For this reason Jiei, or “Jay” as the 17-year-old is better known, now wants his compatriots to relearn what they know about their country’s involvement in World War II through the eyes of others.
He believes this is important to clear up certain confusion regarding events such as the start of the war in the Pacific theatre.
For instance, he told FMT, the West’s version of history states that the war began with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941.
On the other hand, there are accounts stating that Japanese troops had crossed the border from Thailand to Malaya before the first bomb was dropped on Pearl Harbor.
Where it all began
Jay enrolled at an international school in Kuala Lumpur to learn English when he moved from Kanagawa, Japan, to Malaysia with his family three years ago.
He soon realised that the version of history taught to him in Malaysia was a little different from that he learnt back home in Japan.
Jay’s interest was reinforced by an article in the Asahi Shimbun he stumbled upon and he decided to get in touch with the only person cited in the story.
He emailed Zafrani Ariffin, a history guide in Kota Bharu, and eventually travelled to Kelantan with his parents.
Together, the duo visited the Kota Bharu war museum and ruins of the battles fought there to conduct their research.
Jay said that what he learnt in Malaysia about the war only made him more confused.
For instance, he said, he always thought that Pearl Harbor was the first place the Japanese attacked during the war.
“Neither my parents, grandparents nor my elementary school teacher knew about this aspect of the war,” Jay said. It was a wake-up call for him.
It was then that Jay decided to share this little-known nugget of Japanese history with his compatriots, starting with those who are now residing in Malaysia.
He and Zafrani began to meet once every two months to work together to realise his ambitious plan – to create a pamphlet detailing the new version of the history of Japanese involvement in the war he learnt in Malaysia.
In the pamphlet the duo hopes to draw visitors’ attention to the fact that Kota Bharu was where the Asia-Pacific War began.
Jay has also organised a one-day tour, set for April 27, for which four Japanese have signed up. Zafrani will be the guide while Jay will act as translator.
A way to foster goodwill
Jay’s search for knowledge and understanding of the history of the ties between Japan and Malaysia has also helped to change his view of how Malaysians perceive the Japanese.
“Before I went to Kota Bharu, I thought that the Kelantanese hated the Japanese because of the war,” he said.
“But they were very kind to us even as they shared the history (passed down) by their grandparents,” he added.
Jay wants his compatriots to know that Malaysians also love Japanese culture in the hope that they will reciprocate by learning Malaysian history.
“I hope Malaysians will learn that the Japanese have not forgotten what our grandparents did,” he said.
Jay will leave Malaysia when he graduates from secondary school at the end of the year and return to Japan where he will sit for his entrance examination at Ritusumeikan Asia Pacific University.
But he will always carry a piece of Malaysian history with him.
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