How do we have a dog in this fight?:
A US congressional committee will likely pass this month a controversial bill demanding Japan's apology to World War II-era sex slaves, a lawmaker was quoted as saying Friday.Japan's conservative government has been lobbying hard against the bill, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently provoked outrage by insisting that Japanese soldiers did not coerce so-called "comfort women" into army brothels.
Thirty-six lawmakers of the 50-member House Committee on Foreign Affairs have shown support for the resolution, the Yomiuri Shimbun said, quoting senior member Eni Faleomavaega.
This thing was started by Rep. Mike Honda, who, like Ted Kennedy, concerns himself overmuch with the cultural goings-on of a country he's not a citizen of.
Demanding someone tell someone else he's sorry is so kindergarten. I bet this congressional committee felt pretty righteous when they were talking about it in between their bites of butter cookies and sips of SunnyD though.
I'm not trying to cut the Japanese any slack on something they need to deal with but I do find it kind of ironic that most, if not all of the countries mentioned in the article are rife with brothels populated by sex slaves right now. They also "export" women to other countries - including this one, so I don't know why anyone is engaged in finger pointing unless they're standing in front of a mirror.
Hmmm, that came out pretty good; I think I deserve a cookie.
Posted by: tfhr at March 9, 2007 08:13 PMAfter your nap, sweetie.
Posted by: Donnah at March 9, 2007 08:30 PMJapan set up a charitable organization called the Asian Women's Fund which has made payments to the women. Letters were sent by the Prime Minister expressing regret (but it was personal regret over what had happened, not a government apology). So, while Japan could have done more, it's not as if it has done nothing.
Call me cynical, but it makes me think that, in a way, the women are being further victimized by being used as a political tool against Japan particularly by the other Asian countries that have been demanding an apology.
Posted by: marybeth at March 10, 2007 05:18 PMI'd call it yellow guilt complex but in reality its projection on the Japanese by an American politician.
The Japanese goverment and people would be entirely within their rights to tell Congress critter Honda, and the Democratic Congress,
to stick it where the sun don't shine and to not enjoy it when they did.
(Inference to Ann Coulter's recent remark is entirely coincidental but entirely predictable because they are.)
Posted by: Gmac at March 10, 2007 05:38 PMIt's not just our politicians asking Japan to apologize. The UN has done so, as has China. I'm not sure whether or not Korea or any of the other countries involved have made a formal request. With reports of sexual misconduct during UN peacekeeping missions and China's "stellar" treatment of women, I can see why they feel they have the moral authority to request an apology. As for the U.S., I may be going to easy on our politicians but I see it as little more than a PR move.
Posted by: marybeth at March 10, 2007 07:56 PMCongress is a branch of the United States government. If that government thinks it is a good idea that Japan deal with its past sins, which the Japanese have gone to great lengths to keep in the closet, then that is the business of the government.
The Japanese people have never had an honest appraisal of the role they played in WWII, unlike the Germans. They have consistently refused to discuss subjects such as the Rape of Nanking, comfort women, and the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, not to mention their propensity for atrocities and war crimes. This cannot be good for Japan, as her people will have a hard time figuring out why the Koreans and Chinese don't like them. It also makes it difficult for them to assume a position of leadership in East Asia. At some point, they would do themselves (and everyone else) a favor if the aired out their baggage.
Posted by: Chris at March 11, 2007 10:00 AMChris,
The point that the Japanese did wrong is not in dispute. That a Congressman from the US is interjecting himself in Japan's problem is very questionable. And while "Congress is a branch of the United States government", it is not the State Department. I don't believe Rep. Honda's voting district includes members of the Diet but he can sure tick them off leaving our State Department, Department of Defense, and President, to deal with the consequences. For instance, all three are working closely with Japan on missile defense. Do you want Rep. Honda interjecting his issue into Japanese politics at the risk of losing cooperation on an important issue that affects both Koreas, China, Japan, and the U.S., among others?
I'm saying "...the business of the government" is not going to be determined by a Congressman from the 15th District of California. Furthermore, Honda also ought to consider that the very governments that have complaints against the actions of Japan's old government are at this time either allowing or are unable to curb the sex slave industry in their own countries. The hypocrisy demonstrated across Asia and the Pacific to our own shores does not exonerate Japan for it's place in history and it does nothing to curb the crimes of the present.
Posted by: tfhr at March 11, 2007 10:27 AMYou've pretty much summed it up for me, tfhr.
Posted by: Donnah at March 12, 2007 01:20 AMI'm just saying he can make it his business if he wants to. Whether he should do so is another question.
The Japanese position of not talking at all about their war record is not helpful, or mature.
Posted by: Chris at March 13, 2007 04:35 PMI wonder how a culture that venerates its ancestors deals with this kind of request?