PCG's Continuing Demonization of Japan

PCG has a long history of demonizing Japan.

This shameful habit is continued once again with Jeremiah Jacques' article, "Why the Trumpet Monitors Japan’s March Away From Pacifism Toward Militarism" (April 22, 2015).

The real reason why they do so is because Gerald Flurry has dogmatically decided that in the future Japan will turn against the United States and go to war against the USA. And it is often insinuated that Japan will make or acquire nuclear weapons. (Although since Russia and China already have such things why would Japan need any if they were to ally with them?)

Observe what Gerald Flurry wrote back in 1993.

Tactical nuclear weapons have been stolen form the Soviet arsenal and sold to nations in the Middle East. Soon Germany and Japan will also have nuclear weapons. (Gerald Flurry, Jeremiah: Prophet of Doom -- or Hope?, 1993, Chapter 4, p. 31.)

What on Earth is Flurry talking about? None of the Arab states or Iran have nuclear weapons.

Twenty-two years later we are still waiting for Japan (and Germany) to get nuclear weapons.

We now return to Jacques' article.

Now in this article Jacques brings up the truly atrocious history of what happened during the days of militarism pursued by the Japanese government until 1945. It is true that many vile and horrifying acts were committed in pursuit of enacting the Japanese government's policies of militarism. It was because of such deeds that the United States went to war with Japan during World War II.

Even today we are still struggling with managing the fallout from the many terrible and shameful deeds that were committed because of Japanese government's policies of militarism during that era. Who knows? If Japan had not occupied Korea in the 1890s there may have been no North Korea.

There is nothing wrong with condemning evil in the hope that similar acts will never happen again and in order to pursue justice. But that is not what Jeremiah Jacques does here. Rather Jacques brings up these issues in order to lure more people into joining Jacques' group, the Philadelphia Church of God, thus getting more people to pay the three tithes to PCG which is how Jacques makes his living. These facts are being brought up for self interested reasons.

Jacques vilifies the Japanese people as somehow prone to indulge in warfare.

Nanjing was not an isolated case of savagery. Japanese troops were similarly cruel in other Chinese cities, and also in Korea, the Philippines, Singapore and other countries. A look further back into history shows that World War II was not an anomalously aggressive epoch for the Japanese. There were also the invasions of Korea in the 1590s, the Battle of Ganghwa, the First Sino-Japanese War, the invasion of Taiwan, the Russo-Japanese War and the list goes on.

So Jacques brings up everything. He is so desperate to make readers fearful and hateful towards the Japanese nation he even brings up "the invasions of Korea in the 1590s", an event which occurred even before the establishment of Jamestown in 1607. Somehow that little bit about how Japan isolated itself from the outside world for over 200 years is not even acknowledged here. The United States did not even exist back then and still Jacques tries to use that four centuries event to stir up hatred and fear of the Japanese nation.

By the end of World War II, Japan had been fighting for 14 years. Almost 3 million Japanese were dead, with many more injured or gravely ill. Most of the population was starving, and the nation lay in ruins. But even then, soldiers and civilians generally would not surrender. Nothing short of two atomic bombs was able to bring a halt to Japan’s perverse military fanaticism.

But even knowing of facts like these Jacques nevertheless tries his best to stir up fear and hatred of Japan.

Jacques then talks about how after Japan's defeat in World War II Japan decided to renounce war. And then Jacques complains about how Japan has eroded away this commitment.

The first of these came as early as 1950, when a National Police Reserve was established as a replacement for American troops sent into the Korean War. Then in 1954, with Washington’s full support, Japan transformed this police reserve into the Japan Self-Defense Force (SDF).

Is this plagiarism? This looks very similar to what Ryan Malone wrote in a similar article in 2001.

Though utterly defeated at the end of World War II, Japan’s military began to be resurrected as early as 1950, when a National Police Reserve was established as a replacement for American troops who were sent into the Korean War. This police force was transformed into the SDF by the Japanese government in 1954, with the full support of the U.S. (Ryan Malone, "Japan’s Long History of Militarism", The Philadelphia Trumpet, December 2001.)

We now continue with Jacques' article.

But during the 70 years that have passed since the end of World War II, Japan has made some significant strides away from pacifism.

What were some of these strides?

