Mutsuhiro Watanabe crying -- finally showed he was human & empathetic?

Forgive me if the scene featuring Watanabe crying during the finale (i.e., the now infamous and legendary wooden plank scene) has been discussed at length previously on the boards, but I only watched this film for the very first time just last night.

Anyway, I found said scene particularly poignant and powerful -- it was, for me, the one scene that really stood out from the rest -- in spite of him being an odious monster. How did you guys interpret the scene? Do you think it showed that, despite all of the barbarous and outright evil things he subjected the prisoners of war to, he did have a human side buried deep in his psyche capable of compassion and empathy? Or do you think the scene represents his own personal respect towards Louis? Was he, in fact, crying? (I detected that Watanabe was holding back tears when he was shouting, "Don't look at me!")

Anyone?