According to Pacific Atrocities Education, the Japanese rising sun flag may be seen as a light in the darkness to the Japanese people but for countries that were once occupied by the Japanese, it is seen as a symbol of Japanese imperial aggression and war crimes.
However, not everyone knows this.
A netizen, @sengfoo88, recently took to his X account to showcase a vehicle spotted on a Malaysian road, with a Japanese rising sun decal.
He wrote, “No matter how much you love Japan or Japanese culture, you are ignorant if you use the rising sun symbol in Malaysia.”
To forget history or not?
While some pointed out that times have changed and that history is in the past, others highlighted the painful history behind the symbol.
“Until now, my grandparents do not like Japan. Can you imagine, they refuse to even mention Japan because of how much hate they have? Because for them, the cruelty of the Japanese that killed their fathers and raped their relatives in front of their eyes have caused them trauma,”
“You guys should go and study history again. It doesn’t matter if times have changed.”
“This symbol should be banned in Malaysia. Please go ahead if you want to be proud of Japanese culture but don’t be stupid until you become proud of the communists who killed and tortured our ancestors,”
“My late grandfather would get so angry at the mention of Japan because I love watching anime.”
What do you think about this? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
