Jumping on board the "we don't even want to talk about the terrible shit we did in WW2, let alone remind people" bandwagon along with Germany, Japan decided that the Swastikas, along with other various things in the game, would not be appropriate for it's citizens to view. Of course cartoons that border on pedo-porn and movies that are gratuitously violent in nature are perfectly OK as they don't remind Japan how evil their ancestors really were. I am so fucking happy I live where I do :S 
 
http://www.1up.com/news/square-enix-editing-call-duty-black     
 
lol japan

In Japan and Germanys defence, never forgetting is different to pointless reminders. Also, the Allied nations can laugh at the Nazi - we defeated it. Those who lived under it, or who joined forces with it cannot - they accepted it, whether forcefully or willingly. Just like as an Englishman I feel ashamed whenever I am reminded how my country owned Ireland, and the things it did there. Doesn't mean I'll let that bit of history go forgotten though.

they don't not put it in so that they don't remember it (they do remember it), they feel that putting it in would be insensitive.

Acknowledging people existed and history happened  is insensitive.

It's not any of your or our business so pipe out of it.

There was a Turkish made movie a few years back which was censored and banned from the US, because it contained images of Abu Ghraib torture and painted many of the US soldiers in the movie as sadistic. In particular the censors took offence to the fact that a Jewish Doctor had been portrayed as being part of the group of torturers, completely forgetting the fact that Israeli Soldiers have helped out in such prison complexes in Iraq.

Barely a word was said against the censorship.

The point I'm making is that censorship exists everywhere. It's just about what "offends" you. I doubt a Modern Warfare game would even be allowed to exist if it wasn't so glossed over, and highlighted the true atrocities that have taken place. I suppose the same could be said of the Vietnam war, probably why so few games have ever touched upon the subject, the acts of violence were so blatant and ingrained into US society that even whitewashing over them wouldn't be possible.

" @Undeadpool: Yeah, except it wasn't nationals from countries in the middle east that were removing images of 9/11, it was Americans, because they were the victims. Last I checked the Germans the Japanese were the ones dishing it out, they figured they could take over the world and they got their asses handed to them. Now they want to pretend it never happened...over 60 years later. "

" @leebmx: Yet cartoons that prominently display small children in an extremely sexual light and extremely violent movies, such as Ichi the Killer, are perfectly ok. Right. They don't have an issue with violence or other suggestive material on it's own - it's only when it's paired up with anything that may remind anyone of WW2 that it becomes a problem for them. That's revisionism.  And if Japan seriously has a significant number of people that would be "sympathetic" to these "past causes" then I think maybe Japan has a much bigger problem on it's hands and should be focusing on removing these elements from society rather than trying to rewrite history in one of the most futile and pathetic attempts I have ever seen. "

" @RsistncE: There are not editing it because they are trying to bury the past but because they recognise how bad their past actions were and don't want the symbols of those past misdeeds to be allowed in prominence in their society. "

" @RsistncE: Cartoon violence and laws against people using offensive symbols from the past are not connected this isn't a valid point.    They are not baning these symbols because they are violent or suggestive but because they don't want people bringing back the ideas they represent. They are ACTIVELY trying to stop the past happening again, not forget it.  Your interpretation of this issue is completely mistaken - however your point on the violence of their media may be right (I personally don't think so) however they are not connected. There are plenty of memorials to victims of the holocaust in Germany and the law on Holocuast denial there serves precisely the point that the banning of symbols from that period serves in Japan. They are trying to make sure these views cannot gain promenence again.  "

" @FourWude: I always speak out again censorship, and don't worry, I'm a pretty harsh critic of the US in a lot of different ways. In other words: don't worry, I'm not saying Japan is the only one guilty of this nonsense. 
 

The point I was making wasn't about highlighting any crimes the US may have committed. It's about the simple notion that every nation on this earth has things they consider "shameful", that they don't want highlighting on a regular basis.

In that respect, the Germans and Japanese have acknowledged their past mistakes, but are not willing to constantly focus on it. I'm just trying to get you to step into their shoes and see it from their perspective. Yes it's "censorship", but that's exactly the world we live in. To be blunt, the Germans and Japanese haven't done anything extraordinary here, they've merely followed the norm.

And yes it may be construed as wrong by some people.

