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Japan changes name of Iwo Jima
TOKYO - Japan has returned to using the prewar name for the island of Iwo Jima — site of one of World War II's most horrific battles — at the urging of its original inhabitants, who want to reclaim an identity they say has been hijacked by high-profile movies like Clint Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima."
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The new name, Iwo To, was adopted Monday by the Japanese Geographical Survey Institute in consultation with Japan's coast guard.
Surviving islanders evacuated during the war praised the move, but others said it cheapens the memory of a brutal campaign that today is inextricably linked to the words Iwo Jima.
Excuse me? Hijacked?
Uh, that is their only claim to fame isn't it? How is that "hijacking" the island? Not to mention there are probably few of the original inhabitants remaining. I guess the new generation doesn't want to be tainted.
Everybody wants to revise history. Nobody wants to remember that they had to kill and be killed by the hundreds of thousands in order to learn a hard lesson everyone thinks gets fixed by "talking" these days.
Destined to repeat history.
1 comment:
This one doesn't have me as angry as when they changed the name of Henderson a few years back.
It always was supposed to be Iwo To. Kanji are weird sometimes. One kanji can stand for like 5 different things, and if there's confusion they put hurigana above to make sure you know what it is(even in newspapers). This one doesn't bother me.
When they changed the name of the airfield that pissed me off, but this not so much.
ry
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