Report from Asia: Japanese Flag over Thailand

One of the most unsettling things I've seen on my trip was a large number of Japanese flags flying over the city of Ayutthaya, Thailand. There is an actual reason for this. The Japanese have invested in preserving Ayutthaya and interpreting its history. Ayutthaya is an extremely cool place. Filled with the ruins of temples dating back to the 14th century, I would recommend it above all else upon visiting Thailand, although no doubt beach nuts would disagree.

What is disturbing about this of course is the Japanese invasion of Thailand on December 8, 1941 and its subsequent history there. Thailand was a major acquisition for the Japanese war machine. Control over Thailand allowed Japan to extend its invasions to Burma and Malaysia as well as gave it access to all-important resources, particularly rubber. They treated the Thais pretty much as they treated everyone else. The Japanese occupation of Thailand is most known today from the David Lean film Bridge on the River Kwai, a fictional account of the Japanese using British prisoners to build a railroad bridge. While the story is fictional, the basic historical account is not. The Japanese did use Allied prisoners to build this bridge and many other projects, treated them like slave labor, and causing the death of most of them. I once visited the location of the Bridge, a couple of hours west of Bangkok. Honestly, it's not very exciting but I do believe that not a single Allied POW on that bridge survived.

Anyhow, even 61 years after their defeat, it's really hard for me to stomach seeing Japanese flags anywhere in Asia except for Japan. Do the Thais care? I have no idea. It's good that the Japanese are putting money into keeping up Ayutthaya. Maybe it will help them make up for the many sins they committed there.