Japan should take sex resolution as a warning: Asahi editorial
Tweet06/29/2007
Asahi Shimbun editorial – A U.S. Congressional committee passed a resolution Tuesday calling on Japan to formally acknowledge, apologize and accept historical responsibility for the Japanese military’s sexual exploitation of “comfort women” during World War II. The House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee adopted the resolution on the Imperial Japanese Army’s coercion of women into “sexual slavery” by an overwhelming vote of 39-2. The resolution is widely expected to sail through the entire House as early as July.
Through this action, the U.S. Congress censured Japan in front of an international audience for not closely examining its responsibility for this wartime crime. This development has grave implications.
We have argued that Japanese politicians should confront a range of issues concerning common understanding of history. In this regard, we are referring to visits by prime ministers to Yasukuni Shrine and the “comfort women” issue. Japan’s international reputation takes a bad knock every time Japanese politicians say or do something that can be interpreted as justifying the nation’s wartime actions and values. It is deeply depressing to see how things have reached this stage. It makes us sad and ashamed to know that Japan is seen this way internationally.
That is not to say there is no questionable element in the resolution. It doesn’t refer, for instance, to the fact that successive prime ministers have sent letters of apology to former “comfort women.” It also fails to recognize clearly the significance of a 1993 statement by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono that admitted the Japanese military’s involvement in the recruitment of these women and offered an apology from the Japanese government to the victims.
As the resolution points out, however, there have been moves within the Japanese political community to criticize the Kono statement and revise descriptions concerning the episode in school textbooks. The message of the resolution denouncing the brutality of the sexual exploitation should be taken with sincerity.
Some observers say a tactical error led to the adoption of the resolution. An advocacy ad on the issue by a group of Japanese politicians and opinion leaders was published in The Washington Post. They say the ad only rekindled the U.S. criticism about Japan’s attitude toward the issue, which had subsided.
The full-page ad, signed by a private foreign policy adviser for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe along with over 40 Diet members of both camps, criticized the House resolution for a gross and deliberate distortion of reality. This extraordinary ad ruined any positive effects created by Abe’s words of apology to “comfort women” during his visit to the United States in April, which was his first since taking office last year.
But the real problem is the inability of Japanese politics to face up to the nation’s past mistakes. After the passage of the resolution, Abe downplayed its importance, saying, “A very large number of resolutions are passed by the Congress and I believe this solution is just one of them.” He then added, “I have no intention of commenting on it.” That was a grossly wrong-headed response to the Congress. Serious doubts and accusations have been levelled at Japan. Abe should articulate Japan’s position on the issue afresh, explaining the Kono statement and the government’s efforts like the Asian Women’s Fund, a government-backed fund created to help atone for the suffering of “comfort women.”
Abe stresses “common values” as the foundation of Japan’s alliance with the United States. But he doesn’t seem to understand that the House resolution is about an issue that concerns the very values he espouses. After the end of the war, Japan transformed itself into a democratic country that respects freedom and human rights. It did some serious soul-searching about its wartime actions, including the invasion and colonization of other Asian nations. If Japan’s behaviour raises the suspicion that it is trying to reconsider its repentant posture toward its past, its commitment to the values is called into question.
Since former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s controversial visits to Yasukuni Shrine, the international community has been casting a very skeptical eye on Japan’s responses to the history issues. There are growing international concerns about the health of Japan’s democracy. Japan should take the resolution as a warning.
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