Before going to Japan I never knew of the strong racial tension Japan shared with the rest of its Asian neighbors, especially with China and Korea. In my High school history class I remember learning about Natzi Germany and the holocaust during World War II. In our studies about Japan we learned about Pearl Harbor and the Atom bomb, but I do not remember learning about the holocaust that took place in Asia. Since my time in Japan and other parts of Asia I’ve been gradually learning more about this history.
Several months ago I saw a documentary by Journeyman Pictures on some of the atrocities that took place during World War II related to Unit 731. The documentary in fact highlights one Japanese man, Yoshio Shinozuka, who participated in Unit 731 and returned to China after 60 years to apologize.
The documentary can be viewed on YouTube here.
Yoshio Shinozuka reminded me of a Japanese guy I’ll call Sushi-san, we became friends back when I was living in Japan. At a conference for Christian leaders attending from several countries in southeast Asia, Sushi-san stood up in front of everyone, acknowledged what happened during World War II, and apologizes for Japans actions. The emotional impact this had on everyone attending was huge, when I catch with mutual friends who attended this conference I continue to hear how the Lord used this to touch the hearts of those attending with love where there was bitterness. Through Sushi-san’s ministry of forgiveness he has even seen non-Christians Chinese place their faith in Jesus’ forgiveness of sins paid by his death on the cross. It’s been several years since I have seen Sushi-san, but last I heard he was somewhere in China helping spread the gospel. For this reason I have concealed his identity, the Chinese government still actively persecutes Christian churches there in-spite of the explosion of grow by those who profess Jesus as their God.
Sushi-san giving a message
