View From Asia

Will Japan Unapologize to ‘Comfort Women’?

By The International Herald Tribune
A commemoration this month of women who were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers, at Japan's representative office in Taipei, Taiwan. Seated are, at right, Cheng Chen-tao, 91, of Taiwan, and Estelita B. Dy, 87, of the Philippines, two former so-called "comfort women." David Chang/European Pressphoto Agency

The New York Times’s Tokyo bureau chief, Martin Fackler, writes that Japan’s new (and former) prime minister, Shinzo Abe, and his conservative government may revise Japan’s 1993 apology for forcing thousands of women to be sex slaves in the service of Japanese soldiers during World War II.

In May, Rendezvous wrote about the “comfort women” controversy reaching suburban New York.

Now, the refusal of the government’s spokesman to say clearly whether Mr. Abe, an ardent nationalist who has criticized the apology in the past, would uphold it is seen as confirming some fears that the return of Mr. Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party could roil international relations in Asia in deeply unhelpful ways.

Mark McDonald wrote on Rendezvous last week that Mr. Abe’s return to power (he was prime minister in 2006 and 2007) could further destabilize Japanese-Chinese relations at a time when the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute already has tensions running unusually high.

“The way ahead — combat or compromise — could conceivably hang on one man, Shinzo Abe,” Mark wrote then.

The entire region, along with the United States, is waiting to see which of Mr. Abe’s political personalities emerges most forcefully — the conservative, nationalistic politician with a provocative streak when it comes to China, or the pragmatic statesman who would pull himself and his party back from the fire-breathing campaign rhetoric of recent weeks.

Worryingly, Mr. Abe appeared ready to add a ground dimension to the confrontation at the islands by pledging to station government workers or Coast Guard personnel there.

Mark also quoted media affiliated with the Communist Party of China as saying: “Once Abe takes office, China should let him know about its firm stance. Only with such pressure will Abe hold China in esteem, otherwise he will think China is in a weak position. In recent years, every time Japan has switched to moderate policy toward China, it has been the result of China’s strong stance rather than its concessions.”

As Martin wrote Thursday, an assertive, unapologetic Japan could antagonize much of Asia, especially South Korea, at a time when the United States desperately needs its two closest East Asian allies to work together:

If Mr. Abe revises the apology, the move will run counter to the wishes of the United States. American officials say they have urged Mr. Abe to shelve calls to revise the Kono Statement to avoid increasing tensions with South Korea. The United States has been urging the two countries, its closest allies in the region, to increase cooperation as China is asserting more territorial claims and as North Korea appears to be continuing to strengthen its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

The sex slaves issue remains highly emotional in South Korea, a former Japanese colony. On Thursday, the South Korean Foreign Ministry called on Japan not to forget its militaristic past.