By Michael Honda is in Korea probably to escape health care protesters and is once again demanding an apology from Japan:
Tokyo has yet to make a “formal and unequivocal” government apology for its sexual enslavement and other past crimes during World War II, according to a United States congressman of Japanese heritage, who underscored the importance of historical education to ensure future generations do not repeat past mistakes.
“I think what has been asked for (in the past) was a formal, unequivocal government apology; to recognize historical responsibility and then also to talk about compensation to victims,” U.S. Rep. Mike Honda (D-California) said in a recent interview with Yonhap News Agency. “I don’t believe that has happened.
Honda, the current chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, is visiting South Korea to receive an honorary doctorate from Kangwon National University in Chuncheon, 85 kilometers east of Seoul.
The 68-year old congressman was responsible for submitting a House resolution urging Japan to apologize for the sexual enslavement of women. The House unanimously passed the resolution in August 2007. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
My opinion on this is that the Japanese Prime Minister should issue some kind of formal recognition and apology for Japanese actions during World War II, but I don’t believe it is an issue that US politicians have any obligation to stick their noses into. Especially a Congressmen as hypocritical as Honda. If Congressman Honda is such a champion of women’s rights how come he isn’t leading Congress in implementing a resolution condemning China for their modern day sexual slavery of North Korean women?
Additionally Congressman Honda has only called the massive human rights abuses and killings by the Chinese government over the years as “historical blemishes”.
hen is he going to start writing a bill to harass Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to apologize for the 20-30 million Chinese that died during the Great Leap forward, the up to 500,000 who died during the Cultural Revolution, or the 2,000-3000 civilians who were gunned down by the Chinese military at Tianamen Square. What about an apology to the people of Korea for the Chinese intervention into the Korean War that killed up to a million Korean civilians and ensured the continued division of the country to this day? How about another apology for the continuing human rights abuses of Chinese peasants and the sexual slavery of North Korean women?
For Congressman Honda it is politically easier to attack the Japanese for something that happened 60 years ago than to stop sexual slavery now. I am willing to bet 60 years from now we will see a US Congressman pass a resolution condemning Chinese human rights violations today. However, that resolution does nothing to help the people in China or North Korea who are either being executed or having their human rights violated right now.
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12:42 pm on August 14th, 2009 1
There are a lot of people who demand an apology from Japan, and without any research I would have thought that Japan has never apologized. But then I found that the Japanese government has in the past apologized for their past acts. Now, this is from wikipedia, and I have no idea on how significant or formal these apologies were so I can't argue whether these were enough or not. Can someone care to explain some of these apologies and why these aren't enough? Here is a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_war_apology_…
9:00 pm on August 14th, 2009 2
The Prime Minister of Japan made this statement today:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeq…
2:45 am on August 15th, 2009 3
Japan has apologized over ten times, but the Koreans have always rejected the apologies as "insincere". The Koreans have never explained what they mean by "sincere", so they have free license to reject every apology as insincere and stoke their hatred.
The most honest statement about Japan and apologies ever to come from a Korean was on the eve of Koizumi's first visit to Seoul: "What's the use of a hundred apologies? We want money."
7:07 am on August 15th, 2009 4
"But amid Japan's efforts to own up to its wartime aggression former prime ministers Junichiro Koizumi and Shinzo Abe visited the Yasukuni shrine, which honours some 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including 14 leading war criminals."
Deep remorse and humble condolence seems to have different meaning to the japanese and the rest of the world. In plain and simple language this is what people call Hypocracy.
7:11 am on August 15th, 2009 5
Oh, Hypocrisy.
10:56 am on August 15th, 2009 6
Koizumi has made his views on visiting the shrine very clear:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20010815…
It has nothing to do with honoring war criminals.
The real hypocrisy comes from Japan's neighbors, who are always full of moral outrage against Japan while they blatantly glorify and/or whitewash their own ugly actions of the past.
5:01 pm on August 15th, 2009 7
Please, there's nothing wrong with remembering those who died in war and with visiting Yasukuni. Sure, some bad guys are at Yasukuni, just like some bad guys have their names on the Vietnam memorial in Washington.