Adopted Quote by Martin Jacques

Ever since the Meiji restoration in 1868, Japan has turned its back on Asia in general and China in particular: its pattern of aggression…

— Martin Jacques

Throughout that period, Japan had made honest efforts to keep the destruction of war from spreading and, based on the belief that all nations…

— Hideki Tojo

In the past, Japan through its colonial rule and aggression caused tremendous damage and suffering for the people of many countries, particularly those of…

— Junichiro Koizumi

Japan became an imperialist country in many ways, but that was much later, after it had already made big progress. I don’t think Japan’s…

— Amartya Sen

The Japanese keenly learned from Western civilisation in a bid to modernize and preserve the nation.

— Anonymous

The ambiguous orientation of Japan drove the country into the position of an invader in Asia.

— Kenzaburo Oe

Subsequently, the Japanese people experienced a variety of vicissitudes and were involved in international disputes, eventually, for the first time in their history, experiencing…

— Eisaku Sato

I speak of the old Japan, because out of the ashes of the old Japan there has risen a new Japan.

— Shigeru Yoshida

Since ancient times, people from throughout Asia have brought to Japan their talents, knowledge and energy, helping to lay the basis for Japan's existence…

— Daisaku Ikeda

We discussed the history of postwar Japan and how Japan had missed an opportunity to build a more functional democracy because of the focus…

— Joichi Ito

Japan used to be an animistic society before Shinto imperialism was established. But most of us still have an animistic sense.

— Ryuichi Sakamoto

My observation is that after one hundred and twenty years of modernisation since the opening of the country, present-day Japan is split between two…

— Kenzaburo Oe