Reception In Japan?

Unfortunately there's a double standard in Japan. Japan has been forced to express regret (and rightly so) for its atrocities toward Americans, British, Australians and other Westerners. But toward Koreans and Chinese it's less so. The Western powers won, and US troops still (unofficially) occupy Japan today, so they have power over Japan. But China and Korea (both north and south), though they should also rightly be counted among the victors (as the Chinese bore the brunt of the resistance to Japanese expansion), are still seen through a lens of Japanese superiority, though it isn't as openly expressed as it once was (except by fascist groups like the Zaitokukai). So, Japan continues to deny or downplay its crimes toward Koreans and Chinese and other Asians, while apologizing to Westerners. The fact that China and North Korea became "enemy states" of the US-led imperialist alliance (of which Japan is a part) in the Cold War and to a lesser extent post-Cold War period didn't and doesn't help, because it reduces the pressure on Japan to make amends toward these countries, which could still be officially demonized, unlike the Western powers. Japan's crimes against Koreans and Chinese are barely talked about in school textbooks or media; the rape of Nanjing is entirely absent, and right-wingers publish books denying that it happened. Most schoolchildren don't even know, and are confused by anger toward Japan, which drives many people into the arms of right-wing nationalist ideology.

Now with the Abe government this has become worse than ever. Interested people should do a Google search for Nippon Kaigi; it's a fascist, monarchist lobby group that includes Abe and most of his cabinet. The Abe clique denies Japan's crimes, which angers Asian countries, and then uses this anger against Japan to falsely portray these countries (especially China and the DPRK) as "aggressive threats", in order to justify remilitarization, which angers them further. It's a vicious cycle and extremely dangerous.