Though I applaud the sincerity of the Japanese government in fostering friendship with Filipinos through a program of honoring Filipinos born of Japanese, I just hope more can be done. War and its atrocities have brought miseries that will forever be remembered by both our peoples. Neither Japanese nor Filipinos who went through World War II can describe in words how their lives were changed by the images that continue to haunt them every time silence prevails over them.
In war, everybody is a victim. My grandfather was a victim. He was a Japanese officer posted in Sta Ana district, Manila. I am not sure whether he was an officer, but I am quite sure he was Japanese. My mother was born a few months after the Americans started their campaign to regain Manila from Japanese occupation. She never saw her father.
My mother said my grandmother did not know how to read or write. She was not able to get the exact family name of my grandfather. She died in 1980. It is unknown whether my grandfather made it back to Japan as stories abound that many Japanese were killed as they retreated.
No matter what you do now, nothing can bring back the lives of those who deserved to enjoy the bliss of peace we have at present. Nonetheless, I hope it does not stop the Japanese government from doing more for those who were left behind by the likes of my grandfather and grandmother. There are still Filipino-Japanese children of World War II who are alive. They too are calling for recognition.