Japan has never learned to interact with its Asian neighbors the way that Germany after World War II learned to cooperate with its future European partners, partly because its apologies have appeared formalistic and half-hearted, when they have taken place at all. The European Union exists (whatever its current difficulties) because Germany asked for forgiveness.
德国在二战后学会了如何与未来的欧洲伙伴进行合作，而日本与自己的亚洲邻居之间却未能实现这一点，这在某种程度上是因为该国的道歉总是像一场口是心非的表演。虽然目前遭遇了些许困难，但欧盟之所以能存在就是因为德国请求宽恕。而这种全方位直面过去的行为——其许多邻国都做不到这一点——使德国得以和当今的以色列政府划清界限。