japan had an enormous population of nearly 80 million people,crowded into 4 islands.It was about half a farm population.The other half was engaged in industry.
Potentially the labor pool in Japan,both in quantity and quality,is as good as anything that I have ever known. Some place down the line they have discovered what you might call the dignity of labor, that men are happier when they are working and constructing than when they are idling.
This enormous capacity for work meant that they had to have something to work on.They built the factories, they had the labor,but they didn't have the basic materials.
There is practically nothing indigenous to Japan except the silkworm.
They lack cotton,they lack wool,they lack petoroleum products,they lack tin, they lack rubber,they lack a great many other things, all which was in the Asiatic basin.
They feared that if those supplies were cut off, there would be 10 to 12 million people unoccupied in Japan. Their purpose, therefore, in going to war was largely dictated by security.
Unquote
Official Source – from US State Department Archive:
http://www.sankei.co.jp/seiron/koukoku/2004/maca/01/MacArthur57.html
Best regards,