Japanese diplomats had probably hoped that Britain's decision last month to offer a government gratuity to former British servicemen imprisoned by Japan during World War II would heal a long festering sore in bilateral ties.
Some diplomats even spoke hopefully of a "circle of reconciliation" between the people of Britain and Japan and yearned that the "small bone in the throat" would soon dissolve.
However, much to the chagrin of those who want to put the matter of Japanese war atrocities behind them, the Nov. 7 decision by the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair to pay 10,000 British pounds (1.6 million yen) to each of the veterans as "a debt of honor" has apparently failed to work the magic.
Arthur Titherington, 79, chairman of the Japanese Labor Camps Survivors Association, said he will never give up his fight until Japan "faces up to its past and comes to terms with what happened."