The furore over Japan's whitewashing of its wartime atrocities is understandable. It is inexcusable that the Japanese government should treat lightly the atrocities of its past militaristic government, crimes that still haunt many Asian citizens and surviving Australian and English prisoners of war.

If the late Pope John Paul II could apologise to Muslims for atrocities and wrongs committed by the Catholics hundreds of years ago during the Crusades, why can't a civilised and rich nation like Japan simply apologise and make restitution for its wartime wrongs?

By visiting the Yakasuni shrine for war criminals, the Japanese prime minister shows shameless insensitivity to those who have survived Japanese occupations and to the memory of those who died fighting the Japanese aggression. The world, in particular China and South Korea, is right in protesting his provocative act.

Those who cite China's own atrocities or those of other countries are detracting from the main issue of Japan's politically incorrect and morally reprehensible actions. After all, every nation has skeletons in the closets and none can be entirely free of blame for wrongs committed in the past.

While Japanese right-wing nationalists insist that Japan was forced to go to war, they must explain why it was necessary to brutalise, rape, kill and maim millions of innocent civilians and prisoners of war. If barbarity and terror were part of their strategy, then they deserve to be castigated.

The refusal of the Japanese government to fork out compensation for the 'comfort women' is another shameful episode in that nation's blackened history. It is baffling how an affluent nation can be so heartless and indifferent to the survivors of the suffering it has caused.

Is its failure to redress the moral wrongs of the past the reason why Japan has never achieved the world's total respect?

But those who protest against Japan should differentiate between the people and the government of Japan. Targeting Japanese businesses or individuals is neither right nor fair. Instead, the criticisms should be levelled at those who are responsible, in this case the publishers of the errant history books and the Japanese authorities that endorse them.

Many ordinary Japanese are not to be blamed. After all, many of them have criticised the offending textbooks and are against any attempt to re-militarise Japan or re-invent Japan's war records.

Let us not forget that many innocent Japanese people also suffered untold hardships and were killed by their military rulers during the war. They are the meat in the sandwich and share a common plight with all who suffered injustice from bad government policies and actions.

In any conflict between nations, it is important to not be blinded by disagreement and allow hatred to override our sense of justice and ability to think and act justly and rationally.

The Japanese are a sensitive and cultured people. It does their country no good if their government thinks it can overlook its evil war wrongs and not of atone for them. Japan must produce the fruit of true sorrow and regret by ceasing to honour its war criminals and by making restitution for its past mistakes. It has to show sincere repentance.

If Japan fails to do so, it does not deserve to be a world leader. It may be an economic powerhouse, but it will lack the moral credibility to be a world leader because it has failed to show true moral leadership in facing the truth and redressing its wrongs.

In the eyes of the world it will be a moral minion which, ironically, is against Japan's traditional code of honour and innate sense of moral decency.