Ukraine says sorry to Japan for comparing Emperor Hirohito to Hitler on Twitter
The tweet showing Japan’s wartime emperor alongside Hitler and Mussolini in a video about fascism came from an official Ukrainian government account
It circulated widely over the weekend and prompted an official protest, as it threatened to alienate a country that has been strongly supportive of Ukraine
An official Ukrainian government Twitter account has issued an apology after showing a picture of Japan’s wartime Emperor Hirohito alongside Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in a social media video about the defeat of fascism.
“Our sincere apologies to Japan for making this mistake,” read a message on the Ukrainian Twitter feed. “We had no intention to offend the friendly people of Japan.” An edited version of the video without Hirohito’s picture was appended to the post.
The tweet had circulated widely over the weekend and prompted an official protest from Japan. It also threatened to alienate some conservatives from the Ukrainian cause in a country that has been strongly supportive of President Volodymyr Zelensky since the Russian invasion began.
Japan fought World War II in the name of Hirohito, who was revered as a god until he renounced his divinity after Japan’s defeat. Historical evaluations of his role in the war remain divided. He is known posthumously in Japan as Emperor Showa.
Japan has joined its ally the US and other leading democracies in sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime and has broken with its pacifist tradition by sending non-lethal military equipment to Ukraine. It has also taken the unusual step of opening its doors to a few hundred refugees fleeing the war.
Masahisa Sato, the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s foreign policy panel, said on Sunday that he had urged the Foreign Ministry to protest to the Ukrainian government. He later added on Twitter that the ministry appeared to have done so, and the “problematic” video was removed.
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki said Japan would continue to support Ukrainians defending their country from Russia’s invasion despite the “completely inappropriate” portrayal of Hirohito.
“Portraying Hitler, Mussolini and Emperor Showa in the same context is completely inappropriate,” Isozaki told reporters. “It was extremely regrettable.”
Ukraine Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky apologised in a tweet Monday, saying the creator of the video lacked an understanding of history.
While some Twitter users said they had lost interest in supporting Ukraine over the post, others said it would have been more appropriate to use a picture of Hideki Tojo, who was prime minister of Japan during most of World War II and later hanged as a convicted war criminal.
The creator of the video lacked an understanding of history???? Really.
After the end of WW2, countless mass graves containing 10,000 bodies and more without their heads were discovered thru out China and ASEAN. So they cut off their own heads and jumped into the grave.
Japan unlike Germany and Italy is still in denial and has never repented for its facism.
