THE visit of the Japanese Emperor to this country is an insult to all personnel of Britain, the Commonwealth and the USA who served in the Far East and Pacific during World War Two and to their dependants.
It is also an insult that our Queen should honour him with the Order of the Garter and with a State carriage procession. I hope no one turns out to watch it.
I swore allegiance to King Edward VIII, his heirs and successors and have tried to honour that pledge. I am afraid this latest event has caused me to reconsider my views completely.
In the Christian faith, we are expected to forgive all who sin against us. If I live another 80 years, I will never be able to forgive the Japanese army for the murder of more than 55,000 men, women and children in Singapore alone, or the atrocities carried out by them against prisoners of war.
My own unit was over 950 strong, yet only 268 returned home - a terrible loss at their hands.
As a member of the Japanese Labour Camp Survivors Association, I feel very bitter that the present Labour government can endorse this visit of the Japanese Emperor and still flatly refuse to help us to claim compensation for our suffering.
JOHN K LUCAS, Caernarvon Avenue, Burnley.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article