>One can only assume that this individual believes Germany's concentration camps and what occurred therein were just "cultural relativism" and "propaganda" too and that Germany was "doing what it felt was necessary to protect itself".

One can only assume this individual didn't bother to read all the words I wrote before deciding they knew what I believe.

I specifically said I didn't subscribe to the views I enumerated, but those views certainly do exist. Personally, I think Imperial Japan was incredibly evil. I also think the atomic bombings were evil. Hell, many Japanese feel the atomic bombings were justified - and Japanese legislators contributed to the very peace constitution that "emasculated" them, because they felt (justifiably) betrayed by the Emperor's ambitions.

But since we're discussing the way Japan may view the atomic bombings and how that event affected Japan's culture, reducing that culture to the thought-terminating cliche of "profound evil" adds nothing to the discussion.

I don't think war and conquering has gone out of style so much as it has become way too costly to pursue. We haven't actually become more righteous.