Japan’s march toward militarization sped up from 2004 to 2010. During those years, Tokyo sent noncombat troops to Iraq, Indonesia, Nepal, Israel, Djibouti, Somalia and Haiti. During the same time frame, Japan made more moves away from being a purely “self-defense” force. It began looking to use its space program for military purposes. Its Defense Agency was upgraded to become a full-fledged ministry, giving it a greatly amplified voice in the cabinet. It gained the capacity to fly F-2s more than 1,700 miles without refueling. It dropped 500-pound live bombs as part of training exercises. 

But these occurred long after PCG started to vilify and demonize Japan. So PCG is watching Japan's moves not because Japan did these things from 2004 to 2010 but because PCG had already decided that Japan was fated to help destroy America with nuclear weapons. These details are just misleading window dressing made to appear as though this ridiculous induced phobia is based on facts instead of this vicious dogma PCG adopted as early as 1993. 

Take for instance these words from PCG's Ryan Malone from a 2001 article.

Will Japan ignore its Constitution, revive its imperialist routes and seek a great Asian empire? The answer from history is YES! And that is also what the Holy Bible prophesies. (Ryan Malone, "Made in Japan", The Philadelphia Trumpet, December 2001.)

Why does Jacques cite such events between 2004 and 2010 when in fact PCG had already decided to insist that Japan would betray America long before then? How is this not misleading?

We now continue with Jacques' article.

On March 11, 2011, the magnitude-9.0 Tohoku earthquake struck Japan, spawning a tsunami and causing a severe nuclear crisis. The SDF [Self Defense Force] leaped to action, carrying out rescue operations with more than 100,000 soldiers—an utterly unprecedented number in the postwar era.

Why on Earth is Jacques moaning about soldiers helping their own fellow citizens during that unimaginable catastrophe? Why is it that Jacques has no sense of compassion towards these people caught in that catastrophe? In stead he moans that this is a sign that Japan is getting ready to help destroy America.

It is sickening that such tragic events in which so many people died is exploited to vilify and demonize the Japanese nation (and get more tithes paying members into PCG). How mean spirited this is. How utterly lacking in compassion.

Jacques then mentions other events that occurred in 2014 but PCG had long ago decided to fear monger that Japan would help destroy America way back in the early 1990s so those events do not prove PCG to be right.

In light of Japan’s wartime history, all of these steps toward nationalism and militarism are worthy of attention and concern.

They are but Jacques is just trying to get people to join PCG. PCG's leaders have been constantly scare mongering about Japan since at least 1993 so how on Earth can we trust PCG's assessment of the situation?

Jacques then points out the well known and shameful phenomenon of some Japanese persons choosing to minimize or even deny the terrible things that were done to enact the Japanese government's militarist policies up to 1945. Unfortunately this is a well known and shameful phenomenon.

For example, postwar Japan has officially apologized to China for the Massacre of Nanjing, but the apologies have been regularly undercut by revisionist statements from leading voices.

“The Nanjing Massacre is a lie made up by the Chinese,” Japanese Cabinet Minister Shintaro Ishihara said in 1990. “The Nanjing Massacre is a fabrication,” Japanese Justice Minister Nagano Shigeto said in 1994. “The Americans brainwashed the postwar Japanese into believing they had committed terrible war crimes,” said Tokyo University Prof. Nobukatsu Fujioka in 1997.

It is strange that here Jacques chooses to be sympathetic towards the Chinese for the monstrous things that happened up to 1945 considering how PCG so often vilifies and fear mongers about China today.

Now at the end Jacques gets to the point. He says Japan is going to help plunge the world into war again.

Some specific details of how this Eastern superpower will form in the end time are still unknown, but prophecy is unmistakably clear about the fact that it will happen. And, though it will be led by Russia and China, it will almost certainly include Japan.

The Trumpet reports on Japanese efforts toward remilitarization because each is one small step closer to that 200-million man army. Each is a step nearer to that unprecedentedly violent conflict. Numerous Bible passages show that it will be the bloodiest and most destructive conflict the world has ever seen. Japan’s march toward militarization points to a dark future.

This is total nonsense. HWA was wrong and made many false prophecies. So has Gerald Flurry and his PCG.

It is disgusting how these terrible events are exploited by Jeremiah Jacques to simply lure more people into joining PCG and then convincing them to pay three tithes to PCG for the rest of their lives. He even brought up an invasion from the 1590s.

He even vilified the Self Defense Forces' response to the earthquake of March 2011 when they were trying to save lives as something we should be afraid of. How can one do something like that?