Link:

https://www.eurogamer.net/amp/2018-07-20-pubg-pulls-controversial-japanese-mask-design-apologises

This is kind of an odd one, since PUBG is from a Korean developer and their playerbase includes a large amount of Chinese and Korean players. Japanese war crimes are still a very sensitive issue in those countries, especially since Japan hasn't really addressed the horrors it inflicted during WWII, and in many ways still celebrates aspects of the Imperial period. It's a bit like if Germans refused to accept culpability for their war crimes/crimes against humanity and still used the swastika for some official purposes and airbrushed their history books to put them in a favourable light. Without that context the helmet would be fairly harmless, but with it it's odd that it ever got included.

The really bizarre thing though was the bot that references the Japanese version of Mengele. I don't know how that ever got approved.

Very sensitive in a LOT of countries,not just the one's you mentioned.

True, but especially so in China and Korea.

That is not correct.Maybe you could do some research on Australian Prisoners of War.

I'll do that, thank you.

That context is flawed though.

The rising sun pattern goes much further than WW2 or even WW1 (it's the land of the rising sun, after all...), and it's wrongly misinterpreted to have the same kind of connotation as the Nazi flag had.

Countries who were victims of the Japanese invasion in the war interpret that flag one way, but that interpretation is very limited. I guess that's understandable as Japanese were enemies fighting under that flag. But just a few minutes search into the subject will reveal how limited that view is, and wrong based on historical facts.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rising_Sun_Flag

I think they've issued several apologies. And frankly, excessive feelings of guilt would be inappropriate after so many years, it seems to me the issue is deliberately exploited by China and both Koreas which are all very nationalistic countries.
Concerning the game, a reference to Unit 731 really is extremely tasteless, the person responsible should be fired.

Its not really about guilt and I do think that Its more about general responsibility more so than anything else.

Take Germany for instance, research indicates that only around 5-6% of people feel guilty of what their ancestors did. However, most Germans, when asked do believe that because of history people still feel that they have a responsibility for their nation due to the past.

Sense of responsibility isn't collective guilt but I'm sure you know that. Still typing this just so readers understand where I'm coming from.

I'm fairly certain that these results would be all similar in most countries who teach history truthfully (as much as its possible during school at any case). People feeling guilty about past actions that are are in the absolute minority.

You can be nationalistic and still feel responsible for the abhorrent actions of ones ancestors since in order to do better one also has to look at ones mistakes.

Here are the results of the reasearch: https://www.stiftung-evz.de/fileadmin/user_upload/20180213_PM_MEMO_Deutschland_final_English.pdf

I also agree that games shouldn't promote hate-crimes like that in a tasteful way and that it should require some sort of insightfulness on the devs part.

That's the standard line in Germany, but I don't buy it. Germany's obsessive self-flagellation over the Nazi past (which paradoxically gets ever more extreme with distance in time from 1945) isn't a model I'd recommend to anybody.
One also has to recognize imo that Japan's position is fairly difficult. China (set to become an overbearing hegemon in East Asia in the next few decades), let alone a psycho state like North Korea which has kidnapped Japanese citizens, are undemocratic states and dangerous neighbours which will always seek to exploit the past and use it against Japan. Genuine reconciliation is very difficult under such circumstances.

The scepticism you expouse is alright in my eyes but only if you consider it philosophically (and apply it thus). You should know, you're a free speech advocate after all and I'm sure you've studied it. Otherwise you're willfully practicising interlectual dishonestry.

Since humans rights are universal, there is a sort of responsibility in relation with everyones history in one way or the other Its one of the human traits after all.

I know this is the internet but please don't simply just speculate (this can't really be considered speculation to be honest) but refute my point with stuff other than "lol nah".

I do agree with your retellings of known warcrimes however since for instance NK is a supremly terrible self aggrandizing regime. Did you know that they don't really lecture japanese schoolkids when it comes to their own warcrimes (just third hand info though, probably doesn't apply in most instances).

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