Japan has long been at odds with its neighbors over historical issues. China, South Koreaand other adjacent neighboring countries often criticize Japanese politicians for denyingits history of aggression in the 20th century. A number of recent events have broughtTokyo's attitude toward its wartime history into the world spotlight.
In November, the Japanese government asked a New York- based publishing house tochange descriptions about "comfort women" in its world history textbook. EntitledTraditions &Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past, the textbook was published bythe New York-based McGraw-Hill Companies.
According to Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, the portion - "The Japanese army forcibly recruited, conscripted, and dragooned as many as two hundred thousand women aged fourteen to twenty to serve in military brothels, called 'comfort houses'" is not in line with the position of the Japanese government. His ministry even plans to investigatehow many states and schools in the US are using this textbook.
The issue of "comfort women" has caused quite a stir within Japan. In early August, the Asahi Shimbun, one of Japan's biggest left-leaning newspapers, made a public statementthat its past reports on "comfort women" were based on false testimony by Seiji Yoshida.Therefore, the paper retracted the articles and apologized publicly. Inevitably, it hasencountered fierce attacks by other Japanese media outlets and right-wing groups.Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has also denounced this newspaper on manyoccasions.
In October, Japan required the amendment of a 1996 UN special rapporteur's report on"comfort women." This report described "comfort women" forced into prostitution inwartime Japanese military brothels as "sex slaves" and called on the Japanese governmentto apologize and pay compensation to victims. The Abe administration claimed part of thecontent was "false" and asked author Radhika Coomaraswamy to revoke it. But the requestwas denied.
It is Abe's attitude toward the "comfort women" issue that has decided Tokyo's frequentmaneuvers in recent months. Abe believes the reports based on testimony by Yoshidasolicited undue criticism from the rest of the world and therefore Japan must rehabilitateits reputation. To this end, he even tabled a plan to review the 1993 Kono Statementthough he said previously he would not deny the landmark apology for sexual slaverybefore and during WWII.
Nevertheless, the logic of Abe and his cabinet can in no way hold water. The lack ofcredibility of Yoshida's testimony does not mean the world's attitude toward the "comfortwomen" issue is mistaken. Actually, investigations and studies by historians, includingJapanese scholars like Yoshiaki Yoshimi, have demonstrated in an explicit way that theJapanese military coerced and raped "comfort women" in East and Southeast Asia. So far,no other country has shown any understanding of Abe's position. And the UN issued astatement in August, expressing deep regret over the attitude of the Japanese governmenttoward the "comfort women" issue.
In addition, the US, Japan's close ally, has also conveyed an articulate position on this issue. The US Congress passed a resolution to condemn Japan's coercion of "comfortwomen" in 2007. In June 2014, the Japanese government released the result of a review ofthe Kono Statement and raised doubts about its drafting process, though not publiclydenying it. Later, 18 members of the US House of Representatives wrote a letter to theJapanese ambassador to the US, severely criticizing the review.
Consequently, Abe's position on Japan's history of aggression and the "comfort women"issue is not based on the facts, but rather is pandering to his supporters. For any politician,it is unwise and irresponsible to go in a direction opposite the rest of the world for the sakeof domestic politics.
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