New Zealand’s embarrassing Covid fanaticism comes to a close

Many people are familiar with the moving story of the Japanese holdouts – soldiers who fought in the Imperial Japanese military during World War 2, and who tragically remained defending their posts in futility for decades after the war had ended, wasting their lives away.

Some of these troops had heard reports that the Japanese Emperor had surrendered, and refused to believe it, assuming it was a trick by the Americans. Others did not hear the reports at all, because their communication lines had been cut by the Allies, as mainland Japan forgot about them or believed them to be dead. Still more felt bound by their honour to never surrender, and vowed to continue fighting even though their nation had formally given up.