How about this - Japan and Germany removes the swastiker because it is against the law, or is deemed offensive. They're not rewriting history, they're just trying to be sensitive towards it. Otherwise they'd not have memorial days.
 What is rewriting history is when people talk about WWII as a fight between America and Germany/ Japan. It was a world war, people. I'm sure they have specific memorials to the U.S soldiers, but also the U.K soldiers (of whom my grandads brother was one - tortured in fact), and the French, and the Australians and so on and so forth.

Why do you even fucking care? It's not like you live in Japan and have to play the censored version.

" @RsistncE: This is my last stab at it. 1. Japan and Germany know they did wrong,2. As well as banning denying they did wrong, and doing any of these wrongs every again they also ban:3. The symbols and insignia of these past wrongs. They are not trying to bury the past but make sure it can never be repeated.  "

" @FourWude: I always speak out again censorship, and don't worry, I'm a pretty harsh critic of the US in a lot of different ways. In other words: don't worry, I'm not saying Japan is the only one guilty of this nonsense. 
 
@Undeadpool: Which is fine, but I don't think that means that country should be immune from criticism. What I'm saying here is simple: if a reformed criminal (I know, that's kind of a heavy handed and flawed comparison, but bear with me) decides to start removing or rewriting evidence of his horribly criminal past, that means he really has no interest in learning from his mistakes and people are going to criticize him. "

" @leebmx said:

" @RsistncE: This is my last stab at it. 1. Japan and Germany know they did wrong,2. As well as banning denying they did wrong, and doing any of these wrongs every again they also ban:3. The symbols and insignia of these past wrongs. They are not trying to bury the past but make sure it can never be repeated.  "

I completely understand what you're trying to get at here man, but just like ryanwho said, that 3rd point is just a rewording of "buying the past". 
 
 
 
 

Drawing a straight line from atrocities committed by Imperial Japan to this is absurd.

Sucks, but it's not surprising -- no country wants to be reminded of failure.

@RsistncE said: 

" Hell Japanese people still have a superiority complex "

I think the same would happen in the US if the Japanese developed a game that featured American soldiers gunning down innocent civilians in My Lai.

" @RsistncE:  Your complaints are idiotic and ignorant.  They're censoring the game for violence so the game can be sold prominently in stores.  Lots of games get this treatment in Japan, including Japanese developed games.  Japanese ratings have gotten harsher in recent years so games with lots of violence that would only have a M in the US have the Japanese equivalent of an AO rating.  You should do some research before you go on another bigoted rant again. "

The ignorance and uninformedness in this thread is mindblowing.
 
There is no country in the world where Nazi Germany is thematized, discussed, taken apart and scrutinized as much as in Germany, especially in German media. 
Laws exist that this particular topic will never be trivialized.
That is why certain themes in a video game would result in a higher rating.
That is why some publishers(!) decide to censor their games. To get a lower rating. To sell more copies.
 
Get your facts straight.

This from the culture that not so long ago put this out there?

" The ignorance and uninformedness in this thread is mindblowing.  There is no country in the world where Nazi Germany is thematized, discussed, taken apart and scrutinized as much as in Germany, especially in German media.  Laws exist that this particular topic will never be trivialized. That is why certain themes in a video game would result in a higher rating. That is why some publishers(!) decide to censor their games. To get a lower rating. To sell more copies.  Get your facts straight. "

The original meaning of that symbol was not of Nazism. You'll see it everywhere in parts of the world, before WWII happened. I'm sure the Pokemon Company wasn't referencing 1930's Germany.

" The ignorance and uninformedness in this thread is mindblowing.  There is no country in the world where Nazi Germany is thematized, discussed, taken apart and scrutinized as much as in Germany, especially in German media.  Laws exist that this particular topic will never be trivialized. That is why certain themes in a video game would result in a higher rating. That is why some publishers(!) decide to censor their games. To get a lower rating. To sell more copies.  Get your facts straight. "

Rapelay.

" Acknowledging people existed and history happened  is insensitive. "

" The original meaning of that symbol was not of Nazi-ism. You'll see it everywhere in parts of the world, before WWII happened. I'm sure the Pokemon Company wasn't referencing 1930's Germany. "

" Jumping on board the "we don't even want to talk about the terrible shit we did in WW2, let alone remind people" bandwagon along with Germany, Japan decided that the Swastikas, along with other various things in the game, would not be appropriate for it's citizens to view. Of course cartoons that border on pedo-porn and movies that are gratuitously violent in nature are perfectly OK as they don't remind Japan how evil their ancestors really were. I am so fucking happy I live where I do :S 
 
http://www.1up.com/news/square-enix-editing-call-duty-black      lol japan "