Photo/Illutration An Imperial Japanese Army troop in Siberia in September 1918 during World War I (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

“Senso” (War), a novel by author Mimei Ogawa (1882-1961) who lived during the Meiji, Taisho and Showa eras, contains this line: “I am unable to believe that a war is going on now beyond the sea.”

Ogawa wrote these words while World War I raged. Reading a newspaper article about the loss of many lives in the conflict, Ogawa wondered, “Could all this be a fabrication?”

His reason: “People here aren’t making a big fuss about it.”

He went on to puzzle over why the public had next to no interest in the war in Europe.

“If the newspaper report is true, this is something nobody could possibly just sit back and ignore,” he told himself.

Moving to the present day, what about the recent report of Israeli forces last week engaging in a military campaign of “the greatest scale in 20 years” in the West Bank, which is under the administration of the Palestinian Authority?

The Israelis have conducted 20 air attacks against refugee camps and other targets, killing and injuring many people. But not only has this report not caused a stir in Japan, it also doesn’t seem to have even become a topic of conversation.

The reality of inhumane acts of slaughter, repeatedly reciprocated in Palestine, is not easy to imagine in faraway Japan.

Still, when I think of the Japanese people’s keen interest in the war in Ukraine, I am bewildered by the enormity of the gap between that and their almost total lack of interest in the Palestinian situation.

Six months after Ogawa’s novel was published, Japanese soldiers were dispatched to Siberia. But the level of the public’s interest remained low and World War I came to be called a “forgotten war” in Japan.

Eventually, the nation proceeded to the dismal Showa Era (1926-1989), and the Japanese people experienced war in person.

I have no intention of making simple comparisons. Still, watching news of the bloodshed beyond the sea, I feel compelled to remind myself, “This isn’t a fabrication.”

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 12

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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