Near the new Los Baños municipal hall in Laguna there is a simple monument which can hardly be called a shrine, and a narrow road leading to it. The place is seldom visited by locals, as senior citizens of the town have come to ignore its significance, and the young are too busy with gadgets and gigs to care.
This is the Yamashita Monument, the site where the once feared "Tiger of Malaya" who brought Singapore to its knees in World War 2, was executed by the Americans on February 23, 1946.
In any war, the victors call the shots. They can impose their brand of justice, write the official narratives, etc. Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita was meted the death penalty for the more than 100,000 civilian deaths in the Battle of Manila (February 1945).
Foreign tourists, mostly Japanese and Koreans, come to visit once in a while, offering flowers at the dilapidated, leaky shrine.
Today, December 8, we remember with sadness and rage the bombing of Davao City, then Baguio, Tuguegarao, and Tarlac by the Japanese Imperial forces--hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941. The difference in dates is due to the International Date Line.
Dec. 8 to me is not associated with the Virgin Mary. It is the day the Philippines was sucked into the war not of its own choosing, thereby costing the lives of over 500,000 to almost One Million Filipinos and involving significant civilian massacres and famine.
The attacks on several cities in the Philippines were made to cripple US military installations and thus the American capability to retaliate from Pearl Harbor.
Many Filipinos living today, including this writer, did not witness the suffering and hardship, hunger and sacrifices of our kababayan during the three years of Japanese occupation.
These war atrocities and crimes of the Japanese cannot be forgotten by the peoples of the world, especially Filipinos, Indonesians, Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, Manchurians, Cambodians, Thai, Singaporeans, Malaysians, etc.
This is the reason why many are enraged by the sudden policy shift made by present Japan Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that made Japan transform from a pacifist and peace-loving nation to an aggressive provocateur.
From out of the blue, hawkish Takaichi nonchalantly crossed the Red line and said Japan would respond militarily if China makes a move to take control of Taiwan by force.
No other Japanese leader before her dared to comment in that tone of voice about Taiwan. Beijing responded by warning its citizens not to travel or study in Tokyo, and saying that there would be no market in China for Japan's seafood exports.
As a result, the economic squeeze has undercut Tokyo's tourism industry, with airlines, hotels, travel agencies and other tourism stakeholders suffering through huge revenue losses. The aftermath of Takaichi's statement will be felt by the Japanese people well into 2026.
The Japanese leader, her Cabinet and supporters should review History, learn from it, and admit that war only kills millions and global progress is the only way for humanity.
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